National Velvet Exterior Sussex Village, Winter
Sussex Village, England, Winter late 1920s, Day/Night, translucent. Selected for the UT collection for its exquisite use of color, this backdrop exemplifies the work of colorist Arthur Grover Rider, an established plein air oil painter and painting companion to Spanish artist Joaquin Sorolla, Rider is said to have, at times, pushed the use of color in the MGM backdrops to the extreme, where backings evolved from photo-realistic to romantic expressions. Note the violets in the snow's shadows, the pinks, the blues, and color transitions across the buildings.
A former Jockey, played by Mickey Rooney, meets young, horse-crazy Violet Brown, played by Elizabeth Taylor, and trains her to compete in England’s National Sweepstakes. National Velvet was thirteen-year-old Taylor’s first film.
