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Ira
M. Resnick: Passion of a Collector
 As a boy growing
up in New Rochelle, New York in the 1950s, Ira Resnick swapped
and bartered his way to a complete set of Topps baseball trading
cards. Who would have known that years later, he would become
one of the world’s premiere collectors of vintage movie posters
and cinematic art from Hollywood’s golden years?For Ira, collecting movie art is much more than simply amassing cinematic memorabilia. It’s about making a close personal connection with the great films, directors, actors and actresses of the past, and helping preserve an important piece of American history. A lifelong film and photography lover, Ira bought his first three pieces of cinematic art 40 years ago. He paid $50 for a title lobby card from Stage Door, and $35 each for one-sheets promoting Love Before Breakfast and The Awful Truth. He still has all three pieces – but they’re now part of what is one of the best and most comprehensive private collections of posters, movie artwork and stills.  “Movie posters
during the days of classic Hollywood, particularly under the studio
system, were a film’s main promotional vehicle,” notes Ira. “They
were integrally connected to every aspect of a film’s production
and release, and each one tells a different story. When you look
at a poster, you’re reaching back to the people, the art and the
history of great filmmaking.”Ira’s passion for cinema led him to attend the New York University Film School, where he was taught by Martin Scorsese, among others. After graduating in 1971, he landed several jobs in the film industry, including production assistant for Badlands, starring Martin Sheen and Sissy Spacek. He also served as associate producer for a Broadway run of “Lysistrata,” with Melina Mercouri, which closed after a mere eight performances. Seeking a more personal form of self-expression, Ira decided to turn his attention to another of his passions, photography. So emulating his heroes Edward Weston and Robert Frank, he loaded up his car with his cameras and photo books and struck out on a soul-searching cross-Canada trip, chronicling his adventure with hundreds of color and black and white photos of people and places along the way. The photographic journal he created traveling through New Brunswick, Quebec, Calgary, Alberta, Saskatchewan and points west encompasses everything from ice-covered Victorian architecture and stark Canadian landscapes to costumed street performers, farmers, factories and school kids. Along the way he learned something about himself as well, that photography was more than just his passion, he could also make it his profession.
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When he
reached the Pacific, Ira turned south, eventually settling in
Mill Valley in the San Francisco Bay area, where he discovered
a city full of the kinds of art houses and movie cinema collectible
stores he loves. There he met Jose Carpio, who ran a café and
poster gallery called Cinemonde on Polk Street, which would
become a major source of inspiration for when Ira would later
open his own gallery.
By
the early ‘80s, Ira had become one of the world’s largest private
collectors of vintage movie art. He was strongly motivated to
share his collection with others, and to continue expanding
it as well. He decided the best way to accomplish both these
goals would be to open his own gallery. So on December 7, 1982,
he opened the Motion Picture Arts Gallery in New York City,
the first gallery devoted exclusively to the art of the movies.
His book from Abbeville Press, Starstruck: Vintage
Movie Posters from Classic Hollywood, is a way for him to share
his collection and his passion with everyone who loves movies
worldwide. In the book, he guides readers through his favorite
posters and stills, providing a personal tour of cinematic history
from the silent era through 1961’s Breakfast at Tiffany’s. In
addition to chapters about his own background and the development
of his collection, Ira devotes two chapters to “The Golden Age
of the Talkies” separately discussing the male and female stars
that defined the era from 1927 to 1941. He also includes a chapter
on silent films and stars, explores many of Hollywood’s legendary
directors and classic films, and devotes another chapter to
critiquing fantastic graphic art from little-known films.