For the month of March, the Dennis P. McHugh Piermont Public Library presents Virtual Student Art Show: Inspirations from Disney Studios. You can visit this exhibition by clicking on the Artist of the Month tab on our website homepage.
Over the summer, our art classes for kids and adults took inspiration from the art and animation of Disney Studios and some of the great Disney artists including Mary Blair and Eyvind Earle. This program tied in with the Summer Reading theme of folk tales and fairy tales, Imagine Your Story. We hope you enjoy the magical works our students created.
Mary Blair lived from 1911 – 1978. She was born in Oklahoma, then moved to California where she went to art school and met her husband, Lee Blair. They both worked for Disney Studios where Mary was one of the first women artists to be hired.
Many people at Disney thought Mary’s art was too colorful, too abstract, and too wild! But Walt Disney himself loved her work and Mary did not change her unique style and color combinations! Mary traveled to South America on a tour with Walt Disney where she got more ideas for her art.
She created art for lots of Disney movies like Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, and Cinderella. Mary would do concept art paintings and then hand them over to the animators who would turn them into movies. She also designed the ride It’s a Small World and illustrated children’s books, designed theater and television sets, and created murals and mosaics.
Eyvind Earle lived from 1916 – 2000. He was born in New York City and moved to Hollywood California with his family when he was 2. His father was also a talented artist. Eyvind Earle always wanted to work for Disney Studios and kept trying to get a job there. He was finally hired at age 35. He is most famous for his work on Sleeping Beauty. For this movie, Eyvind Earle took inspiration from all over art history- painters from the Renaissance, Medieval times, Japanese and Perisan art, and the unicorn tapestries at the Cloisters Museum in New York City.