Ty Wong Paintings on Display

Ty Wong standing in front of his illustrations for The Wild Bunch at the opening of the show a couple weeks ago. (Matt Petit/©A.M.P.A.S.)

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences recently opened a new show at their LA headquarters called “The Art of the Motion Picture Illustrator.” The show recognizes the work of three illustrators who worked in the art departments of live-action film studios: William B. Major, Harold Michelson and Tyrus Wong.

To animation fans, Wong is best known as the artist who devised the lyrical watercolor art direction of Disney’s Bambi, but this exhibit examines his film career following his brief stint at Disney. For twenty-five years afterwards, Wong worked at Warner Bros. creating storyboards and illustrated key sets for live-action films such as The Sands of Iwo Jima, Calamity Jane, Rebel Without a Cause, Around the World in 80 Days, Auntie Mame, Harper, and The Wild Bunch. The exhibition runs through December 16 and admission is FREE. Gallery hours are Tuesday through Friday (10am-5pm) and weekends (noon-6pm). The Academy is at 8949 Wilshire Blvd. Beverly Hills, CA.

Set design painting by Wong for an unidentified Warner Bros. musical