Why We Love Mary Blair and You Do, Too
Who is Mary Blair and why do we love her work? If you’re a designer or artist, you cannot help but feel inspired by Mary Blair artwork.
A favorite of Walt Disney, Mary Blair was instrumental in creating the rich patterns and vivid colors you see in many mid-20th century animated films. You can see her work in Cinderella, Peter Pan, Fantasia, Alice in Wonderland, and many other classic mid-century films.
Blair also conceptualized several Disney attractions. The Grand Canyon Mural at the Contemporary Resort in Florida and the Small World exhibit are just two of her creations.
After a Goodwill Tour to South America in the 1940's, Mary Blair felt inspired by the color and movement she saw. She created a unique signature style.
One marker of Blair’s signature style was her use of colors. Instead of blending and blurring colors, she put contrasting colors next to each other. Her color choices were often vibrant and filled with emotion.
Another marker of the Mary Blair style is abstraction. Her characters and settings weren’t realistic. Instead, Blair used lines, colors, and shapes to create emotion, movement, and expression.
Mary Blair’s work continues to influence pop culture. When you see bright artwork paired with expressionism and abstraction: it might very well be inspired by Mary Blair’s mid-century aesthetic approach.
In 2017, Uncle Goose reached out to the Mary Blair estate and asked for permission to recreate some of her designs on our toys and decor. They graciously agreed.
Mary Blair Animals feature 3 classic animal profiles created by Mary Blair. Each animal is a 12x12" maple cutout. Limited to 500, numbered sets.
The Mary Blair Memory Game contains 32 - 1.75 inch tiles with classic Mary Blair designs. Match horses, butterflies, umbrellas, flowers, ships, elephants, and more.
Uncle Goose Merry Maker Blocks feature 3 Santas designed by Mary Blair. You can also see and feel her snowflake and star designs. Ho, ho, ho!
We hope you love Mary Blair’s work as much as we do. Why not enjoy Mary Blair inspired artwork and designs in your own home or workplace?
