Peter Ellenshaw

Premier landscape painter and Disney legend Peter Ellenshaw (1913-2007) was drawing since he was a child growing up in London, England. Ellenshaw dropped out of school when he was 14, and lived in “Dickensian misery” until he was discovered in his early 20s by Walter Percy Day, O.B.E., the British film industry’s foremost special effects artist and matte painter. As Day’s protégé, Ellenshaw was able to work on films like Things to Come, The Thief of Baghdad, and Black Narcissus. Ellenshaw worked with Day until he became a pilot during World War II, and after his return, he caught the attention of Walt Disney, who was working on Disney Studios’ first live action film, Treasure Island. This initial collaboration sparked a friendship that would span 30 years and 34 films, including an Academy Award win for Mary Poppins.

In the 1950s, Ellenshaw fell in love with the ocean and would spend weekends painting the coves and waves on the California coast. Soon, he developed a reputation as a fine art painter, and his works became sought after around the globe.