Mary Blair's journey through Latin America inspired a body of work that blended her distinctive modernist style with the textures, colors, and patterns she encountered. One of my personal favorites comes from her time in Mexico, created as concept art for Disney’s 1943 film Saludos Amigos.

Walt Disney wanted Sleeping Beauty to be “a moving illustration.” He meant that literally. He instructed his animators to treat the film not like a traditional cartoon. The result was an aesthetic departure that set Sleeping Beauty apart from anything Disney had done before or since.

From medieval manuscripts and unicorns to renaissance landscape paintings and modern design, Disney’s Sleeping Beauty is filled with nods to real art that inspired its unique look. Did you know you can see many of these artworks in person in New York City museums like The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Morgan, and The Cloisters?

French decorative arts—especially Rococo porcelains—inspired the stunning visuals of Beauty and the Beast.

Disney’s villainous Evil Queen in Snow White is based on a famous medieval sculpture of Uta von Ballenstedt

Writing about art history at Disneyland has been a lifelong dream—and I am finally fulfilling it

This post focuses on the architecture that influenced Disneyland's Haunted Mansion exterior.

This post considers the historical art and architecture references in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) as a way to understand the film

"Disneyland is dedicated to the ideals, the dreams and the hard facts that have created America." Let's consider what this means!