Hilbert Museum spotlights groundbreaking work by Disney artist Mary Blair
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She was a woman way ahead of her time and a trailblazer within the world of Disney.
Mary Blair, an artist, animator and designer, served as the lead concept artist for the animated films âCinderella,â âAlice in Wonderlandâ and âPeter Pan,â among others. She also contributed art to the 1941 animated movie âDumbo.â
Blair worked on art and designs for a pavilion benefiting UNICEF at the 1964 Worldâs Fair in New York, which became the model for âItâs A Small Worldâ at Disneyland in Anaheim â and later at Disney Worldâs Magic Kingdom in Florida, as well as Disneylands in Tokyo, Paris and Hong Kong.
Through Oct. 19, the Hilbert Museum of California Art at Chapman University is featuring âThe Magic and Flair of Mary Blair.â The exhibition includes more than 20 of her original works, all of them culled from the museumâs permanent collection.
âMary Blair is one of the great geniuses in California art,â said the Hilbert Museumâs director, Mary Platt, who also curated this show. âSheâs not unappreciated, I mean the Disney fans know her, but the general public may not.â
The exhibit is arranged chronologically, starting with her early work for âDumboâ and watercolor paintings inspired by a 1941 trip to Latin America with Walt Disney and other artists. The âEl Grupoâ trip, sponsored by the U.S. government as a goodwill gesture, left a lasting impact on Blair and her art, which became brighter and more abstract after her travels.
âShe really blossomed as a result of the South America Good Neighbor travels they experienced,â said Mindy Johnson, author of âInk & Paint: The Women of Walt Disneyâs Animation,â published by Disney Editions in 2017. âShe was the only woman [artist] on that particular trek. It transformed her artistry; it was pivotal for her.â
The exhibition continues with concept art, mostly gouache on board, for the Disney films âMelody Timeâ and âThe Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad,â and the classics âCinderella,â âAlice in Wonderlandâ and âPeter Pan.â
âIt really is through the artistry of Mary that formed the essence of âCinderella,â â Johnson said. ââCinderellaâ is a tried and true fairy tale, but it was her interpretation, her sense of color and style, that really brings that story into its own.â
Blair was a favorite of Disney, which apparently caused some jealousy among her predominantly male colleagues at the studio. Disney appreciated her futuristic, conceptual approaches, as well as her color choices.
She once said, âWalt said that I knew about colors he had never heard of before.â
Many of Blairâs original concepts and designs were not used in films she worked on. Other artists and animators said her work and characters were too flat and abstract, and they reverted back to the rounded characters and stylized backgrounds that had proven successful before.
However, her work really comes through in âAlice in Wonderland,â which was âa tour de force for her,â Johnson said.
âWonderland is such a vibrant, colorful world,â Johnson added. âYou get the whimsy, and the topsy-turvyness through Maryâs work, sometimes just within the simple, elemental strokes. But thereâs nothing basic about them. Mary demonstrated great sophistication there.â
One of the paintings in the show, âAlice on Trialâ from 1951, depicts the climactic scene where the Red Queen denounces Alice in a courtroom in front of a host of playing-card soldiers.
âIn âAlice on Trial,â you can see echoes of Escher and Picasso,â Platt said. âThat might be the scene, because itâs so fantastical, where maybe her vision was best realized.â
The exhibit ends with concept art for âPeter Panâ and âItâs a Small World,â which may be Blairâs best known and loved work. A gouache painting (circa 1963) depicts a joyous array of gold-topped steeples, which looks remarkably like the façade of Disneylandâs âItâs A Small Worldâ today.
Though she parted ways with Disney a couple of times, Blair also had a successful career as a freelance illustrator and designer. She created dozens of memorable advertising illustrations, murals, tiles, fabric and fashion designs, as well as sets and backdrops for TV commercials and theatrical productions.
She created murals for Disneyland and Disneyâs Contemporary Resort hotel at Disney World. She is credited as the color designer for the 1967 film âHow to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying,â and she also created a âSmall Worldâ-inspired mural for the Jules Stein Eye Center at UCLA, which still decorates the Pediatric Waiting Room.
In addition, Blair illustrated several Little Golden Books, some of which are still in print.
Blair died in 1978 at age 66. In 1991, she was named a Disney Legend, and in 1996, the International Animated Film Society honored her with its Winsor McCay Award. In 2011, Google celebrated her 100th birthday with a Google Doodle.
Despite her accomplishments and honors, Blair still flies under the radar, and many believe she has not received the recognition she deserves.
âShe is definitely under-rated, under-exposed and under-valued,â Johnson said. âIt was tough for Mary, particularly as a woman. If she were a man, we would have been well-informed of her work.â
John Canemaker, who wrote an appreciation book on Blair, âThe Art and Flair of Mary Blairâ (also on view at the Hilbert), said the artist was brilliant for her imagination and empathy and âher influence continues in the many designers who admired her work.â
âThere are a lot of Mary Blair-wannabes,â said Canemaker, an Oscar and Emmy-winning professor who heads the animation program at New York University. âWhat she did is going to live on.â
âMary Blair is definitely a role model,â said Platt. âIn a time where the women at Disney were basically being relegated to the copy work, she broke through and through sheer talent, showed to Walt Disney and the others that she could be a visual leader.
âThat really is something that I think all women artists can look toward and thank her for.â
IF YOU GO
What: âThe Magic and Flair of Mary Blairâ
When: Through Oct. 19; hours are 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays
Where: Hilbert Museum of California Art, 167 N. Atchison St., Orange
Cost: Free
Information: (714) 516-5880 or hilbertmuseum.com
Richard Chang is a contributor to TimesOC. Follow him on Twitter at @ricardo77 and follow @timesocofficial for more news and features about Orange County.
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