Walt Disney Watercolor of Mickey Mouse - Presented to Magician Joseph Dunninger

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Walt Disney Watercolor of Mickey Mouse - Presented to Magician Joseph Dunninger:
$14999.00

Presented for sale is a watercolor of one of the most iconic figures of all time, Mickey Mouse. The watercolor was believed to have been created in the 1950's, and was presented to one of the most iconic magicians of all time, Joseph Dunninger.

Mickey Mouse is a cartoon character created by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks in 1928. He is a cheerful and plucky mouse who loves adventure and friends. He is the mascot of The Walt Disney Company and a worldwide icon. He has appeared in over 130 films, TV shows, comic books, and video games. He usually wears red shorts, large yellow shoes, and white gloves.

Joseph Dunninger (1892-1975) was a famous and proficient mentalist who performed magic on radio and television. He was also a debunker of fraudulent mediums who claimed to replicate all spiritualist phenomena by trickery. He was friends with Harry Houdini and Walter B. Gibson. He had a long and successful career that spanned over seven decades. He was known as “The Amazing Dunninger” and had a standing offer of $10,000 to anyone who could prove his use of confederates.

Walt Disney (1901-1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. He co-created Mickey Mouse and other famous cartoon characters. He founded The Walt Disney Company, one of the largest entertainment conglomerates in the world. He also built Disneyland and Walt Disney World, two of the most popular theme parks. He won 22 Academy Awards, 3 Golden Globes, and 1 Emmy Award. He was a pioneer of animation and a cultural icon.

About the artwork:

The artist is Unknown, though suspected to be from Disney Studios as was the case with similar exemplars that have been offered for sale in recent history. The medium is Pen and Watercolor, the picture is roughly 9" x 13" and in a custom frame with museum protected glass that is 17.5" x 21.25". Inscribed "Best Wishes to Joseph Dunninger From Walt Disney." Mickey stands bashfully and humbly with his arms behind his back and his noted happy and almost mischievous smile, with shadowing and highlighting around the figure. The style is similar to that of the famed animator Hank Porter, which would match up with the time frame.

The background story behind the artwork:

This was said to be a presentation piece given to the famed magician and mentalist Joseph Dunninger by Walt Disney himself, in conjunction with, or shortly after the opening of Disneyland in 1955.

Dunninger was the technical advisor to the movie about his friend and fellow magician Harry Houdini (1953) starring Tony Curtis. Due to his work on the movie, Dunninger and his family had lived in California on and off, up until the mid 1960's. In 1963, the Magic Castle opened, 35 miles away from Disneyland. Dunninger was a founding member and was integral in the Magic Castle's founding.

While it is believed that Disney had presented Dunninger personally with this very cute and clever depiction of Mickey Mouse, it is unknown who the artist was and unknown as to whether Disney himself was the signatory. During this time, it was often the case that Disney had the artists who worked for his studios create these presentation pieces for him, and at times, he was so busy that he also did not sign the works he was giving away.

This piece is being offered as a work of art, given from one iconic man to another, from a time when Mickey Mouse was taking over the world of entertainment and appealing to children (and adults) everywhere. The piece is in terrific condition for its age and much nicer than many of the similar Mickey's and other characters that have been offered for sale in recent history. It has also been preserved in acid-free matting, matching the colors of the famous rodent, and a hand tooled frame.

A dedication on the back of the frame memorializes the regifting from Dunninger's wife to their grandson in 1975, the year of Dunninger's passing.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to ask and we will do our best to answer them. Thank you for looking at this wonderful piece.