Above: Eyvind Earle concept painting from Walt Disney’s “Lady and the Tramp.” Offered by RR Auction.
A lifelong love of animation
Harry Kleiman grew up enjoying Saturday morning cartoons, like many of us. That turned into a love of animation and illustration – and obtaining significant examples for his collection – that has continued for more than 50 years.
Read Harry’s firsthand account of his love of animation
Kleiman is RR Auction’s animation expert, and has shared some of most compelling pieces of original artwork with our other passionate collectors in past auctions. Our August Fine Autographs and Artifacts auction (through Aug. 8) has a special Animation feature section, with more of his incredible finds from the world’s greatest animation artists.
Kleiman’s favorite illustrator would have to be Eyvind Earle, the noted artist behind such Disney works as “Lady and the Tramp,” (seen above) “Sleeping Beauty,” and more. “His attention to detail was unsurpassed,” Kleiman said.
Within 194 animation lots, RR is offering 140 Walt Disney items. We spoke with Kleiman about one of his favorite things: Walt Disney’s paradigm-shifting master work, Snow White. He told us the amazing story of how that film came to be.
Kleiman on Snow White
Nobody thought he could do it. Film titans Louis B. Mayer and Jack Warner called it “Walt’s Folly.” For who would sit through a full-length animated film in a theater? It was absurd; it was never done before.
Walt Disney proved everyone wrong.
“Once upon a time” in 1934, Walt Disney sent his animation staff to dinner (with a nickel or dime to pay for it), telling them to come back to the office afterwards. When they did, Walt acted out the whole story and his vision of Snow White – the voices, the actions, all the dwarves’ personalities.
Unbeknownst to any of his staff, Walt had been planning Snow White all on his own. “It was all in his head; he had amazing character development,” Kleiman noted.
Once the story was revealed to his staff, Walt mortgaged his house and his old studio and work began on Snow White. Creating “The Old Mill” as a test film for 3D, and Silly Symphonies cartoons as “practice” films, Walt even had to create the multiplane camera to capture the 3D aspects of the film.
Despite naysayers like Mayer and Warner, the film was, of course, an international hit. All the songs – all written for the film – became No. 1 hits as well. Walt was even able to build a new (the current) Disney studio with revenue from Snow White.
A special Oscar was also created for the film, as there had been no award for an animated feature yet. It featured one big Oscar, and seven little ones, for the dwarves. It was presented to Walt by a young Shirley Temple.
Take home Snow White
We have 18 beautiful pieces from Disney’s Snow White – production drawings and production cels that feature the heroine, her seven small friends, her prince and one poison apple-proffering witch.
“I hope that you see the hard work and beauty that I saw in these wonderful works,” Kleiman said.
