March 31, 2018 – October 13, 2018

ORANGE, Calif., March 28, 2018 The Hilbert Museum of California Art at Chapman University has received a generous donation of eight major paintings by the renowned American landscapist and Walt Disney Studios concept and background artist Eyvind Earle. The newly acquired paintings, gifted by the Earle Family Trust, will be placed in the museum’s permanent collection, and will be on display to the public March 31-October 13, 2018 in the Hilbert Museum exhibition “Magical Visions: The Enchanted Worlds of Eyvind Earle.” The exhibition, curated by Ioan Szasz, CEO of Eyvind Earle Publishing, also will include other works from the Hilbert permanent collection and on loan to the Hilbert Museum from the Earle Family Trust and other collectors.

HILBERT MUSEUM OF CALIFORNIA ART
Magical Visions: The Enchanted Worlds of Eyvind Earle
March 31-October 13, 2018

Opening Reception: Saturday, March 31, from 6 to 8 p.m.,
167 N. Atchison St., Orange, CA RSVP 714-516-5880
www.hilbertmuseum.com

“We are thrilled and delighted to accept these important and beautiful pieces by the late Eyvind Earle into the Museum’s collection,” said Mary Platt, director of the Hilbert Museum. “Earle’s style is unique in all of American art; it is really a form of visual poetry, both stylized and naturalistic as he portrays landscapes of almost otherworldly beauty, and of course, his impact on the Disney canon is unequaled. We are proud to showcase these groundbreaking pieces of art and to be able to offer this outstanding exhibition to our campus and community.”
Other exhibitions opening at the Hilbert Museum March 31 and continuing through October 13 are: “Scenic View Ahead: The Westway Cover Art Collection,” in cooperation with the Automobile Club of Southern California; “Sunlight and Shadow”: A Gift of California Art from the Collection of Jim and Lynne Doti; “A New Hope: The Star Wars Art of Robert Bailey.” Continuing are: “American Illustration: Children at Play” and “Character References: The Art of the Animation Drawing,” as well as works on display from the permanent collection.

ABOUT EYVIND EARLE
Eyvind Earle (1916-2000), artist, illustrator, author, poet and Disney Legend, is best known to the general public as the man responsible for the styling, color and backgrounds of Walt Disney’s Sleeping Beauty (1959), giving that beloved classic its sumptuous and dazzling medieval look. His ambitious design and intense dedication to detail on each of Sleeping Beauty’s backgrounds continue to be the main forces behind the movie’s classification as one of the most artistically distinct Disney films to date. His concept art also helped shape such enduring Disney favorites as Peter Pan (1953) and Lady and the Tramp (1955).

Earle’s work, found in the personal collections of filmmakers Guillermo del Toro and Peter Jackson, author Dean Koontz and many others, is recognized for its truly original perception of landscape that simultaneously captures the grandeur and simplicity of the American countryside. To this day, much of his work remains unclassifiable neither contemporary nor classic; a style uniquely his own. His portrayals of natural landscapes, atmosphere, color and lighting convey landmass and mood, and the magical, awe-inspiring spirit of the elements. The exhibition at the Hilbert Museum will celebrate Earle as one of the most innovative landscape masters of his time inspiring a new generation of artists working today.

In 2015, the Walt Disney Company posthumously awarded Earle the prestigious Disney Legend Award® for his work on Sleeping Beauty and his invaluable contributions to the art of animation. Kristin Earle Thompson, the daughter of Eyvind Earle, received the award on behalf of her father.

ABOUT THE HILBERT MUSEUM
The Hilbert Museum of California Art at Chapman University, which opened in 2016, was established thanks to the generosity of Mark and Janet Hilbert, whose superlative collection focuses on the “California Scene” painting movement of roughly the 1920s through the 1970s and beyond. The Hilbert Collection which includes oils, watercolors and drawings of rural and urban scenes, coastal views, farms, ranches, freeways and landscapes of everyday life in the Golden State is a significant repository of 20th-century representational art by California artists. The Collection also includes animation and movie art (many California fine artists were drawn to the state by work in the movie industry, including as animators, background painters, set and backdrop designers and poster artists) and works by noted American illustrators.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MEDIA CONTACT:
Mary Platt, APR
Director
Hilbert Museum of California Art
714-628-7271 platt@chapman.edu