20+ YEARS OF RESEARCH
Disney
Art History
Everyone needs a serious hobby. Mine happens to involve finding medieval manuscripts, modern design, and Victorian mourning imagery hiding inside the happiest places on earth.
Disneyland loves art history—it just doesn't always make it obvious. I've spent 20+ years cataloguing the hidden art historical references at Disneyland, Walt Disney World, Disneyland Paris, and in Disney and Pixar films. Come find them with me.
20+
years of Parks research
100s
references catalogued
5
Disney Parks + films covered
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COMING SOON
Art History at Disneyland
The Books
A land-by-land book series investigating the art and architectural history hiding in every corner of Disneyland. Starting with New Orleans Square—home to Pirates of the Caribbean and the Haunted Mansion.
Each book focuses on one themed land and the global art history that shaped it. For Disney adults, enthusiastic families, and fellow art history buffs.
Fun facts
The Danse Macabre (the "Dance of Death") directly inspired the Haunted Mansion's ballroom scene.
Sleeping Beauty's flat, angular look was directly inspired by the Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry—a medieval French illuminated manuscript from the 1400s.
The pirates in Pirates of the Caribbean were modeled on Howard Pyle's late 19th- and early 20th-century illustrations.