Mary Blair concept drawings for Cinderella ©Disney.
The lasting influence of Disney artist Mary Blair will be celebrated through an examination of her concept artwork for Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland and Peter Pan in the 1950s during Mary Blair’s World of Color: A Centennial Tribute, the latest installment of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Marc Davis Celebration of Animation.
Several of today’s top animation talents will discuss Blair’s work as an artist and stylist and will also demonstrate how her work has influenced their own. The panel will be moderated by animation critic and film historian Charles Solomon.
Blair’s unmistakably bold and colorful designs continue to inspire artists in all areas of animation today. Her unique and lasting impact on animation continues to this day, though Blair is best known for her design of Disneyland’s it’s a small world attraction, which she worked on with legendary animator Marc Davis, for whom the lecture series is named, and his wife Disney Imagineer Alice Davis.
Following the program, attendees will be able to view a selection of original works by Blair.
The Marc Davis Lecture on Animation was established in 1994 to provide a forum for established film animators and other experts in the craft to share their experiences as well as explore with their colleagues the challenges of creating animation for the screen.
The lecture is named in honor of the man who gave life to characters as diverse as Brer Rabbit, the beautiful Cinderella, Alice (of Wonderland fame), Tinkerbell, and the delightfully wicked Maleficent and Cruella De Vil.
Tickets for Mary Blair’s World of Color: A Centennial Tribute will go on sale October 3. The tribute program will take place October 20, at 7:30 p.m. at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills. For more information, call (310) 247-3600 or visit www.oscars.org.