Andy MacPhee

Hollywood Scenic Artist

Andy MacPhee is a Hollywood scenic artist whose career spans motion pictures, television, themed entertainment, and scenic finishes. He studied at Western Washington University before entering the entertainment industry. Over more than three decades, he has developed expertise in scenic painting and decorative finishes for film, television, and immersive environments.

Hollywood Scenic Art

As a Hollywood scenic artist, Andy MacPhee has worked throughout Southern California on motion picture and television productions. His career also includes work with J.C. Backings, a company long associated with preserving and producing scenic backdrops for the film industry. J.C. Backings has played a significant role in preserving historic painted backdrops originating from major Hollywood studios, including MGM and 20th Century Fox.

Scenic artists use paint, color, perspective, and atmospheric effects to create convincing environments on large canvases that extend physical film sets. During the twentieth century, these painted backdrops became a defining element of Hollywood studio production. Artists such as MacPhee continued this tradition through work in film, television, and themed entertainment while helping preserve the techniques developed during Hollywood’s studio era.

Andy MacPhee at Walt Disney Imagineering

Later, Andy MacPhee joined Walt Disney Imagineering, where he continues applying traditional scenic painting techniques to themed environments. His work reflects the continued importance of hand-painted scenic art within contemporary entertainment design.

Preserving Hollywood Scenic Art

In addition to his production work, Andy MacPhee has supported efforts to preserve the history of Hollywood scenic art. Materials from the Andy MacPhee Collection appear throughout the Hollywood Backdrop Collection, and Karen L. Maness interviewed him for the Art Directors Guild Scenic Artist Oral History Project. Together, these resources help document the artists, techniques, and traditions behind Hollywood’s painted backdrops. He is featured in AGD article about the Hollywood Backdrop Collection here.