This award was one of the original categories unveiled at the first Academy Awards. From 1927 through 2012, the award was called Best Art Direction. The award was also split between color and black and white films from 1940 through 1966. This category is awarded to the set decorators of a film for the best interior design work. Cedric Gibbons holds the record for the most nominations (39) and wins (11). Roland Anderson holds the records for most nominations (15) without a win. The winners of this award have been tasked with creating the world of the film. Their attention to detail and vision has produced incredible work throughout the years.
Here are the winners…
Best Art Direction
1927/28 – The Dove / The Tempest – The award was shared by these films.
1928/29 – The Bridge of San Luis Rey
1929/30 – King of Jazz
1930/31 – Cimarron
1931/32 – Transatlantic
1932/33 – Cavalcade
1934 – The Merry Widow
1935 – The Dark Angel
1936 – Dodsworth
1937 – Lost Horizon
1938 – The Adventures of Robin Hood
1939 – Gone with the Wind
1940 (B&W) – Pride and Prejudice
1940 (Color) – The Thief of Bagdad
1941 (B&W) – How Green Was My Valley
1941 (Color) – Blossoms in the Dust
1942 (B&W) – This Above All
1942 (Color) – My Gal Sal
1943 (B&W) – The Song of Bernadette
1943 (Color) – Phantom of the Opera
1944 (B&W) – Gaslight
1944 (Color) – Wilson
1945 (B&W) – Blood on the Sun
1945 (Color) – Frenchman’s Creek
1946 (B&W) – Anna and the King of Siam
1946 (Color) – The Yearling
1947 (B&W) – Great Expectations
1947 (Color) – Black Narcissus
1948 (B&W) – Hamlet
1948 (Color) – The Red Shoes
1949 (B&W) – The Heiress
1949 (Color) – Little Women
1950 (B&W) – Sunset Boulevard
1950 (Color) – Samson and Delilah
1951 (B&W) – A Streetcar Named Desire
1951 (Color) – An American in Paris
1952 (B&W) – The Bad and the Beautiful
1952 (Color) – Moulin Rouge
1953 (B&W) – Julius Caesar
1953 (Color) – The Robe
1954 (B&W) – On the Waterfront
1954 (Color) – 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
1955 (B&W) – The Rose Tattoo
1955 (Color) – Picnic
1956 (B&W) – Somebody Up There Likes Me
1956 (Color) – The King and I
1957 – Sayonara – Only one award was given out.
1958 – Gigi – Only one award was given out.
1959 (B&W) – The Diary of Anne Frank
1959 (Color) – Ben-Hur
1960 (B&W) – The Apartment
1960 (Color) – Spartacus
1961 (B&W) – The Hustler
1961 (Color) – West Side Story
1962 (B&W) – To Kill A Mockingbird
1962 (Color) – Lawrence of Arabia
1963 (B&W) – America America
1963 (Color) – Cleopatra
1964 (B&W) – Zorba the Greek
1964 (Color) – My Fair Lady
1965 (B&W) – Ship of Fools
1965 (Color) – Doctor Zhivago
1966 (B&W) – Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
1966 (Color) – Fantastic Voyage
1967 – Camelot
1968 – Oliver!
1969 – Hello, Dolly!
1970 – Patton
1971 – Nicholas and Alexandra
1972 – Cabaret
1973 – The Sting
1974 – The Godfather: Part II
1975 – Barry Lyndon
1976 – All the President’s Men
1977 – Star Wars
1978 – Heaven Can Wait
1979 – All That Jazz
1980 – Tess
1981 – Raiders of the Lost Ark
1982 – Gandhi
1983 – Fanny and Alexander
1984 – Amadeus
1985 – Out of Africa
1986 – A Room with a View
1987 – The Last Emperor
1988 – Dangerous Liasions
1989 – Batman
1990 – Dick Tracy
1991 – Bugsy
1992 – Howards End
1993 – Schindler’s List
1994 – The Madness of King George
1995 – Restoration
1996 – The English Patient
1997 – Titanic
1998 – Shakespeare in Love
1999 – Sleepy Hollow
2000 – Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
2001 – Moulin Rouge!
2002 – Chicago
2003 – The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
2004 – The Aviator
2005 – Memoirs of a Geisha
2006 – Pan’s Labyrinth
2007 – Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
2008 – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
2009 – Avatar
2010 – Alice in Wonderland
2011 – Hugo
Best Production Design
2012 – Lincoln
2013 – The Great Gatsby
2014 – The Grand Budapest Hotel
2015 – Mad Max: Fury Road
2016 – La La Land
2017 – The Shape of Water
Did You See That One? 