The Art of Disneyland auction features items from the Marc and Alice Davis archives
The most magical auction on earth will hit the Heritage auction block on April 5-8, 2024, with “The Art of Disneyland,” a signature auction featuring items from the collection of Disney Legends Marc and Alice Davis.
Walt Disney’s famous “Nine Old Men” were not only responsible for creating many of the studio’s most memorable animated moments, but several of them also contributed to Disneyland’s original attractions.
Marc began his Disney career in 1935 working on “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” but his work for Disneyland is equally iconic, including the Jungle Cruise, Enchanted Tiki Room, Carousel of Progress, Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, and It’s a Small World.
His wife and frequent collaborator, Alice, is credited with designing the costumes for Pirates of the Caribbean, Carousel of Progress, and It’s a Small World.
The Art of Disneyland – Featuring the Marc and Alice Davis Archive Signature Auction
For the first time, more than 1800 items from Marc and Alice’s personal collection will be available to the public, including concept artwork, Marc’s original paintings, plus personal correspondence, Christmas cards, and postcards Marc and Alice exchanged with fellow Disney Legends (some with original drawings by Marc).
“It is such a great collection; it’s hard not to feel emotional,” says Andreas Deja, the supervising animator for Disney villains, including Jafar from “Aladdin,” Scar from “The Lion King,” and Gaston from “Beauty and the Beast.” “Marc considered himself an artist first. He would work for the studio Monday through Friday and then make his own work [on weekends]. He was the only one [of the Disney animators] doing that.”
Auction Highlights:
Marc Davis’ personal binder containing 116 original production drawings of “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” (Lot #16052), most of which are believed to have been drawn by Marc.
Two of Alice Davis’ sketchbooks (Lot #16017) containing graphite and ink sketches and painted clothing designs. One includes sketches for her first Disney project: the dress she designed for Helene Stanley to wear when she modeled for the animation of the dancing Aurora in Sleeping Beauty.
Ultra-rare graphite concept drawings for Cinderella’s fairy godmother by Marc Davis and his friend and fellow Disney Legend, Mary Blair (Lot #16046)
According to Deja, “a true gem” of the auction is “Four Artists Paint One Tree” (Lot #16073), Marc’s original watercolor and conte crayon drawing from the 1958 Disney television show “An Adventure in Art.” This unique film was narrated by Walt Disney and featured Davis, Eyvind Earle, Joshua Meador, and Walt Peregoy exploring different artistic interpretations of a California oak tree.
Proceeds from the auction will go to the couple’s favorite charities and institutions, including the art department of Cal Arts, where Alice and Mark met in an animation class he taught.
Additional Items in The Art of Disneyland Auction
In addition to the treasures from Marc and Alice’s collection, Heritage’s largest Disney Parks auction to date also includes what’s believed to be the last surviving and most complete version of a shooting gallery produced by WED Enterprises (the precursor to Walt Disney Imagineering).
After completing Walt Disney World in Florida, Disney decided some attractions could be “de-Disneyfied” and made available for sale; the shooting gallery in this auction is believed to be the only known (and complete) example of a WED-produced attraction that was sold to another entity, in this case to the Santa Cruz boardwalk in California.
Based on shooting galleries in Disneyland’s Frontierland and Walt Disney World’s Contemporary Resort, this gallery has six themed sections, including a medieval castle (Lot #17148), a gator-infested swamp (Lot #17151), a western bar (Lot #17149), and a haunted pirate ship (Lot #17147). Click here to see all the shooting gallery components available for bidding.
Audio-animatronic characters from Walt Disney World, including a functioning Enchanted Tiki Room bird (Lot #17137) and a figure from Epcot’s Food Rocks attraction (Lot #17324), are also available.
The Pre-Dawn Era of Disneyland
Before creating Disneyland, Walt Disney took his young daughters to a small Los Angeles amusement park called Beverly Park. Walt eventually convinced the proprietor, a self-taught engineer named David Bradley, to work with Disney artist Bruce Bushman to design rides and attractions for what would eventually become Disneyland, and the Art of Disneyland auction contains never-before-seen concept art Bradley and Bushman created during “the pre-dawn era of Disneyland.”
According to Heritage, the “treasure trove” of sketches from that collaboration, includes layouts for Fantasyland (Lot #18072) and Tomorrowland (Lot #17042) as well as concepts for Dumbo (Lot #17052), the Skyway (Lot #17057), and Motor Mania, which was later renamed Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride (Lot #17048).
“This may be Heritage’s best sale ever for The Art of Disneyland,” says Jim Lentz, Heritage’s VP of Animation and Anime Art. “The Complete WED Shooting Gallery and the Bradley/Bushman Archives for the early development of Disneyland are once-in-a-lifetime auction opportunities. If Disneyland is the happiest place on earth, I believe this auction may be the happiest auction on earth!”
The Art of Disneyland Signature Auction Sessions
- Session 1 (Lots 16001-16291) – April 5, 2024, at 10 a.m. PT: Live Floor, Live Phone, Mail, Fax, Internet, and Heritage Live bidding available
- Session 2 (Lots 17001-17351) – April 6, 2024, at 10 a.m. PT: Live Floor, Live Phone, Mail, Fax, Internet, and Heritage Live bidding available
- Session 3 (Lots 18001-18951) – April 7, 2024, at 10 a.m. PT: Mail, Fax, Internet, and Heritage Live bidding available only; No Floor or Phone bidding
- Session 4 – April 7, 2024, at 10 a.m. PT (Lots 19001-19273): Mail, Fax, Internet, and Heritage Live bidding available only; No Floor or Phone bidding
For all sessions, Live Proxy bidding on Heritage Live starts seven days before the live session begins and continues throughout the session. Proxy bidding ends ten minutes before the session starts.
Partial lot viewing is available to the public on April 1-5, 2024, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Heritage Auctions in Beverly Hills, Calif.
Click here for more information, to view lots, and to register to bid.
