Mary Blair
Artist and illustrator Mary Blair (1911–1978) is best known for her work as a concept artist at The Walt Disney Studios from the 1940s through 60s, but Mary had a prolific career as a commercial illustrator outside of her work for Disney.
Her style is deceptively simple, yet revolutionary to mid-century audiences. She soaked up everything around her and keenly reflected what she absorbed from culture back into her work. Trained as a fine artist at the Chouinard School of Arts in Los Angeles, she reluctantly took work at animation studios for financial reasons, but once hired by Walt Disney, she quickly became someone he respected and relied on to concept animated scenes from her unique aesthetic perspective.
“[A] dazzling and prolific sorceress of color and form”… “She saw the world in a fresh way and made us see it too – like children – like feasting on rainbows.” – John Canemaker, Author and Animation Historian
Elle Crée’s Founder, Rachel Austen, has been a fan of Mary’s art for decades. It is her imaginative, bold color pairings and her joyful and whimsical stylization that first captured Rachel’s heart. Now – in collaboration with the Estate of Mary Blair (magicofmaryblair.com) overseen by her niece, Maggie Richardson – it is Rachel’s honor to translate Mary’s artwork for paint-by-number so that her fans have a new way to experience and interact with her world.
As part of this new partnership, Rachel had the chance to sit down with Maggie — a retired social worker and preserver of Mary’s legacy — for a heartfelt conversation about her aunt, the art, and the memories that keep her spirit alive.
Early Creative Memories of Mary
Do you remember when you first realized your Aunt Mary was an artist - and not just any artist, but someone really unique?
I was 18 and living in Los Angeles for my first year at UCLA when I really began to understand the magnitude of Mary’s impact. Being away from home, I got to spend more time with her as she worked frequently in LA, and she welcomed me into her world. It didn’t hit me how special she was until people started approaching her in public, asking about her work and projects.
She introduced me to incredible people like Roland Crump, the Disney Imagineer; Marc Davis, the Disney Animator; and Alice Davis, the Disney Costume Designer. We often had dinners with them in their home! Those early dinners made it clear just how respected and loved Mary was within that creative community.
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Mary Blair in her studio, circa 1950s
© The Estate of Mary Blair. All rights reserved
Did your parents or Aunt Mary ever share stories about her early interest in art or creativity? What kinds of things did she draw or make when she was young?
I remember my mom telling me that although money was tight growing up, they made an effort to save up for paint, pencils, and drawing paper for Mary. My grandparents really wanted to encourage her at a very early age because that was very clearly what she wanted to do. By the time she went to grade school, she would drive her classmates crazy by drawing pictures on their books or book covers. She would frequently draw portraits of her classmates and give them to them.
Was creativity something that ran through the whole family, or did Mary stand out in that regard?
Creativity ran in the family, but Mary stood out from the start. My grandmother, Mary’s mother, was a master seamstress who made many of her daughters’ clothes, and even some for my sister and me. My mother had a knack for writing poetry, but beyond that, there wasn’t anything quite as spectacularly creative as Mary’s work.
Growing Up with Mary Blair
What was Mary like when she wasn’t being ‘Mary Blair the artist’ - just Aunt Mary?
Aunt Mary always wanted to introduce me to new and exciting things I hadn’t experienced before. When I was 15, I took the train to New York and spent a couple of weeks with her that summer. We did all the things I’d never done - seeing Broadway plays, watching the Russian ballet, and even catching the Rockettes. Growing up in Campbell, a small town in Northern California, I hadn’t been to any of those places or events. I also got to try lobster for the first time and enjoyed meals at really nice restaurants with very interesting people.
My mother kept the letters I wrote her from school, and one of them mentioned, ‘Oh, I’m having a great time with Mary. I got my hair done and now have a red rinse!’ I can just imagine my mother’s reaction - ‘What?! You’re only 15!’ This was the early ’60s, so she was protective, but I absolutely loved those adventures with Mary.
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L-R: Maggie, Peggy (Mary's Sister, Maggie's Mother), and Mary on a road trip to NY in 1959
© The Estate of Mary Blair. All rights reserved
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L-R: Al Alinson (Jeanne's husband), Mary, Varda (Mary's Mother, Maggie's Grandmother), and Maggie in 1963
© The Estate of Mary Blair. All rights reserved
Did she ever sketch or doodle casually, or did she save her artistry for her official work?
When I was in college at UCLA, I’d spend some weekends with Mary while she stayed at the Tolucan Motel near the WED (Walter Elias Disney) Studios. We’d relax by the pool, but she always kept her drawing pad close. She would make little sketches or doodles whenever inspiration struck. Mary was constantly creating - drawing, doodling, or working on something. Sometimes, I’d even catch her sketching on a napkin while out in public.
Did Mary have any little rituals, habits, or particularities that you remember fondly, or that made you smile?
One little habit I remember is that when Mary was deep in thought, she would take off her glasses and chew on the end of one of the arms, holding it in the corner of her mouth. She always did this while designing. I can’t recall any other little rituals like that, but what really stands out is her wonderful sense of humor - she was genuinely funny.
Were there any keepsakes or gifts she made or brought back from her travels that became family treasures?
Mary was always making Christmas presents for everyone. One year, she created personalized porcelain plates for each of us. When I was little, I loved horses and horseback riding, so Mary drew me on top of a horse on my plate. I’ve kept that plate all these years - it actually hangs in my living room now. Another year, she made large coffee mugs for all of us. She was always crafting things and giving them to friends, family, and neighbors’ children.
I remember one specific Christmas when Mary gave me a piece of her art - one of her little Meadow Gold girls - with a note signed, ‘To: Margaret, Love: Mary.’ I thought to myself, ‘She signed it, but I already know who she is… and I was kind of expecting a doll!’”
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Maggie's Porcelain Plate
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Jeanne's Porcelain Plate
© The Estate of Mary Blair. All rights reserved
Life as an Artist (Through a Family Lens)
What was it like to have such a wildly creative and well-known artist in the family?
Oh, the whole family definitely talked about it! I’ve even found letters from different family members, including one from my grandmother reminding everyone, ‘Don’t forget that Mary’s show is on May 17.’ It was such a big deal when It’s a Small World premiered at the World’s Fair. Mary and Walt Disney were interviewed on television, which was huge back then, and the whole family made sure to watch and celebrate that moment together.
Were holidays or vacations different when Mary was around? Did her artistic spirit influence how the family celebrated?
Well, there was the birdcage Christmas tree. That was when she was doing Small World, and Rolly Crump was also designing the Tiki Room with the animatronic birds. He ended up giving Mary one of the small birds – it was pink and orange with feathers. So then, together they got a big birdcage and they hung the bird from inside the cage, surrounded it with little white lights, and hung pink and orange ornaments from the inside. I thought it was spectacular.
Mary brought the birdcage tree over for Thanksgiving and suggested using it as our Christmas tree that year, since she usually spent Christmas with us. My mom was skeptical at first and said, ‘But it’s not a tree.’ I convinced her by pointing out how much space there was underneath for presents, since it hung from the ceiling with no trunk. I loved it so much that I ended up keeping it after that Christmas and carried it with me for years.
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Mary Blair & Rolly Crump's Birdcage Christmas Tree
© The Estate of Mary Blair. All rights reserved
Legacy and Family Stewardship
What motivated you, Jeanne, and Kevin to start your website and family company in 2003? What did that process look like in the early days of the Internet?
We invited Kevin Blair over for Christmas in 2002 - the first year he was alone after the rest of the family had passed. It was a tough time, and during that visit, we started talking about the personal artwork Mary had left him. Kevin invited my sister Jeanne and me up to his home in Northern California to see it all. Her artwork was everywhere - stacked in boxes, stored in the shed, even under the bed. We asked him what he planned to do with it all, and he admitted he felt overwhelmed. So we offered to help.
Around that time, I had become friends with Alice Davis, and she showed me the website she had created to sell Marc’s work after he passed. That really inspired me. I suggested to Kevin and Jeanne that we create something similar for Mary’s personal art. We had high-resolution files made of her work and found someone to help us build the site.
Once it launched, we were flooded with orders and inquiries. People were so excited to see artwork of Mary’s that had never been shared publicly before. It quickly became clear how much her personal work meant to others, and that’s really how it all began.
After the site launched, the Cartoon Art Museum in San Francisco reached out to us about including Mary’s work in an exhibition, but Kevin was still very hesitant. He was incredibly proud of his mother, but also a bit of a recluse. It took Pete Docter, the Chief Creative Officer at Pixar, to convince him. Pete told Kevin, ‘This is your mom. This is her heart. It needs to be shared.’
That encouragement made a difference - Kevin agreed to do the show, and it ended up being a special experience. A lot of people came, and Kevin truly enjoyed it. He received so much positive attention and, in many ways, came out of his shell. Diane Disney attended because she loved Mary’s art, and so did the head of Studio Ghibli from Japan - someone whose presence would prove life-changing for Mary’s artistic legacy.
Kevin had been really excited about a possible trip to Japan after that, but sadly, he passed away unexpectedly in 2008. That’s when we stepped in and continued the work of preserving and sharing Mary’s legacy.
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L-R: Jim Chamberlain, Jeanne Chamberlain (niece of Mary Blair), Studio Ghilbi Exhibition Coordinator, Kevin Allinson (great nephew of Mary Blair), Maggie Richardson (niece of Mary Blair), and Studio Ghilbi Exhibition Coordinator at The Colors of Mary Blair exhibit in Tokyo (2009)
© The Estate of Mary Blair. All rights reserved
How did you and Jeanne divide up the work when managing the Blair family estates? Was it a true creative partnership?
I took early retirement and moved from Los Angeles to Northern California so I could be closer to Jeanne as we navigated the family estates, Mary’s personal art collection, and the upcoming Studio Ghibli exhibition in Tokyo. We naturally fell into roles that suited us - Jeanne handled more of the family-side logistics, while I focused on the public-facing communication, dealing with the art.
Jeanne was quite a bit older, and it took more of a toll on her physically, but she loved it, especially attending museum and exhibition openings. We even did a podcast interview together once over the phone, and shared memories of growing up with Mary in a few joint interviews.
It wasn’t something either of us had done before, but we worked well together and rolled with things as they came. It wasn’t a formal creative partnership, but it was meaningful and collaborative. And we both learned a lot along the way.
Helping bring exhibitions like The Colors of Mary Blair to life must have been incredible - do you have a favorite memory from that project in Tokyo? Do you have a favorite Mary Blair exhibition that you have had a major hand in?
When we inherited Mary’s art, we discovered a painting called ‘Juice Girl.’ It quickly became a favorite of ours because Mary had painted it just for herself - it hung in her kitchen and had such a charming, personal feel. Inspired by the artwork, I decided to create a soft sculpture doll of Juice Girl, matching the exact size of the original painting. I hand-painted and stitched it myself using the perfect materials I searched meticulously for.
When the Studio Ghibli team visited from Japan to select pieces for “The Colors of Mary Blair” exhibition, I showed them the Juice Girl doll. They loved it so much that they asked to purchase it and included it in the exhibit. They even created miniature purse charms based on the doll, which became the second-best-selling merchandise item after the exhibition catalog. It was a huge success, and I felt incredibly proud to have contributed something so special to the show and to be showcased in an exhibit alongside my aunt.
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Maggie's soft sculpture "Juice Girl" doll beside Mary's original illustration
© The Estate of Mary Blair. All rights reserved
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Jeanne & Maggie at The Colors of Mary Blair exhibit in Tokyo (2009)
© The Estate of Mary Blair. All rights reserved
The New Generation of Mary Blair Fans
Now that you’ve carried the torch for Mary’s legacy for so many years, what’s something you wish more people knew about her, not just as an artist, but as a person?
Mary was incredibly kind to everyone. One story that really stands out is how she championed the people who worked with her on It’s a Small World when the ride was shipped to the 1964 New York World’s Fair. She went straight to Walt Disney and said, ‘There are a lot of people here who helped build Small World, and they would really love to go to the World’s Fair.’ Thanks to her, she was able to get tickets for all of them to attend. Later, she even took everyone out on her boat in Long Island, where she lived, turning it into a fun celebration. That spirit of generosity and making things joyful is exactly what Mary was like - always making every occasion special.
Do you see her influence showing up in new places: fashion, home decor, paint-by-number, etc.? What do you think she’d make of it all?
Absolutely! Especially now with the rise of mid-century modern style, which was truly Mary’s signature look. What I’m working on now with the upcoming Mary Blair ART Wear sweaters is a way to bring her art to life by creating collage-style designs, just like she would have done herself. Her work always came together like a collage, blending colors and shapes in unique ways. I believe she would absolutely love seeing her spirit continue and evolve.
Inspired by Mary
You’ve lived such a rich life, balancing a career in social work with this deeply personal role of legacy preservation. How do those two worlds inform each other?
For me, it’s always been about seeing people as unique individuals and treating them with care. In social work, I had the privilege of helping people one-on-one, in hospitals, at their bedsides, and in their homes. It was never about numbers or systems; it was deeply personal.
With Mary, the work is different but still very personal - it’s focused on one incredible person and the impact she’s had on so many. Preserving her legacy isn’t just a responsibility for me — it’s a passion. Living with her art, seeing how much people continue to love it, and now being the one entrusted to carry that forward — it all feels like a continuation of that same spirit of connection and care.
What’s one piece of advice or perspective you think Mary would give to young artists today?
Mary would encourage young artists to create what they love, no matter the trends or any criticism they might face. Stay true to your own vision.
And lastly, if you could sit down with her for tea or a walk right now, what’s something you’d want to ask her, tell her, or thank her for?
I’d love just to sit and talk with her like we used to - about the world, what was behind the stars, and what God was like…things like that. Oh, and I’d like to work on a project with her!
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Mary and Maggie, 1963
© The Estate of Mary Blair. All rights reserved
1 comment
Dear Elle Cree, A group of medical students and I are interested in learning more about Mary Blair. Is there any way we can get in touch with you or Maggie? Thank you! My email is elw72@georgetown.edu and please reach out.
Eric