Cost
FREE with general admission; suggested donation of $5
Date
May 22–Sep 7, 2025
Location
Lower Lobby and Theater Galleries Please note: Lower Lobby access only on Sat, Jun 28
The Walt Disney Family Museum is delighted to announce Mary Blair: Mid-Century Magic, a special exhibition exploring the creative vision and achievements of one of Walt Disney’s most imaginative and renowned designers and art directors.
About the Exhibition
Enjoy the exuberant charm of Mary Blair, one of Walt Disney’s most inventive and influential designers and art directors. Mary’s joyful creativity, appealing designs, and energetic color palette can be seen in classic Disney animated films, including Cinderella (1950), Alice in Wonderland (1951), and Peter Pan (1953), and also in the theme park attraction it’s a small world.
Known for her whimsical and daring approach to art, Mary's versatility spanned multiple mediums, including watercolor, pencil and ink, collage, and ceramics. This exhibition features nearly 150 artworks and historical photographs exploring her influential role in shaping the look and feel of many of Disney’s animated films and theme park experiences—an artistic vision that continues to resonate today.
About Mary Blair
Born in McAlester, Oklahoma, in 1911 and raised in Morgan Hill, California, Mary attended San Jose State University before being awarded a scholarship to Chouinard Art Institute—now CalArts—in Los Angeles. After graduating in 1933—at the height of the Great Depression—she took a job in the animation unit of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) before joining The Walt Disney Studios in 1940.
In 1941, she joined the Disney expedition that toured Mexico and South America for three months and painted watercolors that inspired Walt to name her as an art supervisor on Saludos Amigos (1943) and The Three Caballeros (1945). Blair’s striking use of color and stylized graphics greatly influenced many Disney postwar productions, including Make Mine Music (1946), Song of the South (1946), Melody Time (1948), So Dear to My Heart (1948), The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949), Cinderella (1950), Alice in Wonderland (1951), and Peter Pan (1953).
In 1964, Walt asked Blair to assist in the design of the “it’s a small world” attraction. Over the years, she brought her many artistic gifts to numerous exhibits, attractions, and murals at the theme parks in California and Florida, including the fanciful murals in the Grand Canyon Concourse at Disney’s Contemporary Hotel at the Walt Disney World Resort. Blair passed on July 26, 1978, in Soquel, California.