Awakening Beauty is Coming Back

Eyvind Earle’s art is hauntingly beautiful. I was fortunate to see Awaking Beauty: The Art of Eyvind Earle at the Walt Disney Family Museum back in 2017. In fact, I went to the exhibit several times, and my copy of the exhibition book is featured prominently in my home library. Images of the exhibit still linger in my mind after almost ten years. Seeing his work in person is unforgettable, especially for those who love his Disney contributions as much as I do, but the exhibit goes beyond his work on classics like Sleeping Beauty (1959) and Lady and the Tramp (1955), and some of those pieces are truly extraordinary. What he can do with a tree is awe-inspiring.

This new incarnation of Awakening Beauty – which was one of the museum’s most popular exhibits – will open on Friday, October 23. The show will feature about 200 works in the Exhibition Gallery on the museum’s lower level, and will include two new gallery spaces debuting for this special exhibit.

“Eyvind Earle’s striking and atmospheric style continues to inspire us, and we are excited to reimagine Awakening Beauty for a new generation of museum visitors,” says museum Executive Director Kirsten Komoroske. “This iteration will offer a deeper look at Earle’s remarkable career at The Walt Disney Studios alongside the breadth of his stunning personal work, featuring more than 35 loaned and recently acquired paintings that will be on view at the museum for the very first time.”

If you are in the Bay Area or plan on being in San Francisco from October 23 until April 18th, this needs to be on your must-see list. You will leave with an even stronger appreciation for one of Walt Disney’s most important artists (and his unforgettable trees!)

Photos via the Walt Disney Family Museum/ Disney