Steamboat Willie
Released: November 18, 1928
Hello Animation Art Fans....I have been itching to get back into writing short stories again about my journey into the art of animation. Many things have transpired over the last several years since my last blog post, but my affection for sharing knowledge and discovery with animation art has not changed! So what better way to get back into it than with where Walt started it all....Mickey Mouse.
On my first trip to New York City in 1995, with a little budget compared to others in the animation art world, I felt like a big dealer. This trip would prove to be successful even though I was still learning the animation auction scene. I met a wonderful animation colleague, Debbie Weiss, who inspired me to get started and encouraged me to explore my interest. She was living in New York City and had recently started the Wonderful World of Animation out of similar passion for animation art. It was during this first meeting that I started to gain an understanding for the importance and value of vintage animation art. It was also during this trip that Debbie introduced me to Jeff Lotman, a well known collector, who would later publish three great reference books on animation art. Debbie purchased this drawing of Mickey from Steamboat Willie at the Sotheby’s auction where we met, which in turn, she sold to me later that year. It was this drawing that really opened my eyes to the seriousness of vintage art and how important in pop culture animation had become.
As I began to understand animation art more fully, I recognized the rarity and cultural significance that this early short film had on the future of animation. Walt Disney’s Steamboat Willie was the introduction of Mickey Mouse and the first animated short to feature sound. Ub Iwerks, an influential artist who had helped Disney in his early years, almost single handedly drew the first three Mickey Mouse shorts. He was a prolific draftsman and was known to sketch up to hundreds of drawings a day when working on these early productions. His ferocity for drawing was so intense that you can literally see it on the paper. Impressions for the previous and subsequent drawings in this sequence can be literally seen on this drawing if you look closely in person in the right light. Discovering these unique details is what makes owning animation art so incredible and it brings you closer to the art, the artist and to the production & imagination process.
Drawings from this sequence of Steamboat Willie have come up for auction from time to time and they have done well in price appreciation over the years. Many years ago you could pick up Steamboat Willie drawings easily for a few hundred dollars, but today...they are trending around $2500+ and some have even gone for over $10,000 at auction recently. Because I love to collect drawings in sequence, I was fortunate enough to pick up another drawing a few years later. I framed the drawing in a double-sided glass enclosure which was the perfect way to showcase the piece. These are amazing pieces of pop culture. Enjoy!
Original Production Drawing, graphite on 12 field animation paper
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