Mary Blair Gallery

Who was Mary Blair?

Mary Blair (born Mary Browne Robinson, October 21, 1911, McAlester, Oklahoma, U.S. — died July 26, 1978, Soquel, California) was an American artist, art director, and designer, known for her colorful and modern illustrations that helped define the visual style of Disney’s classic animated movies, including Cinderella (1950), Alice in Wonderland (1951), and Peter Pan (1953).

In later years, Blair illustrated children's books and designed women's wear. Her work has been exhibited in The Colors of Mary Blair at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, Japan in 2009, and Magic, Color, Flair: The World of Mary Blair at the Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco, California in 2014.

This page will focus on Blair's concept art for Alice in Wonderland (1951), because it is my favorite series by her, but you can find more information about her life and work below. The biography and portrait are from Encyclopedia Britannica and the images are from Heritage Auctions.