I recently received a review copy of Didier Ghez‘s latest masterpiece, They Drew As they Pleased: The Hidden Art of Disney’s Musical Years – The 1940s – Part One. I’m pleased to report that – unsurprisingly – it’s another fantastic effort by Didier with an incredible amount of previously unseen conceptual artwork from perhaps the most fascinating period in the Studio’s history.
For those of you unfamiliar with this series, of which this volume is the second release, each installation of They Drew As They Pleased focuses on the work of notable Disney concept artists. For this title, which highlights the Studio’s output in the early 1940s, Didier brings us a look at five artists – Walt Scott, Kay Nielsen, Sylvia Holland, Retta Scott, and David Hall. These artists are legends for a reason, and their fascinating stories and incredible art are brought to vivid light by Didier’s research.
The early 1940s was a busy time at the Disney Studio; the success of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs fueled a boom in both Walt’s ambition and in the scope of the Studio’s talent pool. Artists swarmed to the Studio lot from across the world, working on a number of fascinating projects with lofty ambitions. Before a number of factors combined to bring this golden age to a halt, a slew of incredibly talented conceptual artists toiled away, brainstorming on seemingly endless flights of fancy and producing some of the most stunning art to ever emerge from the Studio.
By keeping the focus on individual artists, Didier is able to explore stories that have not previously been told, and to give a more in-depth look at the lives and careers of these unique individuals. The art is, obviously, excellent as well; Kay Nielsen has always been a particular favorite of mine and seeing such a large collection of his art is always welcome. If there’s a complaint to be made it’s that sometime the physical size and layout of the book isn’t large enough to fully present the grandeur of the art, but that’s a minor quibble.
This era of Disney animation history is my favorite. I’m intrigued by the many avenues the artists were exploring, and it’s really the last truly experimental phase in the Studio’s history. These projects are endlessly fascinating to me even when they weren’t entirely successful, and I’d love to see more collections of writing and artwork about these films. While the nature of They Drew As They Pleased precludes a film-by-film approach to the material, that’s something I’d like to read as well.
Didier’s impeccable research (and exhausting work ethic) have made this title one of the must-have Disney books of the year. Endless digging has revealed rare artwork and anecdotes, which is always welcome. (Incidentally, it was rather depressing to me to see how much of this priceless and historically valuable artwork has slipped out of the Studio’s grasp into the hands of private collectors and auction houses. To paraphrase Dr. Jones, it belongs in the ARL!)
This latest volume of They Drew As They Pleased goes on sale today; obviously it (as well as the previous title in the series) get my highest recommendation.
You can also view a preview of the book thanks to Google Books.
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