Dec 16, 2021 - Sale 2592

Sale 2592 - Lot 150

Unsold
Estimate: $ 700 - $ 1,000
BERNARD GARBUTT (1900-1975)
"Hammer Head." 45-page rough draft for an unpublished horse-racing themed children's book of the same title by Garbutt, circa 1950s. Mixed media, including ink, watercolor, and gouache on paper, most with applied text. Pages are mostly loose from paper covers and aged cellotape binding. Image sizes vary; sheets are 180x250 mm; 7x9 3/4 inches. Unsigned, but with notes in Garbutt's hand on interior cover and in lower margin of first two pages. See condition report for more images. The cover bears the ink stamp of Bertha Klausner, the author's literary agent.

Bernard Garbutt was a Disney animator, drawing instructor, and prolific children's illustrator, notable for his realistic depictions of animals. Garbutt led animal life drawing classes for Disney studio animators at the Los Angeles Zoo. These classes were crucial to the Disney staff improving their drawing skills, which enabled them to create Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Bambi, Dumbo, and many other classic films. Garbutt's contributions were so significant that Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston dedicated a section of their book Disney Animation: The Illusion of Life to him (New York: Hyperion, 1981).