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A visual history · Oscars

The winners who defined Art Direction (Color).

25 ceremonies, 1941–1967. 25 different winners.

  1. Fantastic VoyageJack Martin Smith, Dale Hennesy, Walter M. Scott & Stuart A. Reiss
  2. Doctor ZhivagoJohn Box, Terence Marsh & Dario Simoni
  3. My Fair LadyGene Allen, Cecil Beaton & George James Hopkins
  4. CleopatraJohn DeCuir, Jack Martin Smith, Hilyard M. Brown, Herman A. Blumenthal, Elven Webb, Maurice Pelling, Boris Juraga, Walter M. Scott, Paul S. Fox & Ray Moyer
  5. Lawrence of ArabiaJohn Box, John Stoll & Dario Simoni
  6. West Side StoryBoris Leven & Victor A. Gangelin
Years explored
1941–1967
Different winners
25
Category leader
No leader
About this record

Best Art Direction, Color was first awarded in 1941, so it does not run the full 1929–2025 window.

It was awarded for the last time in 1967.

The art direction award was split by film format from the 13th ceremony to the 39th, and the winners listed here are the art directors and set decorators together.

01 / The reigns

25 winners shaped this category.

The timeline turns the complete record into a sequence of reigns. Longer bands reveal sustained runs; color shows the credited distributor.

One band per year, because no winner has gone back-to-back in the years on record. Colored by distributor; scroll sideways for the full run. Outlined blocks are years the award was not presented.
Vincent Korda'41
Cedric Gibbons, Urie McCleary & Edwin B. Willis'42
Richard Day, Joseph C. Wright & Thomas Little'43
Phantom of the Opera'44
Wiard Ihnen & Thomas Little'45
Hans Dreier, Ernst Fegté & Samuel M. Comer'46
Cedric Gibbons, Paul Groesse & Edwin B. Willis'47
Alfred Junge'48
Hein Heckroth & Arthur Lawson'49
Little Women'50
Samson and Delilah'51
An American in Paris'52
Paul Sheriff & Marcel Vertès'53
The Robe'54
John Meehan & Emile Kuri'55
William Flannery, Jo Mielziner & Robert Priestley'56
The King and I'57
'58–'59not awarded
William A. Horning, Edward Carfagno & Hugh Hunt'60
Spartacus'61
Boris Leven & Victor A. Gangelin'62
John Box, John Stoll & Dario Simoni'63
Cleopatra'64
Gene Allen, Cecil Beaton & George James Hopkins'65
John Box, Terence Marsh & Dario Simoni'66
Fantastic Voyage'67

02 / The power map

Who stood behind the winners?

20th Century leads the recorded distributor credits with 6 wins. The full distribution shows whether power was concentrated or shared.

20th Century6 wins
Loew's Inc.3 wins
General Film Distributors2 wins
Loew's, Inc.2 wins
Paramount2 wins
Sony2 wins
Wins by distributor
  1. 20th Century624%
  2. Loew's Inc.312%
  3. General Film Distributors28%
  4. Loew's, Inc.28%
  5. Paramount28%
  6. Sony28%
  7. Other832%

03 / The near misses

The names that kept coming back without the ending they wanted.

Counting nominations in this category only, 1941–1967.

Most nominated, never won

  1. 01
    Cedric Gibbons, Paul Groesse, Arthur Krams & Edwin B. Willis
    2 noms
  2. 02
    Hal Pereira, Roland Anderson, Samuel M. Comer & Ray Moyer
    2 noms

Most losses

  1. 01
    Cedric Gibbons, Paul Groesse, Arthur Krams & Edwin B. Willis
    2L · 0W
  2. 02
    Hal Pereira, Roland Anderson, Samuel M. Comer & Ray Moyer
    2L · 0W
  3. 03
    Lyle R. Wheeler, John DeCuir, Walter M. Scott & Paul S. Fox
    1L · 1W
  4. 04
    Richard Day, Joseph C. Wright & Thomas Little
    1L · 1W

04 / The archive

Every year.
Every winner.

The complete reference behind the story. Open any year to see the rest of the field when nominee records are available.

YearWinnerDistributor
1967Jack Martin Smith, Dale Hennesy, Walter M. Scott & Stuart A. Reiss (Fantastic Voyage)unverified
beat 4 others
  • Alexander Golitzen, George C. Webb, John McCarthy Jr. & John P. Austin (Gambit)
  • Piero Gherardi (Juliet of the Spirits)
  • Hal Pereira, Arthur Lonergan, Robert R. Benton & James W. Payne (The Oscar)
  • Boris Leven, Walter M. Scott, John Sturtevant & William Kiernan (The Sand Pebbles)
20th Century-Fox
1966John Box, Terence Marsh & Dario Simoni (Doctor Zhivago)unverified
beat 4 others
  • John DeCuir, Jack Martin Smith & Dario Simoni (The Agony and the Ecstasy)
  • Richard Day, William Creber, David S. Hall, Ray Moyer, Fred M. MacLean & Norman Rockett (The Greatest Story Ever Told)
  • Robert Clatworthy & George James Hopkins (Inside Daisy Clover)
  • Boris Leven, Walter M. Scott & Ruby Levitt (The Sound of Music)
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
1965Gene Allen, Cecil Beaton & George James Hopkins (My Fair Lady)unverified
beat 4 others
  • John Bryan, Maurice Carter, Patrick McLoughlin & Robert Cartwright (Becket)
  • Carroll Clark, William H. Tuntke, Emile Kuri & Hal Gausman (Mary Poppins)
  • George Davis, E. Preston Ames, Henry Grace & Hugh Hunt (The Unsinkable Molly Brown)
  • Jack Martin Smith, Ted Haworth, Walter M. Scott & Stuart A. Reiss (What a Way to Go!)
Warner Bros.
1964John DeCuir, Jack Martin Smith, Hilyard M. Brown, Herman A. Blumenthal, Elven Webb, Maurice Pelling, Boris Juraga, Walter M. Scott, Paul S. Fox & Ray Moyer (Cleopatra)unverified
beat 4 others
  • Lyle R. Wheeler & Gene Callahan (The Cardinal)
  • Hal Pereira, Roland Anderson, Samuel M. Comer & James W. Payne (Come Blow Your Horn)
  • George Davis, William Ferrari, Addison Hehr, Henry Grace, Don Greenwood Jr. & Jack Mills (How the West Was Won)
  • Ralph W. Brinton, Jocelyn Herbert, Ted Marshall & Josie MacAvin (Tom Jones)
20th Century-Fox
1963John Box, John Stoll & Dario Simoni (Lawrence of Arabia)unverified
beat 4 others
  • Paul Groesse & George James Hopkins (The Music Man)
  • George Davis, Joseph McMillan Johnson, Henry Grace & Hugh Hunt (Mutiny on the Bounty)
  • Alexander Golitzen, Robert Clatworthy & George Milo (That Touch of Mink)
  • George Davis, Edward Carfagno, Henry Grace & Richard Pefferle (The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm)
Columbia Pictures
1962Boris Leven & Victor A. Gangelin (West Side Story)unverified
beat 4 others
  • Hal Pereira, Roland Anderson, Samuel M. Comer & Ray Moyer (Breakfast at Tiffany's)
  • Veniero Colasanti & John Moore (El Cid)
  • Alexander Golitzen, Joseph C. Wright & Howard Bristol (Flower Drum Song)
  • Hal Pereira, Walter Tyler, Samuel M. Comer & Arthur Krams (Summer and Smoke)
United Artists
1961Alexander Golitzen, Eric Orbom, Russell A. Gausman & Julia Heron (Spartacus)unverified
beat 4 others
  • George Davis, Addison Hehr, Henry Grace, Hugh Hunt & Otto Siegel (Cimarron)
  • Hal Pereira, Roland Anderson, Samuel M. Comer & Arrigo Breschi (It Started in Naples)
  • Ted Haworth & William Kiernan (Pepe)
  • Edward Carrere & George James Hopkins (Sunrise at Campobello)
Universal International
1960William A. Horning, Edward Carfagno & Hugh Hunt (Ben-Hur)unverified
beat 4 others
  • John DeCuir & Julia Heron (The Big Fisherman)
  • Lyle R. Wheeler, Franz Bachelin, Herman A. Blumenthal, Walter M. Scott & Joseph Kish (Journey to the Center of the Earth)
  • William A. Horning, Robert F. Boyle, Merrill Pye, Henry Grace & Frank McKelvy (North by Northwest)
  • Richard H. Riedel, Russell A. Gausman & Ruby R. Levitt (Pillow Talk)
Loew's, Inc.
1957Lyle R. Wheeler, John DeCuir, Walter M. Scott & Paul S. Fox (The King and I)unverified
beat 4 others
  • James W. Sullivan, Ken Adam & Ross J. Dowd (Around the World in 80 Days)
  • Boris Leven & Ralph S. Hurst (Giant)
  • Cedric Gibbons, Hans Peters, E. Preston Ames, Edwin B. Willis & F. Keogh Gleason (Lust for Life)
  • Walter H. Tyler, Albert Nozaki, Samuel M. Comer & Ray Moyer (The Ten Commandments)
20th Century-Fox
1956William Flannery, Jo Mielziner & Robert Priestley (Picnic)unverified
beat 4 others
  • Lyle R. Wheeler, John DeCuir, Walter M. Scott & Paul S. Fox (Daddy Long Legs)
  • Oliver Smith, Joseph C. Wright & Howard Bristol (Guys and Dolls)
  • Lyle R. Wheeler, George Davis, Walter M. Scott & Jack Stubbs (Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing)
  • Hal Pereira, Joseph McMillan Johnson, Samuel M. Comer & Arthur Krams (To Catch a Thief)
Columbia Pictures
1955John Meehan & Emile Kuri (20,000 Leagues Under the Sea)unverified
beat 4 others
  • Cedric Gibbons, E. Preston Ames, Edwin B. Willis & F. Keogh Gleason (Brigadoon)
  • Lyle R. Wheeler, Leland Fuller, Walter M. Scott & Paul S. Fox (Desiree)
  • Hal Pereira, Roland Anderson, Samuel M. Comer & Ray Moyer (Red Garters)
  • Malcolm Bert, Gene Allen, Irene Sharaff & George James Hopkins (A Star Is Born)
Buena Vista Distribution
1954George Davis, Lyle R. Wheeler, Paul S. Fox & Walter M. Scott (The Robe)unverified
beat 4 others
  • Alfred Junge, Hans Peters & John Jarvis (Knights of the Round Table)
  • Cedric Gibbons, Paul Groesse, Arthur Krams & Edwin B. Willis (Lili)
  • E. Preston Ames, Edward Carfagno, Cedric Gibbons, Gabriel Scognamillo, F. Keogh Gleason, Arthur Krams, Jack D. Moore & Edwin B. Willis (The Story of Three Loves)
  • Cedric Gibbons, Urie McCleary, Jack D. Moore & Edwin B. Willis (Young Bess)
20th Century Fox
1953Paul Sheriff & Marcel Vertès (Moulin Rouge)unverified
beat 4 others
  • Clavé, Richard Day & Howard Bristol (Hans Christian Andersen)
  • Cedric Gibbons, Paul Groesse, Arthur Krams & Edwin B. Willis (The Merry Widow)
  • Frank Hotaling, John McCarthy Jr. & Charles S. Thompson (The Quiet Man)
  • John DeCuir, Lyle R. Wheeler, Paul S. Fox & Thomas Little (The Snows of Kilimanjaro)
British Lion Films
1952E. Preston Ames, Cedric Gibbons, Edwin B. Willis & F. Keogh Gleason (An American in Paris)unverified
beat 4 others
  • George Davis, Lyle R. Wheeler, Paul S. Fox & Thomas Little (David and Bathsheba)
  • Leland Fuller, Lyle R. Wheeler, Joseph C. Wright, Thomas Little & Walter M. Scott (On the Riviera)
  • Edward Carfagno, Cedric Gibbons, William A. Horning & Hugh Hunt (Quo Vadis)
  • Hein Heckroth (The Tales of Hoffmann)
Loew's Inc.
1951Hans Dreier, Walter H. Tyler, Samuel M. Comer & Ray Moyer (Samson and Delilah)unverified
beat 2 others
  • Cedric Gibbons, Paul Groesse, Edwin B. Willis & Richard A. Pefferle (Annie Get Your Gun)
  • Ernst Fegté & George Sawley (Destination Moon)
Paramount Pictures
1950Cedric Gibbons, Paul Groesse, Edwin B. Willis & Jack D. Moore (Little Women)unverified
beat 2 others
  • Edward Carrere & Lyle Reifsnider (Adventures of Don Juan)
  • Jim Morahan, William Kellner & Michael Relph (Saraband)
Loew's Inc.
1949Hein Heckroth & Arthur Lawson (The Red Shoes)unverified
beat 1 other
  • Richard Day, Edwin Casey Roberts & Joseph Kish (Joan of Arc)
General Film Distributors
1948Alfred Junge (Black Narcissus)unverified
beat 1 other
  • Robert M. Haas & George James Hopkins (Life with Father)
General Film Distributors
1947Cedric Gibbons, Paul Groesse & Edwin B. Willis (The Yearling)unverified
beat 2 others
  • John Bryan (Caesar and Cleopatra)
  • Paul Sheriff & Carmen Dillon (Henry V)
Loew's, Inc.
1946Hans Dreier, Ernst Fegté & Samuel M. Comer (Frenchman's Creek)unverified
beat 4 others
  • Lyle R. Wheeler, Maurice Ransford & Thomas Little (Leave Her to Heaven)
  • Cedric Gibbons, Urie McCleary, Edwin B. Willis & Mildred Griffiths (National Velvet)
  • Ted Smith & Jack McConaghy (San Antonio)
  • Stephen Goosson, Rudolph Sternad & Frank Tuttle (A Thousand and One Nights)
Paramount Pictures
1945Wiard Ihnen & Thomas Little (Wilson)unverified
beat 6 others
  • John B. Goodman, Alexander Golitzen, Russell A. Gausman & Ira S. Webb (The Climax)
  • Lionel Banks, Cary Odell & Fay Babcock (Cover Girl)
  • Charles Novi & Jack McConaghy (The Desert Song)
  • Cedric Gibbons, Daniel B. Cathcart, Edwin B. Willis & Richard Pefferle (Kismet)
  • Hans Dreier, Raoul Pene Du Bois & Ray Moyer (Lady in the Dark)
  • Ernst Fegté & Howard Bristol (The Princess and the Pirate)
20th Century-Fox
1944Alexander Golitzen, John B. Goodman, Russell A. Gausman & Ira S. Webb (Phantom of the Opera)unverified
beat 4 others
  • Hans Dreier, Haldane Douglas & Bertram C. Granger (For Whom the Bell Tolls)
  • James Basevi, Joseph C. Wright & Thomas Little (The Gang's All Here)
  • John Hughes & George James Hopkins (This Is the Army)
  • Cedric Gibbons, Daniel Cathcart, Edwin B. Willis & Jacques Mersereau (Thousands Cheer)
Universal Pictures
1943Richard Day, Joseph C. Wright & Thomas Little (My Gal Sal)unverified
beat 4 others
  • Alexander Golitzen, Jack Otterson, Russell A. Gausman & Ira S. Webb (Arabian Nights)
  • Ted Smith & Casey Roberts (Captains of the Clouds)
  • Vincent Korda & Julia Heron (Jungle Book)
  • Hans Dreier, Roland Anderson & George Sawley (Reap the Wild Wind)
20th Century-Fox
1942Cedric Gibbons, Urie McCleary & Edwin B. Willis (Blossoms in the Dust)unverified
beat 2 others
  • Richard Day, Joseph C. Wright & Thomas Little (Blood and Sand)
  • Raoul Pene Du Bois & Stephen Seymour (Louisiana Purchase)
Loew's Inc.
1941Vincent Korda (The Thief of Bagdad)unverified
beat 3 others
  • Cedric Gibbons & John S. Detlie (Bitter Sweet)
  • Richard Day & Joseph C. Wright (Down Argentine Way)
  • Hans Dreier & Roland Anderson (North West Mounted Police)
United Artists