Hollywood
Mahogany, bas relief carving
The "Hollywood" mural was created by Ames in 1935. The following description was written in 2014 on https://unframed.lacma.org/2014/05/14/robert-witt-ames-hollywood. "Created in 1935, Ames’s Hollywood features many facets of the movie business. Given that Ames was a film prop maker by trade, it’s clear his experience on studio sets is reflected in this carved relief. While some of the scenes in this mural are pretty easy to deduce—large musical dance scenes, paparazzi, songwriters, and set design to name a few—there were a couple scenes that I found peculiar. I was especially curious about the long line of characters on the bottom left of the mural, as well as the woman lounging on a sofa on the right edge of the carving with a group surrounding her. Around them are the words “never drinks,” “never smokes,” and “hates publicity.” Currently displayed at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Gift from the Estate of Barbara Carol Weston, sister of Robert Witt Ames, photo © Museum Associates/LACMA. It measures 61 × 87 1/2 × 2 1/4 in. (154.94 × 222.25 × 5.72 cm)
