"An Art in Its Making" - The Book

Front Cover and Spine

Stephen Ison's animation art collection is beautifully reproduced in the 1994 Walt Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: An Art in Its Making. The 192-page hardcover features loads of stunning full-color images of the artwork along with an introduction written by Steve and text by Martin Krause and Linda Witkowski.


Synopsis by Gordon Flagg of Booklist magazine...

Krause provides a critically incisive account of making the film, from its inception through its three years in production to its wildly enthusiastic reception by audiences and critics. Witkowski supplies a detailed, fairly technical explanation of the animation process as well as a guide to the preservation and handling of animation art designed to appeal to serious students of the genre. The heart of the volume is a retelling of the famous story scene-by-scene by means of cel reproductions, pencil drawings, and other production art.

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From an email correspondence with Steve earlier this year...

Filmic Light: How did the Snow White...An Art in Its Making book come about?

Stephen Ison: It started out to only be a catalogue for the exhibition. I kept pounding on the museum “powers that be” that it needed to be a book. I won...especially after Hyperion Press wanted to publish it.

FL: Did you know authors Martin Krause or Linda Witkowski before the book?

SI: Yes. Linda Witkowski was the person I had known who helped/taught me about conservation and preservation of animation art. She had actually done her college Masters thesis on cel restoration and conservation. Linda introduced me to Marty who helped me convince the IMA that an exhibition of art from Snow White could be successful.

FL: How much were you involved with it?

SI: Pretty much, every aspect, whether they always welcomed it or not.

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The opening of the 1994 Indianapolis Museum of Art exhibit featuring Steve's collection was quite an event. Diane Disney Miller attended along with animator greats Ward Kimball (along with his wife Betty), Marc Davis, Joe Grant, Ken O'Connor, Maurice Noble, and Bill Justice. What an opportunity it was for the attendees to meet and chat with these legends...and to get autographs.

The title page from the book below comes from the Phil Sears Collection. It features the signatures of all of the animators mentioned above. In addition, it's signed by Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston who could not attend the Indianapolis event due to an illness that Ollie’s wife was suffering from.

Signed Title Page. Book sold for $499 (USD) on August 30, 2010. Image via Phil Sears Collectibles.

[CLICK IMAGES FOR A BETTER VIEW]

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Steve's collection encompassed a wide range of animation art including "master backgrounds, concept art, cels, drawings, studio notes, character models, and various other items associated with the film." Here's a just a few of the dynamic images found within this handsome book.

Layouts and storyboard drawings...

Backgrounds and watercolors...

Cel set-ups...

Images copyright Disney/Hyperion Press/Stephen Ison

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In 1995, a "Disney Miniature Edition" was published. Same book, same number of pages, just smaller in size.

Front Cover, miniature edition

While both the original and miniature versions are no longer found via new bookstore channels, they are available from online resellers, often for a decent price. On a side note, it was about a decade ago that I stumbled upon a stack of 15 to 20 brand new shrink-wrapped copies of the full-size original, all dramatically reduced in price at a Barnes and Noble. I couldn't resist...I bought them all.

Original Edition:
Hardcover, 192 pages
Published by Hyperion Press (September 23, 1994)
ISBN-10: 0786861444
ISBN-13: 978-0786861446
Measures 10.9" x 9.6"

Miniature Edition:
Hardcover, 192 pages
Published by Hyperion Press (November 3, 1995)
ISBN-10: 0786861878
ISBN-13: 978-0786861873
Measures 5.5" x 4.7"

Interview with Collector Stephen Ison

It was on a trip to Walt Disney World back in 1973 that a young college kid named Stephen Ison saw his first piece of animation art. Decades later, he would become the owner of the largest collection on the planet of original animation art from Walt Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. In 1994, Steve's passion would give rise to Snow White...An Art in Its Making, both a museum exhibit and a hardcover book which featured his collection.

In the Fall 1993 issue of Disney News magazine (p. 55-56) an article appeared entitled A Suitor for Snow White or... Memoirs of a Devoted Collector.  It was written by and about Steve and his "hobby".

A Suitor for Snow White... Magazine image scans courtesy of the Dan Alexander Collection.
See his blog at Dan Alexander Dizmentia.

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Earlier this year, I had the opportunity to correspond with Steve via email. I asked him how he got started collecting, where he acquired his pieces, and what's become of the artwork today. Here's what he had to say...

Filmic Light: Who are you Steve and how did you come to be a collector of animation art?

Stephen Ison: Like most kids growing up in the 50s, I watched The Mickey Mouse Club and was always fascinated by Roy Williams (The Big Mouseketeer) whenever he would draw the various characters on the show. That’s what got me interested in drawing and my earliest exposure to all things Disney. As a kid, I was also bitten by the collector bug...baseball cards, stamps, coins, and other assorted “stuff”. I’ve always been a collector of something. I saw my first piece of animation art in 1973 at Walt Disney World and was shocked that you could actually own a piece of art used in a Disney film! Well, the price of the cel was the same as my monthly car payment...so, as a poor college kid, I had to pass, but that’s what planted the seed. I knew someday, if I ever could afford it, I’d start a collection of Disney animation art. It really was that simple. Many years later...after attending an auction of Disney animation art in New York, I started down a road to what would become more than just a hobby.

FL: How did you find this animation art? And where/who did get it from?

SI: When I first started, I found art in the usual places...auctions, antique toy shows, and Disneyana conventions. Later, I became as interested in meeting and knowing many of the artists who worked on the classic Disney films as collecting myself. That’s what kept me motivated to learn more and acquire (preserve) more vintage pieces. Many of my pieces came from the artists themselves.

FL: Why Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs?

SI: When you have the “collector bug”, you have a tendency to “want it all”, so to speak. Well, animation art began to get popular, that I felt I had to make a compromise.  Which film was my favorite in style and quality?  Which one was the first?  Which one did Walt Disney put his heart and soul into?  Snow White.

FL: What did the collection consist of, how large, what forms of art, favorite pieces?

SI: By the time I had been collecting only from Snow White, I believe I had around 700 plus pieces. Those pieces consisted of master backgrounds, concept art, cels, drawings, studio notes, character models, and various other items associated with the film.  My favorite piece...that’s a hard one...guess it would have to be a panorama master watercolor background of the exterior of the Dwarfs cottage by Sam Armstrong. The Disney Art program ended up creating a limited edition of the piece.

FL: Since most drawings, paintings and cels from Snow White were not signed, did you know who the actual artists were for your pieces?

SI: I was always able to identify most of the drawings, concept art, and backgrounds since I got to know most of the artists who were still around while I was seriously collecting. I don’t think any of them are around anymore. It was an honor and a privilege to know many of them and be able to call them “friend”. I’d have to say one of my best friends in world was Maurice Noble; a background painter on Snow White, who later worked at Warner Brothers with Chuck Jones on hundreds of the classic shorts in the late 40s and 50s. He was one of the most talented and creative people I’ve ever know. He taught me about the classic animation process. I miss him.

FL: How did you house your collection and where is it today?

SI: As my collection grew, I had to learn how to preserve the art. I consulted with the Indianapolis Museum of Art about preservation and conservation, and designed a home gallery that was built to actual museum specs...and, OK...I understand this is a bit much...but, it was designed to look like the interior of the Dwarfs cottage! Yeah, I know... I actually did this three times over a 20 plus year time span, but finally decided my Snow White days should/would come to an end when I retired and built a home in the mountains of North Carolina...not a location conducive to “home galleries”. That was about the time I was approached by Disney Feature Films to see if I’d be interested in letting Snow White come back home to where she started. Today, my collection is under the watchful and protective eye of The Disney Animation Research Library in Los Angeles. A decision I’ve never regretted.

Photos of Steve's home gallery when it housed the Snow White collection:

Home Gallery images courtesy of Stephen Ison.

FL: Has your "hobby" of collecting Snow White cels opened doors for you? That is, have you met many other SW collectors? Other people associated with the making of the film or other later Disney personalities? Any anecdotal stories you'd like to share?

SI: Yes, many wonderful doors have opened, as a result of collecting from Snow White...exhibitions throughout the world, books, lectures, lifetime friendships... One of my favorite memories is the night I received a phone call from a woman who said her name was Diane Disney Miller, that she had read the forward of my Snow White book and it made her cry. She then asked if she could come to my exhibit at the Indianapolis Museum of Art...that person, of course, was Walt Disney’s daughter, Diane. She has always been so supportive. What an honor. That was the ultimate for me at the time. Recently, Diane asked me to curate an exhibit of Snow White animation art for the Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco. A must see. An amazing facility and tribute to her father. It opens December 2012 in celebration of the 75th anniversary of the release of Snow White.  We’re pulling Snow White art from every source I’ve ever known for the last 25 years. It will be an extensive exhibit.

FL: Have you seen other Snow White collections? When you're with other similar collectors, what's the conversation like?

SI: As far as I know, there are, nor ever were, any serious collectors of “Snow White only” animation art. Most of the high-end collectors had art from all of the classic Disney films. That was always tough for me, and at times, took a lot of discipline for me not to do the same. I really loved it all.

FL: Are you collecting today?

SI: Well, once bitten, as they say. Yes, I’m still picking up choice pieces, but not just from one film. I especially enjoy concept art from Fantasia. Some of those pieces are amazing and are truly works of art.

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The Walt Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: An Art in Its Making exhibition ran for two months at the Indianapolis Museum of Art, from December 4, 1994 until February 5, 1995. A newspaper article dated December 18, 1994 in the Louisville Courier-Journal highlights Steve and his museum exhibit.

Newspaper images courtesy of the Dan Alexander Collection. Used with permission. 

Read Dan's Dizmentia post about his 1994 visit to this Snow White exhibit.

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A couple photos from the IMA exhibit:

Exhibit images courtesy of Stephen Ison.

FL: How did the An Art in Its Making exhibit come about at the Indianapolis Museum of Art?

SI: It took me about four years to convince the Indianapolis Museum of Art to sponsor an exhibit of art from Snow White. Many people at the museum didn’t consider it art. In the end, it broke all attendance records for the museum’s 150 year history! Take that nay sayers!

FL: Was it your entire Snow White collection?

SI: Yes. However, after the exhibition, my collection almost tripled in size over the next 12 years.

FL: Did you attend the opening?

SI: Yes. We also flew out several of the original artists who worked on Snow White...Joe Grant, Marc Davis, Ken O’Connor, Ward Kimball, Betty Kimball, Maurice Noble, and Bill Justice. Great weekend. People lined up for hours to meet them and have books signed.

Signing books at the museum event, from left to right, Betty Kimball, Ward Kimball, Marc Davis, and Joe Grant:

Now from right to left, Ken O’Connor, Maurice Noble, Joe Grant, Marc Davis:

Book Signing images courtesy of Stephen Ison.

FL: Finally, any special memory or anecdote from the event?

SI: To see these people honored in this way was one of the most satisfying events I’ve ever witnessed. And, to see so many people respond to these wonderful pieces of art was the true pay off of years of collecting. Also, personally touring groups of young school children and watching them react as they learned and asked “real” questions.

 

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I, for one, can't wait to see the Snow White art exhibit Steve is curating for the Walt Disney Family Museum. Hopefully we'll get more details on it as we get closer to its opening in December 2012. In the upcoming posts, we'll have a look at the 1994 book featuring Steve's collection as well as the guide booklet from the IMA exhibit.

Everybody Loves Gustaf...or do they?

Of all the drawings, sketches and artwork to spring from the production of Walt Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, there's probably none more recognizable as those pieces created by Gustaf Tenggren. Right smack in the heart of the Golden Age, Gustaf was there, one of the chosen few to be employed at the top animation studio of the day. Yet, his time at Disney wasn't necessarily all fairytales and happy endings.

Tenggren was born November 3, 1896 in Magda, Sweden. When his father moved to the United States to find work, Gustaf was left in the care of his grandfather, Teng Tenggren, a painter and woodcarver. The arts were encouraged and in 1913, at the age of seventeen, Gustaf won a scholarship to the Valand School of Fine Arts.


Children's Books... 

By 1918, he had married (his first wife, Anna Peterson) and was being paid to create illustrations for a Swedish folklore and fairy tales compilation called Bland Tomtar och Troll (Among Gnomes and Trolls). Over the next decade, he would continue to contribute artwork to this annual, even though in 1920, he (and Anna) would immigrate to America to pursue his career as a illustrator.

Lars Emanuelsson, Tenggren biographer and creator of gustaftenggren.com, shared (via Didier Ghez's excellent Disney History site) this illustration produced by Gustaf for the 1924 Bland Tomtar och Troll.

Dark Forest Scene. Bland Tomtar och Troll, 1924.

As Emanuelsson points out in regards to the similarities of the above image to that of the later Snow White Dark Forest scene, "I think it's pretty obvious where the inspiration came from."

Dark Forest Scene. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, 1937.

Tenggren settled first in Cleveland where he lived for a couple years. This photo below (also from Lars Emanuelsson via Didier Ghez's Disney History) shows Gustaf around age 25 playing chess with an unidentified man.

Photo of Tenggren (left) in Cleveland, circa 1920-22.

Gustaf relocated to New York City where things really started to take off career-wise. He found work as a successful illustrator of children's books as well as in some commercial advertisement jobs for magazines.

Book Plate from Sven the Wise and Svea the Kind, 1932. Image via BPIB.

The early 1930s saw Tenggren re-married (to Mollie Froberg) and living a rural farm life in upstate New York. By 1935, however, they'd moved back to the city where Gustaf was about to accept what would be for many, the job of a lifetime.

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Disney Studio (1936-1939)...

Tenggren was steeped in the German and Norwegian folk tales (and their illustrators) from the 1800s. His work also showed similarities to fellow Swedish painter and illustrator John Bauer (Gustaf's predecessor at the Bland Tomtar och Troll annual), and both were influenced by English book illustrator Arthur Rackham. It so happens that this was the style--this old European storybook feel--that Walt Disney was looking to infuse into his first feature.

Gustaf accepted the position of an Art Director on Snow White and moved to California. He took his place as a Disney Studio inspirational and concept artist, alongside the likes of Albert Hurter, Ferdinand Horvath, and Joe Grant. These guys were the dream team. Their job was to create artwork that would inform the animators and layout artists on how the characters, scenes and/or backgrounds should look.

As Lars Emanuelsson states on his website, Tenggren's drawings and paintings...

...had a major influence on some central scenes, such as the interiors of the dwarfs’ cottage, the queen’s laboratory, and the scenes in the woods where Snow White flees from the hunter.

Gustaf's Snow White artwork made such an impression that it was--and still is--used time and again in countless promotional items, posters, book illustrations and merchandise. The cast portrait, the Witch at her cauldron, Snow White and Prince on horseback--see all these and more in the one sheet and 40x60 movie posters, the British F.O.H. cards and North American lobby cards, the Valentine and Sons postcards, Cynthia Rylant's 2009 book, the vintage Roma tea tin and even the Disneyland dark ride.

More images from his elegant and distinctive concept art portfolio...

Prince Arrives. Image via John Canemaker's 1996 Before the Animation Begins, p. 44.

At Wishing Well. Original artwork. Image from collector Pete Merolo via Disney History.

Dark Forest. Image via John Canemaker's 1996 Before the Animation Begins, p. 44.

Forest Rough Layout. Image via Snow White...An Art in Its Making, 1994, p. 77.

Dwarfs March Home. Original Mixed Media on Board. Image via Heritage Auctions.

Dwarfs Arrive Home. Original Ink and Watercolor. Image via Heritage Auctions.

Dwarfs on Stairs. Faux-woodcut line drawing. Image via John Canemaker's 1996 Before the Animation Begins, p. 38.

Queen and Magic Mirror. Original Ink and Watercolor. Image via Heritage Auctions.

Poison Apple. Image via Cynthia Rylant's 2009 Snow White..., p. 24.

Happy Ending. Image via Cynthia Rylant's 2009 Snow White..., p. 29.

It is sometimes mistakenly thought that Gustaf did not receive any screen credit for his contributions to Snow White. Yet, he is indeed listed as one of the Art Directors at the start of the film. Both Albert Hurter and Joe Grant were mentioned as Character Designers. It was Ferdinand Horvath that, sadly, was left off the list.

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In between feature projects, Tenggren contributed to the Silly Symphonies, specifically Hiawatha, The Ugly Duckling, and the Academy Award-winning The Old Mill.

Concept Art Painting for The Old Mill.

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Gustaf's greatest influence upon the Disney canon is in Pinocchio where his mark is seen throughout the film, in the design of the buildings and streets, the sign posts and lamps, and in the characters themselves.

Village Street Inspirational Sketch. Image via Disneywiki.

Blue Fairy Inspirational Sketch. Image via Disneywiki.

Tenggren Concept Art. Video posted by AdamLore.

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His last Disney project was Bambi. Tenggren would head out to Yosemite National Park where he'd set up his easel and paint some most spectacular renderings of the forest...too spectacular as it turns out. Years later, Frank Thomas was quoted as saying...

He did some amazing pictures. They were different than anything anyone else was doing. And they were impossible to use.

Before the Animation Begins, Canemaker, p41.

The paintings were so detailed that they took three days each to create. The movie would have taken forever to complete. So Walt moved the look of the film in a different direction.

Bambi Forest Scene. Attributed most likely to Tenggren. Image via Michael Sporn's Splog.

Tenggren working on Bambi, circa 1938.

Much has been said about the conflicts and controversies surrounding Gustaf Tenggren and his relatively short tenure at the Disney Studio. He was not liked by many of his animator colleagues. They complained of his aloofness and apparent arrogance. Yet, others said he was cooperative, just not sociable. This need by Gustaf to be left alone is not so reprehensible, but then there was the drink.

He had an real alcohol problem which at times may have resulted in muddled thinking and behavior. He was also known to be a philanderer from which a bit of a scandal developed. Animator Milt Kahl about blew a fuse when he learned that his underage niece (working a summer job at the studio) had gone camping alone with Tenggren on one of his Bambi excursions to Yosemite.

It may have been this last incident, or a combinations of factors, but something motivated Gustaf Tenggren to leave his employment with Disney in January of 1939. There must have been hard feelings within the studio ranks. A year later, when Pinocchio was finally released, Tenggren's name was nowhere to be found on the picture that he'd contributed so much to.

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The Tenggren Books and Golden Books...

Gustaf was not idle in his post-Disney years. Just the opposite. He began to develop his own trademark line called The Tenggren Books. The first in the series was The Tenggren Mother Goose, published in 1940.















He also struck up his long-running relationship with Golden Books. For the next 20 years, he would illustrate a whopping 25 titles. This included the most printed of all, The Poky Little Puppy, first published in 1942.

Gustaf had one last encounter with his Disney (and even Snow White) past when in 1956 he illustrated the cover of The Saturday Evening Post. The My Dad Walt Disney piece attributed to Diane Disney Miller appeared in the November 17th issue.

Saturday Evening Post, 1956. Image via Before the Animation Begins, p. 48.

Gustaf and Mollie moved to Maine where he continued to work on his artwork almost until his death from lung cancer in April of 1970. His collection of paintings and illustrations were later donated by his wife to the University of Minnesota.

The conflict of egos experienced between Gustaf and his colleagues was not an isolated incident at the Disney Studio. Stories of controversy between other artists exist as well. It was a time of tremendous advancement in the world of animation. It was also the Great Depression. The stress of keeping the studio financially afloat was a real concern. The pressure to produce was intense. Yet through it all, illustrious were the results. No matter how the other animators--even the staunchest of adversaries--may have felt about him personally, they couldn't deny their admiration for Gustaf Tenggren's artistic contributions to the Golden Age.

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Further Tenggren reading from:

• Lars Emanuelsson gustaftenggren.com
• Cloud 109 The Strange Odyssey of Gustav Tenggren 
• ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive Gustaf Tenggren and the Genesis of the Golden Book Style
• Michael Sporn Animation Splog Gustaf Tenggren’s Story Book - part one and part two

"Animators of Film and Television" Book

Front Cover

Author Noell Wolfgram Evans is a playwright, animation historian, and two-time winner of the Thurber Treat award. Although he may work by day as a creator of theater, he's always had an interest in animation.

From an email correspondence with Noell...

I started a few years ago exploring various animators and films for on-line and print publications.

As I wrote I became intrigued at the through-line from "classic" animation to today's popular culture. The closer you look at say some of the great Warner Brothers cartoons or the design work of the late 40s/early 50s modernists, you start to see some of the roots of how we look and laugh at things today.

So I wanted to explore that a little further and I also wanted to share the stories of the people who were really doing the day to day work of creating these shorts, bringing such joy into our lives and truly influencing much of what we think about, from an entertainment standpoint, today.

Author Noell Wolfgram Evans

Published in 2011, Animators of Film and Television takes a good look at 19 influential animators, directors, and writers from this past century who affected animation and in turn, our culture.

Sample Pages via amazon.com

Of specific interest to Snow White enthusiasts are the chapters on Art Babbitt, Joe Grant and John Hubley. The three were employed at the Disney Studio in the mid 1930s during the creation of Walt's first feature film. They worked for the Mouse, but it wasn't all princesses and fairytales. Not all animators were looked upon proportionately to the work they produced. This smartly written book tells it like it was without the fluff. An interesting read for anyone desiring to delve deeper into the history of animation.

Print ISBN: 978-0-7864-4832-6
Ebook ISBN: 978-0-7864-8603-8
Publisher: McFarland, 2011
Format: Softcover, 228 pages
See the book listing on Amazon.