LOT #17050 |
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The Little Mermaid Early 12.75" x 10" Concept Pastel Drawing Original Art by Kay Nielsen (Walt Disney, c. 1941). ...
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Sold on Dec 15, 2024 for:
$40,800.00
Bid Source: Live: Phone bidder
Description
The Little Mermaid Early 12.75" x 10" Concept Pastel Drawing Original Art by Kay Nielsen (Walt Disney, c. 1941). The fairy tales of Danish author Hans Christian Andersen greatly appealed to Walt Disney, and he started several Andersen projects for the studio, only to drop them one by one for various reasons (usually the rather somber endings of many of the stories). The Little Mermaid was one of them, and fellow Dane Kay Nielsen (1886 - 1957) was delighted to create some wonderful, moody concept pieces in pastels. This illustration of mermaids singing their "siren's song" to attract a ship is beautifully rendered in dark pastels on black paper, with an image size of approximately 12.75" x 10". Mr. Nielsen loved working at the studio and was excited about The Little Mermaid and several other projects, but the relative failure of Walt's art opus Fantasia which included work by Nielsen led to most of these projects - including The Little Mermaid - to be shut down, leaving the discouraged artist without a job. However, he would be back many years later to work on Sleeping Beauty, a project he would not live to see completed.Disney Studios would return to The Little Mermaid many years after Walt had passed, in a version with a much lighter tone, but those original Kay Nielsen concept sketches deserve to be seen; in fact, the book They Drew as They Pleased: The Hidden Art of Disney's Musical Years - The 1940s, Part One by Didier Ghez has several fine examples, but in our humble opinion, none match the grandeur of this dark masterpiece. The 15" x 11.5" black paper is fragile with crumbling edges, but the image is perfectly intact; the paper has been matted to a sheet of illustration board measuring 16.75" x 12.75" with a loose piece of acetate over the delicate art for protection. The overall condition is Good to Very Good with edge wear and minor handling.
Auction Info
2024 December 14 - 17 The Art of All Things Disney and More! Signature® Auction #7385 (go to Auction Home page)
Auction Dates
December, 2024
14th-17th
Saturday-Tuesday
Bids + Registered Phone Bidders: 19
Lot Tracking Activity: N/A
Page Views: 746
Buyer's Premium per Lot:
20% of the successful bid per lot.
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