Mary Blair

Several of her illustrated children's books from the 1950s remain in print, such as I Can Fly by Ruth Krauss. Blair was inducted into the group of Disney Legends in 1991.

Born on October 21, 1911, in McAlester, Oklahoma, Mary Browne Robinson moved to Texas while still a small child, and later to the city of Morgan Hill, California, in the early 1920s. After graduating from San José State University which she attended from 1929 to 1931, Mary won a scholarship to the Chouinard Art Institute in Los Angeles, where artists such as Pruett Carter, Morgan Russell and Lawrence Murphy were among the teachers. She graduated from Chouinard in 1933. In 1934 shortly after college, she married another artist, Lee Everett Blair (October 1, 1911 – April 19, 1993). She was the sister-in-law of animator Preston Blair (1908–1995). Along with her husband Lee, she became a member of the California School of Watercolor and quickly became known for being an imaginative colorist and designer.

Blair's first professional job in the animation industry was as in the animation unit of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. She would soon leave and join Lee Blair at the Ub Iwerks Studio before moving to Disney. In the 1930s she was also a part of the innovative California Water-Color Society. Blair joined Walt Disney Productions—initially with some reluctance— in 1940, and worked briefly on art for Dumbo, an early version of Lady and the Tramp, and "Baby Ballet," a segment for an proposed sequel to Fantasia. After some time, Blair decided to leave the studio in 1941, feeling artistically restrained and unsatisfied with the work given to her. After being away from the studio for a short time, Blair traveled to various South American countries with Walt Disney, Lillian Disney and other artists on a research tour as part of the Good Neighbor policy of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. While on the tour, Blair was able to capture a variety of distinct South American sceneries and people in her own style. Her use of color and shape impressed Disney, who appointed her as an art supervisor for the animated feature films Saludos Amigos and The Three Caballeros. Blair's various paintings of children she had met on the trip would later be used as concept art and inspiration for Disneyland's It's a Small World attraction. Blair first began animation and color design on major films in 1943 and would continue to work on animated films for Disney for a full decade. This would not be widely celebrated by others though, as many animators who worked alongside her had trouble bringing her 2D paintings to life and many seemed confused on her unique use of colors. Despite this, her work with animation did not end there however as after that, she worked on several package films, excluding Fun and Fancy Free, and on two partially animated features—Song of the South and So Dear to My Heart. The early 1950s were a busy time for the Disney studio, with an animated feature released nearly every year. Mary Blair was credited with color styling on Cinderella (1950), Alice in Wonderland (1951) and Peter Pan (1953), and the artistic influence of her concept art is strongly felt in those films, as well as in several animated shorts, including Susie the Little Blue Coupe and The Little House, she designed during that period. Some of Mary Blair's work, notably in So Dear to My Heart, was inspired by quilts. In a letter to Walt Disney, Blair discussed her interest to incorporate quilts into So Dear to My Heart: "It seems that quilt making is a revived art in this country now, which fact adds more value to its use as a medium of expression in our picture." After the completion of Peter Pan, Blair resigned from Disney and worked as a freelance graphic designer and illustrator, creating advertising campaigns for companies such as Nabisco, Pepsodent, Maxwell House, Beatrice Foods and others. She also illustrated several Little Golden Books for publisher Simon & Schuster, some of which remain in print today, and she also designed Christmas and Easter sets for Radio City Music Hall. Blair not only worked in graphic design and animation but also as a designer for Bonwit Teller and created theatrical sets. At the request of Walt Disney, who regarded highly her innate sense of color styling, Blair began work on Disney's new attraction, "It's a Small World". Originally a Pepsi-Cola-sponsored pavilion benefiting UNICEF at the 1964 New York World's Fair, the attraction moved to Disneyland after the Fair closed and was later replicated at the Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World Resort as well as Tokyo Disneyland, Disneyland Paris and Hong Kong Disneyland. Although this attraction has received both criticisms and embrace, Blair's bold use of shape, color, and cultural motifs continue to be recognized and celebrated. Blair created murals that would be showcased in Disney parks, hotels and other Disney attractions from California to Florida. These murals were not only painted but some would be tile decor. In 1966, philanthropist Dr. Jules Stein hired Walt Disney to create a ceramic mural for his newly opened Eye Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles. Mary Blair designed the mural for Dr. Stein's Pediatric Surgery waiting room. The theme Walt chose for the mural was that of "It's a Small World" attraction designed by Blair. In 1967, Blair created mural art for the Tomorrowland Promenade. Two similar tile murals flanked the entrance corridor. The mural over Adventure Thru Inner Space was covered over in 1987 with the opening of Star Tours, while the other remained in place until 1998 when the Circle-Vision 360° was replaced by Rocket Rods and a new mural was designed to reflect the new theme. Her design of a 90-foot-high (27 m) mural remains a focal point of the Disney's Contemporary Resort hotel at Walt Disney World, which was completed for the resort's opening in 1971. Mary Blair would also go on to make sets of Walt Disney note cards for Hallmark. In 1968, Blair was credited as color designer on the film adaptation of How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying. Blair would eventually move to Washington for Lee Blair's military career and then return to her in home studio located in Long Island, New York.