They Drew As They Pleased Vol 4: The Hidden Art of Disney's Mid-Century Era (Disney Art Books, Gifts for Disney Lovers) (Disney x Chronicle Books)

Praise for They Drew As They Pleased Vol 4: The Hidden Art of Disney's Mid-Century Era (Disney Art Books, Gifts for Disney Lovers) (Disney x Chronicle Books)

" The Hidden Art of Disney's Mid-Century Era: The 1950s took my breath away...Ghez features a wealth of work that was too weird, too ambitious, too esoteric to make it into a Disney production -- it's a tour of a parallel universe in which Disney was the world's best-funded avant garde salon, where incredibly talented, fiercely driven painters and illustrators produced challenging work of enormous wit, drive, and ambition."
-Cory Doctorow, BoingBoing

" The Hidden Art of Disney's Mid-Century Era: The 1950s took my breath away...Ghez features a wealth of work that was too weird, too ambitious, too esoteric to make it into a Disney production -- it's a tour of a parallel universe in which Disney was the world's best-funded avant garde salon, where incredibly talented, fiercely driven painters and illustrators produced challenging work of enormous wit, drive, and ambition."
-Cory Doctorow, BoingBoing

4 out of 5 stars "What draws us in most about this book is, of course, the art, but also Didier's warts-and-all insights. He hasn't splashed Disney glitter over its history. Instead, he's given a true account of how these largely unknown artists and their commitment to their craft - even when it came into question - helped refine Disney's artistic style for years to come, securing their place in animation history in the process."
-ImagineFX

4 out of 5 stars "What draws us in most about this book is, of course, the art, but also Didier's warts-and-all insights. He hasn't splashed Disney glitter over its history. Instead, he's given a true account of how these largely unknown artists and their commitment to their craft - even when it came into question - helped refine Disney's artistic style for years to come, securing their place in animation history in the process."
-ImagineFX

"The art and the men (and one woman) spotlighted here are fascinating. Many will be drawn to the story of Mary Blair, a female artist who exceeded in a male-dominated field, as she was one of the favorites of Disney himself. It's not hard to see why; her designs for 'Alice in Wonderland' are armed with color that seems as if it came directly from your dreams. One piece - which graces the book's cover - features Alice sitting before a seemingly never-ending ocean blue table, complete with all manner of multicolored teapots, cups and chairs, with a dark background featuring little beyond a couple bare trees, invoking a sense of mystery and dread behind the bright colors in the foreground. In other words, it perfectly captures the wonder and hints of dread that would come in the film."
-The Auburn Citizen

"The art and the men (and one woman) spotlighted here are fascinating. Many will be drawn to the story of Mary Blair, a female artist who exceeded in a male-dominated field, as she was one of the favorites of Disney himself. It's not hard to see why; her designs for 'Alice in Wonderland' are armed with color that seems as if it came directly from your dreams. One piece - which graces the book's cover - features Alice sitting before a seemingly never-ending ocean blue table, complete with all manner of multicolored teapots, cups and chairs, with a dark background featuring little beyond a couple bare trees, invoking a sense of mystery and dread behind the bright colors in the foreground. In other words, it perfectly captures the wonder and hints of dread that would come in the film."
-The Auburn Citizen

"... these books are a treasure trove of art that the samples included here only touch on. If anything, they are more a demonstration of these artists skills than their work for Disney. There is also a lot to contemplate and ensure these artists are not forgotten."
-SF Crowsnest

"... these books are a treasure trove of art that the samples included here only touch on. If anything, they are more a demonstration of these artists skills than their work for Disney. There is also a lot to contemplate and ensure these artists are not forgotten."
-SF Crowsnest

"This series is a required part of any Disney Animation fan's library."
-The Laughing Place

"This series is a required part of any Disney Animation fan's library."
-The Laughing Place

"Though some illustration projects were never produced, this collection holds mementos of the past, preserving it so any Midcentury Modernist or animation lover can experience the challenging works that drove animation studios to the edge in both creativity and style."
-Atomic Ranch magazine

"Though some illustration projects were never produced, this collection holds mementos of the past, preserving it so any Midcentury Modernist or animation lover can experience the challenging works that drove animation studios to the edge in both creativity and style."
-Atomic Ranch magazine

"This is such a cool find...[it] shows some of the earliest animation sketches that came to be the Disney movies you know and love."
-PopSugar "Gifts for Women: Best Coffee Table Books"

"This is such a cool find...[it] shows some of the earliest animation sketches that came to be the Disney movies you know and love."
-PopSugar "Gifts for Women: Best Coffee Table Books"