Director Orson Welles’s portfolio of unseen sketches was recently released as a book this week, according an exclusive report by The Hollywood Reporter. The talents he is known for, which included being a filmmaker and theater director, also included drawing, an activity he took up throughout most of his career. His interest in drawing and painting began when he studied at the Art Institute of Chicago one summer. He originally aspired to be a musician or an artist.
While they were not largely revealed to the public until now, his sketches provide a glimpse into his visionary mind and creativity. They also reveal his aptitude for costume design. British author Simon Braund, who compiled the 192-page portfolio of Welles’s artwork, said of the drawings, “His personal sketches, paintings and doodles show that he could be playful, sentimental, warmly affectionate and, in the handful of self-portraits, wickedly self-deprecating. There’s anger and remorse too, of course, and striking testimony to his multifarious talents.”
His most famous film that he directed and starred in is Citizen Kane, which is widely dubbed as the ‘best film ever made.’ In the early stages of his career, he was involved in radio programs, particularly in the famous mystery radio show ‘The Shadow.’