Original sketch by Herb Ryman of the young son of fellow Disney animator Norm Ferguson, accomplished in graphite and pastel on an off-white 11.75 x 14.25 sheet, signed in pencil in the lower left, “Jan. 20, 1954, with best wishes to Norm & Mildred, Herb Ryman.” In very good to fine condition, with tears to left and right edges. This sketch dates to when Ryman (1910-1989) was doing his second tour with Walt Disney Studios and feverishly working on Disneyland. From the Norm Ferguson Archives.
American artist and Disney Imagineer Herb Ryman (1910-1989) initially worked as sole artist and illustrator for MGM Studios, where he helped design famous films like David Copperfield, A Tale of Two Cities, Mutiny on the Bounty, Anna Karenina, and The Wizard of Oz. He joined Disney in 1938, and although he served as an art director on the films Fantasia and Dumbo, Ryman is perhaps best remembered for drawing the first illustrations of Walt Disney's vision of a theme park that eventually became Disneyland.