BIBBIDI-BOBBIDI-BID ON A TROVE OF RARE ORIGINAL ANIMATION AND FINE ART FROM DISNEY’S ‘CINDERELLA’
By Christina Rees
This year marks the 100th anniversary of one of the most popular and enduring of all American institutions, The Walt Disney Company, and the 73rd anniversary of one of Disney’s most beloved animated films: 1950’s Cinderella. Disney’s biggest hit since 1937’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Cinderella was a box-office smash and received three Academy Award nominations. With its imaginative art, enchanting characters and timeless songs, it’s no wonder generations of Disney devotees hold this classic fairy tale dear.
Now, during Heritage’s Celebrating 100 Years of Disney: 1923-2023 Signature® Auction, Cinderella fans can possess a piece of the magic. The four-day event, which takes place June 23-26, features the largest single collection of original animation and fine art from one of the most magical boy-meets-girl tales ever told.
CELEBRATING 100 YEARS OF DISNEY: 1923-2023 SIGNATURE® AUCTION 7310
June 23-26, 2023
Online: HA.com/7310
INQUIRIES
Jim Lentz
214.409.1991
JimL@HA.com
“Almost 100 Cinderella-themed lots are in this sale,” says Jim Lentz, Heritage’s Vice President of Animation and Anime Art. He explains a gap that has plagued Cinderella aficionados for years: “With Disney’s Courvoisier art program ending in the late 1940s and Disneyland’s cel-selling at its Art Corner store not taking place until 1955, the artwork for this classic film fell into a vacuum of no distribution. In more than 10 years of highlighting Disney films, this is our first – and possibly last – Cinderella feature theme for an auction. We have production cels, animation drawings, Mary Blair concept art, storyboards, Disney book art and Disney fine art all related to this landmark piece of cinema history.”
The Cinderella production cels and drawings in the auction feature the most significant moments in the movie: Cinderella preparing for the Royal Ball, admiring the ball gown made by her mouse pals, dancing with the prince and more. Perhaps most astonishing is the production cel featuring a close-up of the duke placing the glass slipper on Cinderella’s foot (“But, you see, I have the other slipper”). The magnificent image is made up of four 16-field, 3-peghole cels, which include an effects cel of the sparkles given off by the slipper; this one-of-a-kind piece of Disney history has been held in a private collection for nearly 30 years.
The Cinderella concept art in the auction is outstanding work by Mary Blair, said to be one of Walt Disney’s favorite studio artists and certainly a collector favorite. Highlights include this Horses and Carriage concept/color key painting in which Blair squeezes drama out of every brushstroke and this composition depicting the Grand Duke placing the glass slipper on Cinderella’s foot in the climactic final moments of the third act.
Other original works from Blair’s hand include images of Cinderella’s Fairy Godmother transforming a humble pumpkin into an extravagant coach, Cinderella waving goodbye from inside said coach, and Cinderella and Prince Charming taking a romantic stroll through the castle courtyard.
BEYOND THE BALL
Heritage’s 100-year Disney celebration isn’t all about Cinderella, however. The generous and wide-ranging event spans Disney’s animation history from Steamboat Willie through its Golden Age shaped by iconic features like Snow White and Sleeping Beauty and into its astoundingly resonant Renaissance era with gems like The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast.
One of Disney’s enduring legacies is its artistry, and this auction features drawings and paintings by some of the greatest artists ever to work for the company. In addition to original Mary Blair works from classics such as The Three Caballeros, The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad, Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan and the World’s Fair and Park attraction It’s a Small World, the event includes art by Eyvind Earle, Gustaf Tenggren, Fred Moore and Carl Barks. But these famous names are just a few of the artists represented in the auction. There’s also David Hall (with two wonderful concept paintings for MGM’s 1944 classic National Velvet); Ken Anderson (Disney’s brilliant concept/story artist who worked on everything from 1937’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs to 1977’s live-action/animated feature Pete’s Dragon); Kay Nielsen (another supremely talented concept artist who has some breathtaking paintings from Sleeping Beauty in this auction); Ralph Hulett (the background artist extraordinaire); and Walt Peregoy (color stylist by day and visionary abstract painter by night).
“The Walt Disney Studios have always insisted on hiring the very best artists to create their world-famous animation, so it comes as no surprise such talented names would be associated with their theatrical and television productions,” Lentz says.
Eyvind Earle, for example, started his Disney career in 1951 and is among the most collectable and beloved of Disney artists. Earle gained attention with his incredible eye for composition and color, and he helped create the visual style of classics like Lady and the Tramp, Peter Pan and his most famous contribution – his emotional and atmospheric art for Sleeping Beauty. This auction is stacked with an outstanding collection of some of Earle’s most incredible pieces for that feature: the wicked Maleficent standing defiant on top of King Stefan’s castle, Prince Phillip’s encounter with the slumbering Princess Aurora, Kings Hubert and Stefan’s celebratory feast and the three fairy godmothers prepping the princess’s party, among many more paintings that set the tone for the movie’s iconic scenes.
“This spectacular event presents a journey through Disney’s most quintessential moments, and amongst the parade of famous titles and cherished characters, Eyvind Earle’s gorgeous artwork is a true highlight,” Lentz says. “This astounding collection showcases how the distinguished Disney artist marked an era and inspired the generations to come.”
CHRISTINA REES is a staff writer at Intelligent Collector.