Auction Name: 2025 December 12 - 15 The Art of Disney Signature® Auction

Lot Number: 17044

Shortcut to Lot: HA.com/7408*17044

Eyvind Earle - Disneyland Sleeping Beauty Castle Maleficent at Dungeon Signed 20" x 15" Concept Painting Original Art (Walt Disney, 1957). The remarkable artist and Disney Legend Eyvind Earle (1916 - 2000) makes a grand display of his astounding skills in this enormous 20" x 15" original concept/color model key for Disneyland's Sleeping Beauty Castle, featuring the ominous dungeon of our emblematic antagonist, Maleficent, tormenting her victim. In 1955, when Disneyland opened, the second story of Sleeping Beauty's castle was empty. Imagineers envisioned a walkthrough attraction and turned to Earle, already creating concepts for the film for inspiration, crafting the famed dioramas based on his paintings. Walt Disney famously gave Earle liberty to design the setting and choose colors for the movie, an influential decision that gave this animated classic its distinctive, captivating look. Created in gouache on board, this original piece by Earle allows us to look through a window of the Forbidden Fortress and into Maleficent's ghastly dungeon, where the Mistress of All Evil conjures her sinister magic upon her prisoner, showing also the bones of previous captives, signed in the bottom right corner, a concept created for the walk through attraction at the Sleeping Beauty Castle. Exhibiting Earle's proficient capabilities, this powerful image conjures the macabre scene with a blue a green palette, accentuated by the purple of Maleficent's robe, and featuring his signature approach to texture seen in the stone. Pinholes can be seen on the corners of the board. The lot shows minor handling and edge wear from production. In Very Good condition.


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