19 Facts About Wilfred Buckland

Wilfred Buckland was Hollywood's first "art director" and is credited with a number of advancements in filmmaking, including the advances in lighting techniques, the development of architectural sets, and the use of miniature sets.

Wilfred Buckland was born in New York City, the son of Reverend Rabbi Joseph Wales and Emily Wilfred Buckland.

Wilfred Buckland worked as an artist for a time and was responsible for much of the interior decoration and paintings of New York's Trinity Church for its bi-centenary celebration in 1897.

Wilfred Buckland worked with the stage producer, David Belasco, for many years.

In 1910, Wilfred Buckland was described as Belasco's "art director," responsible for the design of scenery, costumes and other artistic details.

Wilfred Buckland developed a reputation as one of the early film industry's great artists, as reflected in the following 1918 newspaper report:.

Wilfred Buckland described his process to a newspaper reporter in 1920.

Wilfred Buckland said he would review the script to get an idea of what the characters were like and what their surroundings should be.

Wilfred Buckland would prepare sketches of the required sets and turn the sketches over to a force of architectural draftsmen in the next room.

Wilfred Buckland noted at the time that he hoped to see film sets move away from the building of real or photographic interiors and deal more with atmosphere.

In 1917, Buckland wrote to Cecil B DeMille expressing his dissatisfaction over having his artistic vision stifled.

In 1920, Wilfred Buckland left DeMille and began to work with director Alan Dwan.

Wilfred Buckland worked mostly as a production illustrator after 1923.

Wilfred Buckland was married to actress Veda Wilfred Buckland.

In 1946, Wilfred Buckland was part of a murder-suicide at his home located at 2035 Pinehurst Avenue in the Hollywood Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles.

Wilfred Buckland shot and killed his 36-year-old son and then shot himself.

Wilfred Buckland was interred at Grand View Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California.

Wilfred Buckland stands as an art-directing giant; his creative ingenuity ennobles the craft of film design even now.

Wilfred Buckland was one of the first individuals inducted into the Art Directors Guild Hall of Fame when it was established in 2005.