(Walt Disney Studios, 1949) Spectacular original panoramic concept painting by Mary Blair for The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, the second segment from the animated package film The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad, which depicts the Headless Horseman on horseback with a long sword in hand, chasing and swiping at Ichabod Crane, who is comically seated backward on his equally frightened horse. True to the film’s finished product, Blair blends action, terror, and comedy with fantastic results, presenting the horseman and his huge black stallion as an unstoppable force intent on making Ichabod his next victim. The scene is brought to vivid life with a superb nighttime backdrop of ghostly trees, a bright full moon, and a clear star-filled sky. Accomplished in tempera on 19 x 9 artist's board. In fine condition, with tack holes to corners.
Blair was a concept artist for Disney during the 1940s and early 1950s, working on designs for such films as Peter Pan, Cinderella, and Alice in Wonderland. She also created designs for several Disney attractions (including It's a Small World) and, her largest work ever, the multi-story mosaic in Disney World's Contemporary Hotel concourse.
