Painted Smiles Recordings

Harvey was asked to produce cover art for Ben Bagley’s “Painted Smiles” series of LP recordings of scores of less-famous older Broadway musicals with songs from the early careers of later-famous composers…shows mostly forgotten and never revived. With his deliberately dated style of Art Deco-costumed ladies and men, Harvey’s covers are today as charming and clever as they were back when he produced them. A big attraction was Bagley’s use of then-popular singing stars who were available between shows. This decades-long project resurrected many forgotten gems sung beautifully and attractively packaged. For his covers, Harvey researched and drew from old show photos, added color, and in his own wry style, created a new category of retro theater art.