Da Bambi al Piccolo Principe: Disney celebra l'arte di Mel Shaw

The Walt Disney Family Museum is pleased to present Mel Shaw: An Animator on Horseback. Open from January 13 to September 12, 2016, this exhibition is the first-ever retrospective of the life and work of Disney Legend Mel Shaw (1914–2012)—an artist and storyteller whose skills were in demand by the icons of Hollywood, from Orson Welles to Walt Disney. Shaw’s own life story as an artist, creative entrepreneur, and master horseman is as romantic and adventuresome as the animated stories he helped bring to life. The exhibition is guest-curated by Academy Award®-nominated producer Don Hahn (Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, Maleficent).

melshaw_j — Studio per “Bambi”, 1942 ca.

melshaw_h — Illustrazione per “La Volpe e l’uva”, da “Le Favole di Esopo”, 1966

This retrospective features more than 120 works, including caricature sketches, storyboards, and conceptual artwork from some of the most influential films of the twentieth century, stretching from Fantasia (1940) to The Lion King (1994). The exhibition also includes sculptures, oil paintings, ceramics, iconic toys, and artifacts documenting Shaw’s redesign of the character we now all recognize as Howdy Doody. Many of the objects in this exhibition will be on view for the first time.

melshaw_c — Concept art per “La Bella e la Bestia”, 1989

melshaw_d — Concept art per “Taron e la pentola magica”, 1985

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Mel Shaw was born Melvin Schwartzman in Brooklyn, New York on December 19, 1914. Born the second of four boys to an attorney father and opera singer mother, Shaw discovered the dual passions of his life at an early age: horses and art. He was one of 30 children in New York state to be selected for The Art Students League. Two years later at age 12, Shaw won a national soap-carving contest sponsored by Procter & Gamble. After his family moved to California in 1928, a 14-year-old Shaw ran away to Utah to become a cowboy, but would soon find himself back—just four months later—in Los Angeles where he found work at a film title company.

As a teen, Shaw attended the Otis Art Institute, where he met former Disney animators, Hugh Harman and Rudy Ising. They later hired him at Harman-Ising Studios as an animator, storyteller, and director. While there, Shaw’s talents were recognized by Orson Welles who approached the studio to storyboard a film adaptation of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s novella The Little Prince. The project was never completed, but some of Shaw’s work has survived and will be on view in the exhibition.