Paul Fejos

Prescott Chaplin

Prescott Chaplin’s interests lay equally in writing and art, and in the 1930s he combined these pursuits when he moved to Los Angeles, California, opening an art studio and taking up screenwriting. He would rub shoulders with the Hollywood elite, among them Hungarian/Austrian director Paul Fejos, depicted here, whose career in the US during the silent film era was brief but nonetheless quite popular, and included the powerful All Quiet on the Western Front.

Chaplin worked in several mediums but preferred woodcuts. His subject matter was broad, including land- and marine scapes, Mexican people and culture, and architecture, as well as figures in the film industry. Perhaps due to his time in Los Angeles at the height of Art Deco modernism his compositions were often stylized and featured strong contrast, even when using color. In this simple portrait, Chaplin captures Paul Fejos’ own stark and elegant side profile.