Norman H Kamps

Norman H Kamps - 3 Vintage Photographs Documenting a Scale Model of Hollywood 1935-43 - AP1729

$200.00

Artist, illustrator, folklorist and publisher Norman Kamps was also a skilled designer and maker of models for which he was often in demand. These photos show us why. They also provide us with an invaluable record of Hollywood in the 40s. The photos are, in ascending order, 3" x 8" (the guys), 6" x 9 1/2" and 7" x 9 1/2". Sold as a group.

The team of men in the photo make you feel like this was the best toy EVER!

This may well have been one of the works commissioned by the WPA's Federal Arts Project designed to keep artist's employed during the depression so this may date to around 1938. Other parts of the city got the same treatment, from downtown to the Hollywood Bowl, all done in slightly different styles by different teams. from 1935 to 1943.

Norman Herman Kamps Born: 1896 - Appleton, Wisconsin

Died: 1969 - Altadena, California

Known for: Illustrator, muralist, commercial artist

Born in Appleton, WI on Feb. 26, 1896. Kamps studied at the AIC and American Academy of Art. His art studies were interupted by WWI in which he served overseas as a machine gunner and was wounded twice. Following a trip to Mexico in 1929, he settled in Pasadena. In 1931 he began a mural series based on early California history and authored several books including Early California (1933), Patron Saints of the California Missions (1939), and With An American Artist in Mexico. For 15 years he worked as a draftsman for the U.S. Naval Ordnance. Kamps died in Altadena, CA on Oct. 22, 1969.

Source: Edan Hughes, "Artists in California, 1786-1940"