March 2021 Catalogue

18 I m a g i n e d W o r l d s E a r l y M a r c h 2 0 2 1 Original Watercolor Drawing Of The Graceful And Beguiling Ostrich From Fantasia 16. DISNEY STUDIOS. Large drawing of prima ballerina ostrich, Mademoiselle Upanova, from Fantasia . No place, 1940. Original watercolor. $4500. Click for more info Original watercolor portrait of Mlle Upanova, star of the “Morning” segment of Ponchielli’s Dance of the Hours from Disney’s Fantasia. Inarare releaseof authority,WaltDisneydelegated the creation of Fantasia to the imaginations of his animators, insisting that they respond freely to the music and encouraging them to use whatever forms and colors fit their inspirations. The music in this case was Amilcare Ponchielli’s Dance of the Hours from his opera La Gioconda . The “Morning” segment opens on a giant, sleeping ostrich, prima ballerina Mlle Upanova. This is a preliminary conceptual drawing, probably by Frank Follmer, who worked as an assistant animator at Disney Studios from 1937 to 1941 and who is generally creditedwith the creation of Upanova. Faint pencil signature of approval at the right of image. Light soiling to margins. A wonderful large rendition. “What you will see on the screen is a picture of the various abstract images that might pass through your mind if you sat in a concert hall ”—Introduction to “Fantasia ”