In the 70's, Val Lewton embraced painting the suburbs, a not unlikely evolution considering that his Washington area paintings had increasingly focused on movement on the roads to and from the city. These paintings were often based on black and white newspaper photographs to which he introduced color. The real estate section was often used. An established realist painter at this point, Lewton chose for his subject the newly developed Virginia suburb, Dale City, to document and herald. His Studio Gallery exhibit, "Val Lewton is Dale City", captured the imagination of critics and was well-received.