Mary Blair

[ericadawn16]

Yesterday was the 100th anniversary of Mary Blair's birth.

Who's Mary Blair?

Not only was she Walt Disney's favorite artist, she is the most important and influential woman to have ever worked for Disney. She's also an inspiring story of how not everyone finds their true self in their early twenties.

In 1941, she was 29, married and college graduate who had studied at a prestigious art institute but her art was at a stalemate. It was adequate but not amazing. Then, the U.S. Government decided Disney should take some of his best employees to central and south America on a goodwill tour and make a movie out of it. Lee Blair, Mary's husband, was an animator and had worked on story development for Fantasia. He was invited to go but Mary was not. None of the spouses except for Lillian and one or two others were allowed to go. Lee and Mary insisted that Mary needed to go in a professional capacity. Eventually, Walt agreed.

The trip completely changed Mary's life. She found her style. People noticed an immediate change in her artwork. Disney appointed her Art Supervisor on both films to result from the trip, Saludos Amigos and The Three Caballeros. For the next thirty years, Mary was responsible for everything from the art direction of Alice in Wonderland to how the characters looked in Peter Pan to the design of everything in It's a Small World. Even her death didn't stop her influence. The segments of "Rhapsody in Blue" and "Carnival of the Animals" are both based on her artwork from the 1940s and color choices in Tangled were said to be inspired by Mary Blair.

In short, she was awesome and I'm happy that Google recognized that yesterday. For more about Mary Blair, I highly recommend Walt & El Grupo.

I also wrote up an article on her with different stuff mentioned:
http://www.yourhighwayinthesky.com/2011/10/mary-blair-disneys-favorite-artist/

Plus, another awesome link...this includes her later years when she started doing nudes:
http://magicofmaryblair.com/mary-gallery.htm

Comments

[zombieroadtrip.livejournal.com]

It is so amazing the degree that she could convey a mood with such simplicity. I've seen copies of some of her Imagineering work in the vaults, it's beyond amazing. Every shape is thought-out and perfect.

Happy birthday, Mary!

[ericadawn16.livejournal.com]

Oh, you're so lucky, that's awesome. I didn't know anything about her until I saw the movie I recommended. Then, I loved finding her stuff at Disney World and elsewhere. I have a storybook from forty or fifty years ago with her Cinderella art. Once you learn her style, it's easy to recognise it.