The Dawn of Technicolor, 1915–1935, published by the George Eastman Museum, has been awarded the 2016 Henry Allen Moe Prize for Catalogs of Distinction in the Arts from the New York State Historical Association. This award recognizes excellence in exhibitions- and collections-based publishing by museums in New York State. Selection was by a committee of scholars and museum administrators.
“We are honored that The Dawn of Technicolor and its authors, James Layton and David Pierce, have been recognized with this prestigious prize. The selection process for the Henry Allen Moe Prize is highly competitive because of the number and quality of major books published by large New York institutions,” said Bruce Barnes, Ron and Donna Fielding Director, George Eastman Museum. “The product of rigorous scholarship, this lavishly illustrated book was made possible by the Eastman Museum’s ownership of the Technicolor archive as well as the generous cooperation of film archives around the world.”
Published in 2015 to coincide with Technicolor's centennial last year, The Dawn of Technicolor recounts the first two decades of one of the most widely recognized names in the American film industry. Following its incorporation in 1915, the Technicolor Motion Picture Corporation developed a series of two-color processes as necessary steps toward full-color motion picture photography and printing. During these make-or-break years, the firm grew from a small team of exceptional engineers into a multimillion-dollar corporation. The book spotlights the talented engineers, entrepreneurs, and filmmakers associated with Technicolor and the remarkable technical innovations that finally made full-color films practical, changing the film industry forever.
The Dawn of Technicolor was fully supported by the George Eastman Museum Publishing Trust Endowment, which was established by Thomas Gosnell and Richard Menschel with funds donated by Thomas and Georgia Gosnell and the Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation. The hard cover, 448-page book, includes 267 color and 161 black and white illustrations, and can be purchased for $65 at eastman.org.
