Mary by the Sea
Artist
Lee Blair
(1911 - 1993)
Date1934
MediumOil on canvas
Dimensions34 x 48 in. (86.4 x 121.9 cm)
ClassificationsPainting
Credit LineGift of the Hilbert Collection
Object number2017.029
DescriptionThis stunning oil painting is a visual documentation of a weekend painting excursion that Lee Blair and his artist wife Mary Robinson Blair took to Palos Verdes. The pair were newlyweds, living in Glendale at the time, and both were working at the studio of famed cartoon animator Ub Iwerks.Interesting fact: Lee Blair actually held an Olympic gold medal -- in art! -- for a piece he had entered in the art competition of the 1932 Summer Olympic Games, held in Los Angeles. Yes, art -- and literature -- were Olympic medal competitions from 1912 to 1948. (We should bring those categories back, don't you think?)
A native of L.A., Lee Blair received his art education at Chouinard and won several major awards for his watercolor paintings. Throughout the 1930s he created watercolors depicting everyday life in California, and became highly respected among his peers. He was elected president of the California Water Color Society in 1935.
Mary Blair, of course, went on to become one of the most famous artists ever employed at Disney Studios, leading the visual art teams on the movies Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan and Cinderella, and designing the popular ride “It’s a Small World.”
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