Arlington, TX (February 2, 2023) – The Arlington Museum of Art has received a gift from the Earle Family Trust of four original oil paintings by Disney Legend animator Eyvind Earle.
Eyvind Earle (1916-2000) was a background painter for Walt Disney Animation Studios from 1951-1966. During that time, he created worlds for classic animated films such as Peter Pan, Lady and the Tramp, and the highly acclaimed Sleeping Beauty, for which he created all of the styling, background, and colors.
During Summer 2022, the AMA exhibited over a dozen original paintings and serigraphs by Earle at the Arlington ISD Center for Visual and Performing Arts gallery and in partnership with Eyvind Earle Publishing. The collaboration was a companion show to the museum’s Summer 2022 blockbuster exhibition, Disney Art from Private Collections.
The paintings will become a part of the Arlington Museum of Art’s permanent collection.
To celebrate the spirit of collaboration behind the gift, the museum is partnering again with Arlington Independent School District to debut the Earle paintings during the City’s 2023 Youth Art Month show, which has been hosted by the AMA since 1990. From March 3-23, 2023, artwork by students from AISD high schools, junior high schools, and elementary schools fill the museum’s galleries. Admission is free.
The paintings given to the AMA by the Earle Family Trust are:
- Big Sur Branch and Fog, Eyvind Earle, oil on board, 48” x 36”, 1-5-1988
- Bonsai, Eyvind Earle, oil on board, 28” x 22”, 1-2-1978
- Fire Magic, Eyvind Earle, 48” x 36”, oil on board, 4-26-1993
- Late Autumn Leaves, Eyvind Earle, 48” x 24”, oil on board, 4-26-1996
“The four selected works were in the private collection of the artist and hung in his residence in Carmel, California,” said Ioan Szasz, CEO of Eyvind Earle Publishing. “Never available for sale, the paintings have been exhibited publicly only twice; once in the 2016 exhibition, Eyvind Earle: An Exhibit of a Disney Legend at Forest Lawn Art Museum in Glendale, CA; and the 2017 exhibition, Awaking Beauty: The Art of Eyvind Earle at Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco, CA.”
“The Arlington Museum of Art is thrilled to receive this generous gift from the Earle Family Trust,” said Kendall Quirk, AMA Registrar and Director of Exhibitions.
“Earle’s innovative, artistic style is unmistakable, and he spent his life perfecting it,” said Quirk. “He was a magician at creating a sense of place. His legacy continues to influence the look of animated films, not to mention artists, animators, and designers worldwide.”
