Mary Blair facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Mary Blair
Mary Blair by Michael Netzer
Born	Mary Browne Robinson October 21, 1911 McAlester, Oklahoma, U.S.
Died	July 26, 1978(1978-07-26) (aged 66) Soquel, California, U.S.
Alma mater	San Jose State University Chouinard Art Institute
Employer	Walt Disney Animation Studios (1942-1953)
Known for	Artwork made for The Walt Disney Company
Works	Alice in Wonderland Peter Pan Song of the South Cinderella Make Mine Music
Movement	Modernism
Spouse(s)	Lee Everett Blair (1934–1978)
Relatives	Preston Blair (brother-in-law)
Awards	Disney Legend Award Winsor McCay Award

Mary Blair (born Mary Browne Robinson; October 21, 1911 – July 26, 1978) was a talented American artist, animator, and designer. She is famous for her amazing art and animation work for The Walt Disney Company. She created concept art for classic films like Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, Song of the South, and Cinderella.

Mary Blair also designed characters for popular attractions. These include Disneyland's "It's a Small World" ride and a huge mosaic at Disney's Contemporary Resort. Many of her illustrated children's books from the 1950s are still printed today, like I Can Fly. In 1991, Mary Blair was honored as a Disney Legend.

Early Life and Art Training

Mary Browne Robinson was born on October 21, 1911, in McAlester, Oklahoma. When she was young, her family moved to Texas, and later to Morgan Hill, California.

She studied at San Jose State University from 1929 to 1931. After that, Mary won a scholarship to the Chouinard Art Institute in Los Angeles. She graduated from Chouinard in 1933.

In 1934, she married fellow artist Lee Everett Blair. Her brother-in-law was the famous animator Preston Blair. Mary and Lee were part of the California School of Watercolor. Mary quickly became known for her creative use of color and unique designs.

Blair's "Street Market Card" from her 1941 trip to South America.

Working with Disney

Mary Blair's first job in animation was with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. She then worked at the Ub Iwerks studio before joining Walt Disney Animation Studios in 1940. She briefly worked on art for Dumbo and an early version of Lady and the Tramp.

In 1941, Blair went on a research trip to South America with Walt Disney and his wife, Lillian. Her beautiful watercolors really impressed Walt Disney. He then made her an art supervisor for the animated films Saludos Amigos and The Three Caballeros.

From 1943, Mary Blair began working on major Disney films. She was a key part of the animation and color design teams for a decade. She helped create the look for Cinderella (1950), Alice in Wonderland (1951), and Peter Pan (1953). Her unique style greatly influenced these movies.

A close-up of the large mosaic mural Mary Blair designed for Disney's Contemporary Resort.

After Disney and "It's a Small World"

After Peter Pan was finished, Blair left Disney to work as a freelance illustrator. She created advertising for many companies. She also illustrated several Little Golden Books, which are still popular today. She even designed Christmas and Easter sets for Radio City Music Hall.

Walt Disney asked Mary Blair to return and work on a new attraction. He highly valued her amazing sense of color. This new project was "It's a Small World". It was first shown at the 1964 New York World's Fair. Later, it moved to Disneyland and was built in other Disney parks around the world.

Concept art for "It's a Small World" by Mary Blair.

Mary Blair also created large murals for Disney parks and hotels. These murals were often painted or made from tiles. Her most famous mural is a 90-foot-high design at Disney's Contemporary Resort hotel. It was completed for the resort's opening in 1971 and is still a main feature today.

Mary Blair's iconic mural at the Contemporary Resort.

Filmography

Mary Blair worked on the following films:

She was also a writer for:

• Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color
• Once Upon a Wintertime

Legacy

Mary Blair passed away in Soquel, California, on July 26, 1978, from a cerebral hemorrhage.

In 1991, Mary was honored as a Disney Legend. In 1996, she received the Winsor McCay Award for her contributions to animation.

Even though her fine art outside of Disney is not widely known, Mary Blair's bold and colorful designs still inspire many artists and animators today. She is known for bringing modernist art styles to Walt Disney's studio. She used bright, primary colors and created strong contrasts that made her art truly stand out.

Her artwork has been shown in exhibitions, including "The Colors of Mary Blair" in Tokyo in 2009. In 2014, "Magic, Color, Flair: The World of Mary Blair" was displayed at the Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco.

You can even spot a visual tribute to Mary Blair in Disneyland's "It's a Small World" ride! She is shown as a little girl near the Eiffel Tower, holding a balloon.

See also

In Spanish: Mary Blair para niños