Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 19

Retta Scott
Horses, Chicken, Ducks, Rooster and Pigs Children's Book - Female Illustrator

1953

$12,500
£9,275.48
€10,804.67
CA$17,400.09
A$19,376.57
CHF 10,084.43
MX$238,910.78
NOK 128,432.98
SEK 120,714.55
DKK 80,616.24
Shipping
Retrieving quote...
The 1stDibs Promise:
Authenticity Guarantee,
Money-Back Guarantee,
24-Hour Cancellation

About the Item

Cover illustration for mid-century children's book publisher Merril Publishers. Signed lower right. Unframed. Retta Scott or Retta Worcester was (February 23, 1916 – August 26, 1990) was an pioneering Female Illustrator / American artist. She was the first woman to receive screen credit as an animator at the Walt Disney Animation Studios. Scott worked on storyboards to develop scenes of Bambi, his mother, and the film’s hunting dogs, on which she spent weeks to develop them into “vicious, snarling, really mean beasts.” Male artists in the company were stunned who initially assumed that only a man could create drawings with such intensity and technical skill. Her sketches caught the eye of Disney, so when the film went into production, she was assigned to animate scenes of hunting dogs chasing Faline. She worked under the film's supervising director, David D. Hand,and was tutored by Disney animator Eric Larson. This was a significant coup for the young woman, since at the 1930s-era Disney studio, women were considered only for routine tasks: "Ink and paint art was a laborious part of the animation process, and was solely the domain of women..." Her promotion to animator was in part thanks to the success of herself and other women such as Bianca Majolie, Sylvia Holland, and Mary Blair as storyboard artists. Even after receiving a promotion to animator, she and her animations continued being under appreciated in the industry. Though the most recognized Walt Disney female artist is Mary Blair, it is Retta Scott who opened up the doors for women in the animation industry. She became the first woman to receive screen credit as an animator. By the spring of 1941, Scott was also considered a "specialist in animal sketches." Scott helped produce Fantasia and Dumbo, as well as an adaptation of The Wind in the Willows that was later cancelled. She also made an appearance in The Reluctant Dragon, and worked independently with colleague Woolie Reitherman on a cancelled children’s book called B-1st.Despite being laid off in 1941, Scott was quickly rehired in 1942, assisting in educational videos and other smaller-scale shorts.Her brief time laid off was partially due to a Disney animators' strike in the summer of 1941, despite Scott being one of only a few animators not involved in the strike. She retired on August 2, 1946 after marrying submarine commander Benjamin Worcester, becoming Retta Scott Worcester. In 2000, the Walt Disney Co. posthumously awarded her one of that year's Disney Legends Awards for her contributions. Scott's early Disney sketches can be found at The Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco, California. Later work Scott and her husband moved to Washington, D.C, where she illustrated books such as The Santa Claus Book and Happy Birthday. She also continued working with Disney through freelance jobs such as illustrating the Big Golden Book edition of Disney's Cinderella. Her work caught the attention of past and current Disney employees, including Jonas Rivera, producer of Up, who commented, “I’ve always loved the Retta Scott Cinderella because it doesn’t look like the movie, but somehow it feels like the movie.”[19] Retta and her husband divorced in 1978, and she remained an active illustrator until she was again hired as an animator in 1982 for the Luckey-Zamora Moving Picture Company. She continued to impress artists, especially male artists who initially underestimated her work, and was eager to teach her skills
  • Creator:
    Retta Scott (1916 - 1990, American)
  • Creation Year:
    1953
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 15.75 in (40.01 cm)Width: 12 in (30.48 cm)Depth: 1 in (2.54 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
  • Gallery Location:
    Miami, FL
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU385311827902

More From This Seller

View All
Duck in Farm with Horse, Goat and Chickens. Children's book illustration.
Located in Miami, FL
The beloved couple Alice and Martin Provensen were an American couple who illustrated more than 40 children's books. Martin Provensen creat...
Category

1960s Outsider Art Animal Paintings

Materials

Gouache, Board

Child and Mother Chicken Greet Birth of a Chick, Children's Book Illustration
By Alice and Martin Provensen
Located in Miami, FL
Welcome to the World. A blue-eyed child in a wide-rimmed hat with flowers and an adult chicken greet the emergence of a chick. The charming illustration is titled " Karen and Etta ( the chicken ) have a Little Chick " Notice the whimsical touch of a piece of egg shell that sits on the chicks head like a little white hat. Signed lower right. unframed Alice Rose[1] Provensen (née Twitchell; August 14, 1918[2] – April 23, 2018[3]) and Martin Provensen (July 10, 1916 – March 27, 1987) were an American couple who illustrated more than 40 children's books together, 19 of which they also wrote and edited.[4] According to Alice, "we were a true collaboration. Martin and I really were one artist."[4] Biographies Their early lives were similar. Both were born in Chicago and moved to California when they were twelve.[5] Both received scholarships to the Art Institute of Chicago, and both attended the University of California, though at separate campuses. After college, Alice went to work with Walter Lantz Studio, the creators of Woody Woodpecker, and Martin took work with the Walt Disney Studio, where he collaborated on Pinocchio, Fantasia, and Dumbo. The pair met in 1943 when Martin, working as a creator of training films for the American military, was assigned to the Walter Lantz Studio. They were married in 1944 and settled in Washington, D.C., where they worked on war-related projects. After the war, they moved to New York City where a friend helped them get their first job, illustrating The Fireside Book of Folk Songs.[5] They illustrated several Little Golden Books including The Color Kittens by Margaret Wise Brown (1949). In 1952, Tony the Tiger, designed by Martin, debuted as a Kellogg's mascot. The Provensens were a runner-up for the 1982 Caldecott Medal as illustrators of A Visit to William Blake's Inn by Nancy Willard...
Category

1970s Impressionist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Ink, Watercolor, Gouache

Ponies and Puppies Trotty And Trix Coloring Book, Cover Art
Located in Miami, FL
Children's illustration of Ponies and Puppies Signed lower left Children’s Books Published by The Merrill Company
Category

1950s Modern Still-life Paintings

Materials

Gouache

Do Bee Book of Manners
By Art Seiden
Located in Miami, FL
Grosset & Dunlap, Illustration, Art Seiden was a top children's book illustrator in the 1950' - 1060's Work comes in two parts that are butted together by the artist
Category

1950s Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Gouache, Ink, Paper

Three Rosy Cheek Children - Children Book Illustration. Female Illustrator
Located in Miami, FL
Legendary female illustrator creates a graphic and tightly designed triple portrait of her signature subjects. Kids! Signed lower right. Unframed on heavy illustration board. Grace Drayton had a recognizable style which is a hallmark of all great artists. Instantly recognizable, a Grace Drayton subject is a stylized child with a cherubic style, often with round faces, plump bodies, rosy cheeks, and a happy disposition. Three Rosy Cheek Children is an excellent example of her best work. Grace Drayton Born: Grace Gebbie October 14, 1878 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US Died: January 31, 1936 (aged 58) Cartoonist, Illustrator Grace G. Wiederseim Notable works Campbell Soup Kids Dolly Dimples Dolly Dingle...
Category

1920s Pop Art Figurative Paintings

Materials

Gouache, Pencil

Things in My House” Little Golden Book, Children's Book CoverIllustration Art
Located in Miami, FL
Joe Kaufman, writer, illustrator. Recipient Art Directors Club medal, 1948, New York Academy of Sciences Children's Science Book award, 1973, Gold award, Silver award Art Directors C...
Category

1960s Outsider Art Figurative Paintings

Materials

Gouache

You May Also Like

Barnyard with Four Cocks
By Karyn Mannix
Located in East Hampton, NY
A comical work.....A definite conversation piece This comes in a heavy wooden gilded frame The painting is 8x10. Framed 19"x21" x1.75" Karyn Mannix, born in New York, has been in ...
Category

2010s Other Art Style Animal Paintings

Materials

Cotton Canvas, Acrylic

Chickens On The Loose - Animal Painting - American Modern By Marc Zimmerman
By Marc Zimmerman
Located in Carmel, CA
Three Roosters from the beautiful island of Kauai, being as goofy as the naturally can in this contemporary tropical jungle painting . Chickens on the Loose - Animal paintings by Ma...
Category

2010s Contemporary Animal Paintings

Materials

Oil

Shaw Barton Calendar Illustration
By Charles Twelvetrees
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Medium: Watercolor on Paper Dimensions: 24.00" x 20.0" Signature: Signed Lower Right An Argument in the Park; Shaw Barton Calendar Illustration
Category

Early 20th Century Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Watercolor

Calendar Illustration
By Charlotte Becker
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Medium: Oil on Board Dimensions: 28.00" x 24.00" Signature: Signed Lower Right Calendar Illustration
Category

Mid-20th Century Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

Modern Folk Art Rooster and Chicks
Located in Douglas Manor, NY
5012 Modern Folk art rooster with chicks on canvas Unframed Signed
Category

1990s Animal Paintings

Materials

Oil

Barnyard II, Folk Art Screenprint by Jack Hofflander
Located in Long Island City, NY
Jack Hofflander, American (1920 - 2003) - Barnyard II, Year: 1979, Medium: Screenprint, signed and numbered in pencil, Edition: 250, 30 AP, Image Size: 30 x 22 inches, Size: 35 ...
Category

1970s Folk Art Landscape Prints

Materials

Screen