The prolific work of Tyrus Wong: Disney, Warner Bros., and Hallmark
One of the most impressive things about artist Tyrus Wong goes beyond his well-known work on the Disney film Bambi: it’s his ability to use such a wide array of mediums and reach out to such different audiences. Over his career, Wong’s atmospheric, emotive and poetic paintings inspired animated films for Disney, live-action cinema for Warner Bros., greeting cards for Hallmark, and dinnerware for Winfield Pottery.
In this gallery including previously unreleased artwork, you’ll see — starting with his early days as a painting student up through his days as a kite-making hobbyist, as he carried on his father’s tradition — how Wong’s creativity truly knew no boundaries.
Self Portrait (late 1920s), Tyrus Wong. Photo credit: The Chinese American Museum. Photo credit: Tyrus Wong.
Nude (1938), created as part of the Depression-era Federal Art Project (FAP) for the Works Progress Administration (WPA) program. Photo credit: Tyrus Wong.
Horse painting by Tyrus Wong. Photo credit: Tyrus Wong.
Pre-production illustration, possibly from the Warner Bros. film Gypsy. Photo credit: Tyrus Wong.
Pre-production illustration, Wake of the Red Witch, Republic Pictures. Photo credit: Tyrus Wong.
Pre-production illustration, The Wild Bunch, Warner Bros. 1969
Opaque watercolor and ink on board. Photo credit: Tyrus Wong
Pre-production illustration, The Helen Morgan Story, Warner Bros. Photo credit: Tyrus Wong.
Tyrus Wong holding one of his kites. Photo credit: Sara Jane Boyers.
Tyrus with his owl kites. Photo credit: Sara Jane Boyers.
Additional support for Tyrus is provided in part by The Louie Family Foundation, The Walt Disney Company Foundation, Buck Gee & Mary Hackenbracht, the National Endowment for the Arts, County of Los Angeles Board of Supervisors, Bill Yee, David Ahmanson, East West Bank, and Women in Film.
