Paul Detlefsen (October 3, 1899 – August 1, 1986) was a commercial artist of the mid to late 20th century, associated with the "Hollywood scene".^[1] He is known for his realistic depictions of serene, nostalgic scenes; his works were reproduced in a popular line of calendars and other prints.

Biography

Paul Detlefsen was born in Copenhagen, Denmark. He was the son of a medical doctor. He studied at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago before moving to Hollywood to build his reputation as a cartoonist. After not succeeding as an animator, he produced backdrops for films. In the 1920s, he worked under Ferdinand Earle--father of animator Eyvind Earle--on a "motion painting" adaptation of Faust in which Mary Pickford was slated to star.^[2] He was nominated at the 17th Academy Awards, along with coworkers John Crouse and Nathan Levinson, for their work on the 1944 film The Adventures of Mark Twain.^[3][4] The only other films Detlefsen is credited for are The Horn Blows at Midnight (1945), Escape in the Desert (1945), and Shadow of a Woman (1946), but he spent 20 years at Warner Brothers Studios, eventually rising to be in charge of the art department that created matte backdrops.^[5]

Detlefsen then shifted to a career in calendar artwork. His art was lithographed into calendars, reproductions, playing cards, jigsaw puzzles, mats for tables, and even four-foot wide wall murals.^[6] His first calendar, published in 1951, was "The Good Old Days", which focused on landscape art.^[1] In 1969, UPI estimated that 80% of all Americans had seen his work.^[5]

In 1964, Paul and his wife, Shelly, moved to Encinitas, California where Paul continued painting into the last few months of his life.

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