Yesterday evening in Southern California, members of D23 – The Official Disney Fan Club gathered at The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens to celebrate the opening of the fascinating new exhibit entitled “Inspiring Walt Disney: The Animation of French Decorative Arts”.
I was fortunate enough to attend the event, and when I arrived at the Huntington around 6:00 PM it was already dark and chilly out. But D23 had a nice array of hors d'oeuvres, beverages, and tables set up for the reception. Attendees received a mini-poster, a D23 button, and the same The Muppet Christmas Carol ornament that was distributed at the “Light Up the Season” holiday event the night before.
Then once everyone had arrived and had settled in, an outdoor discussion began between Becky Cline from the Walt Disney Archives and Mary Walsh from the Walt Disney Animation Research Library. Together they chatted about the origins of the exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, its second location at the Wallace Collection in London, and how they collaborated with art historians to make the exhibition a possibility there at the Huntington.
Watch "Inspiring Walt Disney" exhibit discussion with Becky Cline and Mary Walsh at the Huntington Library:
After the discussion, it was finally time for the D23 members on hand to explore the exhibit itself. While I had already seen “Inspiring Walt Disney” thanks to the media preview on Friday, it was still great to have more time checking out the many displays devoted to this very interesting topic that I hadn’t really thought about before. The photos below are from my visit to the Huntington last week.
“Inspiring Walt Disney: The Animation of French Decorative Arts” runs from now through Monday, March 27th at the Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens in San Marino, California. For additional information and to plan your visit, be sure to visit the Huntington’s official website.