Mario Larrinaga

Biography:

Mario Larrinaga was born in Los Flores, Mexico during 1895. At the age of 10, his family migrated to the Los Angeles area. In 1911, he began an apprenticeship in a large scenic studio. This was to be the beginning of a long and distinguished career in the field of stage design, special effects and scenic artistry for the theatre and motion picture industry.
Larrinaga achieved considerable personal fame during the 1930’s and 1940’s when he became one of Hollywood’s most successful scenic artists and art director at three of the major movie studios: Universal, RKO and Warner Bros. Larrinaga worked with such famous directors as Cecil B. De Mille and Douglas Fairbanks. He created the original set designs and backgrounds for dozens of Hollywood films including such classics as King Kong in 1933 and Citizen Kane in 1941. He also gained recognition in New York as an illustrator for The Saturday Evening Post, Vanity Fair and Harper’s Bazaar magazines.
In 1951, after 35 years in which he helped birth the motion picture industry, Larrinaga and his wife retired and moved to Taos, New Mexico. There, Larrinaga enjoyed expressing the world around him in paint. In 1960, Larrinaga founded Gallery A, to date, the oldest fine art gallery in New Mexico.

Three matte paintings by Larrinaga made during his  time at Warner Bros.

Saratoga Trunk

LarrinagaWB

Action in the North Atlantic

northAtlantic1

The adventures of Don Juan

DonJuan1

 

Filmography:

- Seven Wonders of the world(56)(documentary)
- This Is Cinerama (1952) (paintings)
- Under Capricorn (1949) WBros
- The adventures of Don Juan (1948) W.Bros
- Saratoga trunk (1945) W.Bros
- Action in the North Atlantic (43) W.Bros
- Citizen Kane (1941) (matte painter) RKO
- Gunga Din(1939)RKO
- The hundbach of Notre Dame(1939)RKO
- The last days of Pompeii (1935)RKO
- She (1935) (production illustrator)
- King Kong (1933) (art technician) RKO
- Son of Kong, The (1933) (special effects technician)RKO
- The most dangerous game(1932)RKO
- Cimarron(1931)RKO
- Creation(1930)RKO
- Gaucho, The (1927) (matte artist)