New York-based artist Charles Broderson has been painting exquisite backdrops since 1974. Trained in commercial and fine art at the School of Visual Arts, Broderson enjoyed a short stint at Wilhelmina Models, where he took his own sets along to castings. Networking with creative directors and photographers, Broderson’s modeling career quickly faded into the background and a business was born.

Under the expert direction of the late Vogue Editor Diana Vreeland, who became a consultant for The Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1971, Broderson painted Edwardian seaside scenes for The Bell Epoque show. His atmospheric stage sets have graced the Academy Awards, pages of Condé Nast publications, and were even incorporated into advertising campaigns for Ralph Lauren and Marc Jacobs. Bette Midler, Jennifer Connelly, and Alan Cumming are but a few of the famous faces that have appeared on a Broderson set.

If you ever have the chance, raise the curtain, set your imagination free and watch a world come to life courtesy of Charles Broderson, backdrop artist extraordinaire.