(Walt Disney Studios, 1959) Striking original concept storyboard painting by Eyvind Earle for Sleeping Beauty, portraying the powerful sorceress Maleficent atop a castle tower as she prepares to transform into a gigantic dragon. In true Earle form, the scene is deftly and vividly realized, depicting the film’s arch villainess with her green scepter as she conjures her magic below a dark and glowing sky; the surrounding spires and toothy towers, adorned with twisted vine and spiky thorn, stand guard like great stone sentries. Accomplished in gouache on 26.25 x 8.25 artist's board, with Earle signing in light green paint in the lower right corner. In fine condition, with tack holes to corners. Disney artist Eyvind Earle was Sleeping Beauty's production designer, and Disney gave him a significant amount of freedom in designing the settings and selecting colors for the film. Earle also painted the majority of the backgrounds himself, and his stylistic influence is readily apparent in the final product. A sensational depiction of the ‘Mistress of All Evil.'
