Herbert Ryman | |
|---|---|
| Born | Herbert Dickens Ryman Jr. (1910-06-28)June 28, 1910 Vernon, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died | February 10, 1989(1989-02-10) (aged 78) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Resting place | Cremated, ashes scattered at sea off the coast ofCarmel, CA |
| Alma mater | Millikin University Art Institute of Chicago |
| Known for | Disney artist andimagineer |
| Notable work | The First Disneyland schematic Sleeping Beauty Castle[1] Cinderella Castle |
| Awards | Disney Legends - 1990 |
| Memorial | Ryman Arts |
Herbert Dickens Ryman Jr. (June 28, 1910 – February 10, 1989) was an American artist andDisney Imagineer. Ryman worked in watercolor, oils, and pen & ink sketches. In 1953 Ryman drew the first illustrations of Walt Disney's vision of a theme park that eventually becameDisneyland.
Ryman was born on June 28, 1910, inVernon,Illinois, son of Dr. Herbert D. Ryman (1878–1918) and Cora Belle Ryman (née Norris, 1876–1963). His family moved toDecatur, IL when he was age 9.[2] While attendingMillikin University,[3] he became deathly ill with scarlet fever. His mother was opposed to his artistic ambitions and wanted him to pursue a medical degree. But as his sickness worsened, she told him that he could attend the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He graduated cum laude in 1932 from theArt Institute of Chicago.
In 1932 Ryman moved to California, where he found a job as a storyboard illustrator in the art department ofCedric Gibbons at Metro-Golden-Mayer Studios.[4] For a period, during Hollywood's "golden age", he was the sole artist and illustrator for MGM Studios. He helped design many major pictures for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and 20th Century Fox including the screen styling ofDavid Copperfield,A Tale of Two Cities,Mutiny on the Bounty, andAnna Karenina. His work onThe Good Earth project inspired him to leave his job at MGM and tour China where he made many sketches. His last work at MGM was the Emerald City segment ofThe Wizard of Oz.
In 1938 he returned to California, where he metWalt Disney as a result of an exhibit of Ryman's works at theChouinard Art Institute.[5] Walt was so impressed with the paintings that he invited Herb to join theWalt Disney Studios (Burbank). Herb went on to serve as an art director for such feature-length animated films asFantasia andDumbo.[6]
In the late summer of 1941, Ryman toured with Walt Disney, other Disney Studio artists, and management personnel on a three-month "Good Will Tour of South America", through an invitation fromNelson Rockefeller,Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs. The tour was part of an Allied effort to maintain solid relations with southern countries in the Western Hemisphere. They traveled by aircraft and regional railway systems connecting the countries of Brazil, Bolivia, Guatemala, Peru, Ecuador, Argentina, and Mexico. Production of the two Disney filmsSaludos Amigos andThe Three Caballeros, resulted from this trip.[7][8]
Ryman had become acquainted with authorMargaret Landon during his travels in Asia. After the end of World War II, when he heard that 20th Century Fox was developing a film based on Landon's 1944 novelAnna and the King of Siam, he informed Disney that he was leaving Walt Disney Productions to work on the 20th Century Fox film. At Fox, Ryman also worked on several other pictures, includingForever Amber,Down to the Sea in Ships,David and Bathsheba,The Black Rose, andThe Robe.
During the summers of 1949 and 1951, Ryman took a leave of absence from 20th Century Fox and travelled with theRingling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. Living among the performers and documenting the circus in his paintings, he became friends withEmmett Kelly.
In 1955Doubleday publishedThe Tontine, a two volume novel written byThomas B. Costain and illustrated by Ryman. Set in nineteenth-century England, the story centers around the fictional "Waterloo" tontine, established to benefit veterans of the Napoleonic wars. Among other plot twists, shareholders hire an actor to impersonate a dead nominee, and conspire to murder another member.
After leaving the Disney organization, Ryman had remained friends with Walt Disney. On September 26, 1953, he received an urgent request to meet with Disney. Disney asked Ryman to render the artwork for a Disney envisioned theme park. Disney and Ryman worked non-stop throughout the weekend creating a large pencil sketch and several other drawings illustrating the project.[9]Roy Disney took the drawings and a six-page portfolio to New York to show investors the plan in order to secure financing used to developDisneyland. Once financing was assured, Disney asked Ryman to rejoin the Disney Company.[1]Disneyland became the centerpiece of his Disney career. Among his contributions were designs for Main Street, U.S.A.,Sleeping Beauty Castle andNew Orleans Square. Herb also contributed concepts for theJungle Cruise,Pirates of the Caribbean, and for attractions featured at the 1964-65 New York World's Fair, includingGreat Moments with Mr. Lincoln.
Ryman worked on many special projects at Disney over a five decade span. He was the chief designer of theCinderella Castle at theWalt Disney World Resort.[10]
Ryman officially retired from The Walt Disney Company in 1971. He returned in 1976 as a consultant on Walt Disney World,Epcot Center including renderings and concept paintings forThe American Adventure, theChina Pavilion, and theMeet the World attraction at Tomorrow Land atTokyo Disneyland.
His last project at Disney was contributing concept drawings for Main Street in the plannedEuro Disneyland when he became ill.
He is well known for his watercolors of the rugged California coasts around Carmel and Point Lobos, as well as for his paintings of the Ringling Brothers Circus, and portraits of Emmett Kelly and other well known people. Many of his paintings hang in Hollywood's most famed homes.
Ryman was a member of the American Institute of Fine Arts, the Society of Illustrators, and theCalifornia Art Club where he was president in 1963. In 1990, Herb Ryman was inducted [posthumously] into theDisney Legends program.[11] His sister,Lucille Carroll,[12] co-founded theRyman-Carroll Foundation in his memory. In 2000 the Ryman-Carroll Foundation published "A Brush with Disney" a 252-page story of Ryman's life with color illustrations by Ryman (ISBN 978-0964605961).
Ryman's ancestors came to the U.S. from Heidelberg, Germany. His father was commissioned a Captain in the Medical Corps 107th Field Artillery 28th Division and sent to the war front in France at his request. On Saturday afternoon, August 17, 1918, he was mortally wounded while ministering to a wounded comrade on the battlefield near St. Gilles, France. Refusing aid, he assisted in rendering and directing the treatment of three other soldiers. Though weakened by loss of blood, he showed utter disregard for his personal danger, refusing to accept treatment until the other wounded had been cared for. He later died at a nearby aid station. For his act of heroism he was posthumously awarded theDistinguished Service Cross. He is buried inArlington National Cemetery.[13]
His mother, Cora Belle Norris, was born July 6, 1876, in Pendleton County, Kentucky and was the great-granddaughter of PresidentZachary Taylor.[14] After the death of her husband, Mrs. Ryman moved Herbert and his two sisters Lucille and Christine to Decatur, where she resumed her teaching career. She later was elected superintendent of the Macon County Schools, where she served for 16 years. She retired in 1938 and moved to California to live with her son, Herbert. She died in Los Angeles, California, on January 9, 1963, and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
Ryman lived for many years on Chandler Blvd inVan Nuys, California. He later moved toSherman Oaks, California, where he died of cancer on February 10, 1989.,[15] 16 days after the death of his oldest sister Christine Pensinger (1903-1989).
Herbert Ryman drew many sketches and preparatory drawings for several Disney theme parks including:[11]
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