The Hidden Art of Disney's Mid-Century Era: The 1950s and 1960s

They Drew as They Pleased #4

by Didier Ghez, Eric Goldberg (Foreword), Susan Goldberg (Foreword)

The 1950s and 1960s at The Walt Disney Studios marked unprecedented stylistic directions brought on by the mid-century modern and graphic sensibilities of a new wave of artists. This volume explores the contributions of these heroes with special emphasis on the art of Lee Blair, Mary Blair, Tom Oreb, John Dunn, and Walt Peregoy. It includes never-before-seen images from Cinderella, Alice in Wonder¬land, Peter Pan, and Sleeping Beauty and discusses Disney's first forays into television, commercials, space, and science projects—even the development of theme parks. Drawing on interviews and revealing hundreds of rediscovered images that inspired Disney's films during one of its most prolific eras, this volume captures the rich stories of the art¬ists who brought the characters to life and helped shape the future of animation.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Animation, History, Film, Biography, Coffee Table Books

224 pages, Hardcover

First published August 7, 2018

About the author

Didier Ghez runs the Disney History blog (disneybooks.blogspot.com), the Disney Books Network website (www.didierghez.com), and serves as managing editor of the Walt’s People book series.

Reviews

[Claire Fudge]

I adore this series and this is another fantastic entry. This volume is perhaps particularly special due to the featuring of Mary Blair.

[Maddie]

I read this for Mary Blair content. Love Mary Blair. I do not care about those men though.

[Dana Stickney]

Another exceptional offering from Disney author & historian Didier Ghez, this volume of his series on concept art for Disney's animated features covers releases from the 1950s - 1960s (obvious from the title, to be true) - perhaps their most inventive and prosperous period.

Of the artists featured in this volume, we see chapters Lee & Mary Blair, Tom Oreb, Walt Peregoy and other talented contributors to the Disney legacy, but what continues to be most compelling about this series are the visuals. It's a shame that there aren't similar official titles released directly from Disney, but Ghez does a more than admirable job of filling the void.

[Rebecca Dougherty]

The most interesting chapter is the one about Mary Blair. The telling of the difficulty in capturing her style in animation was really interesting. It talked about her exceptional talent as a colorist and the challenges of over saturation with moving images. One of my favorite Disney films is The Legend of Sleepy Hollow for which she created the style. She was also the creative director for the It's a Small World ride before she left Disney for the second time. I'm intrigued to learn more about her and her work.

[Rebecca]

This series focusing on Disney artists shows each in context, bringing their creativity out into the open, showing their influences behind the scenes. It’s a shame there is space for so few to be so honored. The great talent brought together created a fertile environment for imaginative output that generated a lot of memorable works for Disney.

[Joe]

Really enjoyed this random purchase in Waterstones! Not sure i know enough about animation to appreciate everything - not sure what a background stylist is, or an in betweener! But enjoyed on the whole and wonderful images in there.

[SassieMolassie]

This book combined 2 things I love. Mid century art and Disney. I loved this book. The art and colors were gorgeous and the character stylization made me feel nostalgic. I ohh’d and aww’d throughout.

[Anodos]

An excellent collection but the glaring absence (I suspect due to rights issues) of Eyvind Earle's work is deeply unfortunate... Especially given that none of his art books sell for less than $120 these days. Still a delight.

[Kati Stevens]

Committed to this series, though largely for the art.