Paul Nelson(1895-1979)
- Art Director
Paul Nelson was an architect, trained at Princeton and the Ecole des
Beaux-Arts in Paris. Visiting Los Angeles, Nelson toured the Pathe
studios with relatives and met Gloria Swanson. His enthusiasm for the new
International style modern design persuaded her that he should be the
art director of her next film, What a Widow! (1930). He spent nine months designing
sets for that film before returning to architecture. During his
fifty-year career, Nelson designed several successful modern hospitals.
For added chic, publicity for What a Widow! labeled the designer "Paul
Nelson, Paris" and he returned to France after completing the film.