Skip to Main Content
Harry Ransom Center homepage
Menu

  • Storyboard
    Hein Heckroth, [The Red Shoes, Storyboard from “The Ballet of the Red Shoes” sequence [15-I]], 1948. Edward Carrick Papers, 20.41, Harry Ransom Center.
  • Concept art
    Alfred Junge, [Calling Bulldog Drummond, concept art], 1951. Alfred Junge papers, FF5, Harry Ransom Center.
  • Storyboard
    Salvador Dalí and William Cameron Menzies, [Spellbound, storyboard for the dream sequence], 1945. David O. Selznick Collection, 11C, Harry Ransom Center.
  • Storyboard
    William Cameron Menzies, [The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, storyboard for the cave sequence], 1938. David O. Selznick Collection, FF, Harry Ransom Center.
  • Alfred Hitchcock
    Ned Scott, [Spellbound, Photograph of Alfred Hitchcock], 1945. David O. Selznick Collection, 4385.5, Harry Ransom Center.

Drawing the Motion Picture

Production Art and Storyboards

January 28, 2023 – July 16, 2023

Explore the beauty and complexity of moviemaking through sketches, storyboards, and designs that illuminate the production of motion pictures from the silent era to the present day in this new exhibition from the Harry Ransom Center. Rare concept paintings, set designs, storyboards, scripts, film stills, correspondence, and more tell a visual story of the production of your favorite films, bringing a deeper and more nuanced understanding of the creative process of filmmaking.

Behind-the-scenes stories of some of the biggest films in more than 100 years of cinema history are revealed through the artworks and designs that shaped their final form. See production art associated with iconic movies like Rebel Without a Cause, Raging Bull, Top Gun, Apollo 13, and Lawrence of Arabia, many connected with innovative directors like Alfred Hitchcock, David Lean, Mike Nichols, Michael Powell, Nicholas Ray, Martin Scorsese, Stephen Spielberg, King Vidor, and more.

This exhibition draws from the Center's archival film holdings and is for film lovers and those who want to learn more about the most memorable scenes in classic films through an array of archival objects—many never before seen in an exhibition.

  • Highlighted Film Productions

    A Farewell to Arms, Apollo 13, As You Like It, Beetlejuice, Brief Encounter, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Honey I Shrunk the Kids, Lawrence of Arabia, Mad Men, Malcolm X, Raging Bull, Rebecca, Rebel Without a Cause, Return of the Jedi, Spellbound, Story of GI Joe, The Red Shoes, Top Gun, West Side Story, and more.

    View complete list

  • Highlighted Creators, Directors, and Producers

    Tim Burton, Michael Corenblith, Walt Disney, Alfred Hitchcock, Alfred Junge, David Lean, Ernest Lehman, William Cameron Menzies, Mike Nichols, Michael Powell, Nicholas Ray, Martin Scorsese, David O. Selznick, Steven Spielberg, King Vidor, Matthew Weiner, and others.

    View complete list

Family Guide Family Guide - Digital Edition

The Ransom Center appreciates the generosity of our promotional partners: CultureMap, KUT 90.5 & KUTX 98.9, and Society Texas.

National Endowment for the Humanities
Any views, findings, recommendations or conclusions expressed in this exhibition do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.