Please, step this way through the glass doors of Orange's HILBERT MUSEUM OF CALIFORNIA ART, where we will emerge into yet another familiar magical kingdom - “The Enchanted Worlds of Eyvind Earle”!

Before we begin, we simply must mention that The Hilbert Museum of California Art is conveniently located about 6 miles from Disneyland (in Anaheim, California), and is the perfect place to add a dash of culture to your Disney adventure! The reason is that The Hilbert Museum regularly contains works of former Walt Disney Productions artists, who spearheaded the California watercolor movement of the 1930's and 1940's. You're sure to find paintings by Lee Blair (husband of Mary Blair), Preston Blair (Lee's brother), and notable Walt Disney feature film background artist Ralph Hulett, (to name just a few).

Among these aforementioned artists is one of our favorite California artists - Eyvind Earle. His work has gained much popularity in recent years, as Eyvind Earle Trust has presented a number of exhibits around the United States including one showing at The Walt Disney Family Museum. In addition to some of your favorite E.E. pieces, look for EIGHT never-before-seen paintings gifted The Hilbert Museum by The Eyvind Earle Trust. As we walk the gallery, you may notice a few of the colorful, seasonal landscapes of trees that once caught Walt Disney’s interest, and ultimately paved the way for Eyvind to be featured in a 1958 short called "4 Artists Paint 1 Tree".

Eyvind Earle (1915-1974) grew up in Hollywood after his family moved there in 1918. His father put a brush in his hand when he was just 10 years old, and by the time he was 14, Eyvind Earle was holding expositions of his work in France! Eyvind's forte was, at the time, realism. He continued to produce work of this sort, dabbling in greeting cards through the 1940's. Even through Eyvind’s sketches, it is clear that his style (for which he is most noted today), would begin to emerge during the early 1950’s.

Face1951PencilCourtesy of Eyvind Earle Publishing — *Face*
1951
Pencil
Courtesy of Eyvind Earle Publishing

Desert Stormc. 1951CharcoalCourtesy of Eyvind Earle Publishing — *Desert Storm*
c. 1951
Charcoal
Courtesy of Eyvind Earle Publishing

Over the Fieldsc. 1951CharcoalCourtesy of Eyvind Earle Publishing — *Over the Fields*
c. 1951
Charcoal
Courtesy of Eyvind Earle Publishing

Desert Rocks1955CharcoalCourtesy of Eyvind Earle Publishing — *Desert Rocks*
1955
Charcoal
Courtesy of Eyvind Earle Publishing

It wasn't until 1951, that he went to work for Walt Disney and began to produce background pieces for shorts subjects like the Goofy short "For Whom The Bulls Toil".

As you can tell, there's hardly a work Eyvind ever produced without at least one lone timber.

Eyvind's work profoundly enchants with his trademark clusters of patterned strokes and textures, overlaying bold colorful fields (which are generally illuminated or cast in shadow from beyond). After this brief tour with your Disney History 101 Field Guide Beth, please visit the exhibit (located only minutes from Disneyland in Anaheim), and explore Eyvind's settings as photographs can only limitedly capture their radiance and majesty.

Eyvind Earle captured the attention of Walt Disney in 1953, when he created the look of “Toot, Whistle, Plunk, and Boom”, an animated short produced in 3-D that won an Academy Award®️ and a Cannes Film Festival Award. Walt then assigned EYVIND a position as the lead artist responsible for styling, background, and colors for the highly acclaimed Sleeping Beauty (1959).

We'll always love Eyvind's contributions toward our favorite Walt Disney Productions films, in fact we'll have more of an appreciation for features thanks to his colorful, textural styling. However, our favorite E.E. pieces will always be those sun-kissed or mist-enveloped, lush mountainsides and valleys sparkling with a colorful spectrum of leaves and other vegetation. We could just sit, and peer into those paradisiac settings for hours.

Sanctuary1996OilThe Hilbert Permanent CollectionGift if the Earle Family Trust“A wild valley never touched by manHidden quiet clean a silent landWhere shrubs and oaks and grass and talltrees standPlanted by God and angels all by hand.”-Eyvind Earle — *Sanctuary*
1996
Oil
The Hilbert Permanent Collection
Gift if the Earle Family Trust
“A wild valley never touched by man
Hidden quiet clean a silent land
Where shrubs and oaks and grass and tall
trees stand
Planted by God and angels all by hand.”
-Eyvind Earle

Quilted Earth1994OilThe Hilbert Museum Permanent CollectionGift of The Earle Family Trust“I wandered over the fields one summer dayWading through fields of grass and new mown hayClimbing up the mountain way up highUntil the distance mixed up with th… — *Quilted Earth*
1994
Oil
The Hilbert Museum Permanent Collection
Gift of The Earle Family Trust
“I wandered over the fields one summer day
Wading through fields of grass and new mown hay
Climbing up the mountain way up high
Until the distance mixed up with the sky”
-Eyvind Earle

HOMAGE AND RESPECTS TO AN AMERICAN MASTER:

Much recognition of Eyvind's work has come posthumously. In 1998, Eyvind Earle was awarded the Winsor McCay Award for "a lifetime achievement in the art of animation". In 2015, Eyvind was inducted as a Disney Legend, his daughter accepting the award on behalf of her father.

If you would like to visit the enchanted realms American master Eyvind Earle, please step this way - quickly! "MAGICAL VISIONS : THE ENCHANTED WORLDS OF EYVIND EARLE" runs from now until October 13, 2018.

THE HILBERT MUSEUM OF CALIFORNIA ART

167 Atchison Street, Orange, California

(714)516-5880

www.hilbertmuseum.com

OPEN : Tuesday - Saturday (11 a.m. to 5 p.m.)

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