Bidding for this lot will end on Sunday, December 7th. The auction will begin at 3:00PM GMT (7:00AM PST) and lots are sold sequentially via live auctioneer; tune in to the live streaming broadcast on auction day to follow the pace. Note other lots in the auction may close on Friday, December 5th or Saturday, December 6th.
This exceptional original concept painting by Mary Blair was created during the production of Cinderella, one of the most pivotal films in the history of Walt Disney Studios.
Executed in gouache on board, it captures the thrilling moment as Cinderella flees the palace, her gown still shimmering with magic as the clock strikes midnight. She rushes toward the grand staircase, unaware that her glass slipper has been left behind, a symbol that would become one of the most enduring images in cinema.
Bathed in moonlight and framed by the grandeur of the palace interior, the composition radiates movement, urgency, and wonder. Blair's masterful use of colour, from the warm glow of the chandelier to the cool blue shadows cascading down the steps, transforms this key moment into a poetic study of light and transformation, perfectly embodying the film's themes of magic, loss, and renewal.
The painting reflects the stylistic brilliance that defined Blair's tenure as Disney's lead colour stylist. With its bold architectural framing, luminous palette, and minimal detail, it transforms a fleeting narrative moment into a masterwork of emotion and geometry. The deep crimson curtain divides the scene like a stage, contrasting with the cool moonlight beyond, while the delicate glow of the chandelier and the sparkle on the carpet evoke the lingering presence of the Fairy Godmother's spell. Every compositional choice reveals Blair's instinct for storytelling through design, where colour conveys feeling and rhythm defines the narrative.
Created during Disney's post-war resurgence, Cinderella marked the studio's return to full-length animated storytelling after Bambi and the wartime anthology films. Walt Disney personally selected Blair to define the film's visual tone, trusting her modernist sensibility to bring elegance and clarity to a story of renewal. Her stylised studies guided animators including Marc Davis and Eric Larson, who credited her with transforming emotional atmosphere into tangible light and colour.
This painting exemplifies Blair's modernist approach that bridged fine art and animation. The abstraction of form, the flat application of gouache and perhaps tempera, and the interplay between warm and cool tones, all reflect her pioneering design philosophy that would influence Eyvind Earle's work on Sleeping Beauty nearly a decade later.
The taped border, chalk-matte surface, and layered brush texture are characteristic of Blair's Cinderella concept paintings held in institutional collections such as the Walt Disney Animation Research Library (ARL) and The Walt Disney Family Museum, which preserve many of her verified gouache studies from the same period.
Mary Blair's Cinderella paintings are among the most coveted of her career, representing the moment her vision helped redefine the Disney aesthetic for the modern age. Her ability to distil entire sequences into elegant, emotional compositions remains unmatched in animation history.
This exemplary piece, radiant in both technique and feeling, stands as a testament to her genius, a museum-quality work of profound artistic, historical and cultural significance, capturing the very heartbeat of Disney's Golden Age creativity. Dimensions: 43 cm x 43 cm x 3 cm (17" x 17" x 1.25")
Sold without copyright; see copyright notice in the Terms and Conditions.
Estimate: £15,000 - 30,000 Ω
View all lots from CINDERELLA (1950)