LOS ANGELES -- Set decorator Jim Erickson of Salt Spring Island, B.C., has won an Academy Award for his work on "Lincoln."

He and colleague Rick Carter received the award for best production design on the Steven Spielberg drama that had a leading 12 nominations going into the Oscars.

They beat out teams from "Anna Karenina," "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey," "Les Miserables" and "Life of Pi."

This is Erickson's second Oscar nomination after his 2008 nod for best art direction for his work on "There Will Be Blood."

His other credits include "Watchmen," "Water for Elephants" and "Ali."

The 62-year-old has been working in Hollywood for more than 30 years and recently told The Canadian Press that "Lincoln" marks his retirement from the film business. He was not able to attend the ceremony due to illness.

"I had such a great career and after 'Lincoln' I just said, 'There's just not much else that I can think of that I want to do,"' Erickson said in an interview ahead of the Oscars.

"I consciously made decisions on scripts and projects that I wanted to do to get experience and learn about things and the past and the present and a little bit of the future.

"There's a nice broad spectrum of films (on my resume) and I've had a really wonderful career. So why not go out on a high point instead of dribbling out toward the end?"