Mary Blair Appreciation

[down-the-rabbith0le]

[frenchcurious]

Mary Blair - Esquisse originale pour “Susie the Little Blue Coupe” (Walt Disney, 1952). - source Heritage Auctions.

[adventurelandia]

Cinderella dream sequence concept art by Mary Blair

[adventurelandia]

Neverland at Night, Peter Pan color key painting by Mary Blair

[cinemamonamour]

Cinderella (1950) Background Art

“Mary Blair played a big part in the success of Disney’s Cinderella. Her rough color/environment sketches didn’t make it to the screen as such, nevertheless her artistic sensibilities influenced the entire production”

 - Andreas Deja

[myinvisibleblog]

Peter Pan concept art by Mary Blair

Mary Blair’s sublimely whimsical art is immediately recognisable; here she lends her talents to concept paintings for the 1953 Walt Disney animated version of J.M. Barrie’s classic childrens fairy tale….

[sighsofthetime]

[best-life-wisdom]

My level of sarcasm has gotten to a point where I don’t even know if I’m kidding or not.

[tilly-and-her-books]

Do you like the colours of the sky? Book edition

[thinkingoflolita]

Oh my god. I tried arranging my books by colour once. Tried it by size. Tried it by book name or author name. I can never find the perfect system. But this is beautiful.

[weirdlandtv]

Mary Blair concept drawings for Disney’s ALICE IN WONDERLAND (1950).

[jinxysmidcentury]

May Day, by Mary Blair

[adventurelandia]

Cinderella concept art by Mary Blair

[weirdlandtv]

Mary Blair concept art for Disney’s Cinderella (1950). The Fairy Godmother apparently started out as a more witch-like character first (image 5). The design could almost be a very early Maleficent.

[the-disney-elite]

[the-disney-elite]

Mary Blair’s concept art for Walt Disney’s Cinderella (1950).

[klaushargreeveses]

all in the golden afternoon

[communedesign]

It’s a Mary Blair World

Blair was an Oklahoma-born artist who climbed the ranks of Disney’s art department in the 1940s, ‘50s and ‘60s, eventually designing Disney’s “It’s a Small World” in 1964. A graduate of LA’s legendary Chouinard School, her facades bring to mind the work of Alexander Girard, Charles and Ray Eames, and Stig Lindberg; all playing in a similar way with stacked shapes and kinetic sculpture. An imaginative painter and designer, Blair helped introduce a modernist style to Walt Disney and his studio, and for nearly 30 years, he touted her work for his films and theme parks. She has more recently been referred to as the mastermind behind animated films like “Cinderella,” “Alice and Wonderland” and “Peter Pan,” although her credit on these films was often “color stylist.” Animator Marc Davis, who put Blair’s inspiring use of color on a par with Henri Matisse, recalled, “She brought modern art to Walt in a way that no one else did.“ Below is a sampling of her architectural work and film concept paintings.

[mickeyandcompany]

Happy birthday, Mary Blair! (October 21, 1911 – July 26, 1978)