Tuesday, January 10, 2006
Media: Kay Nielsen: East of the Sun and West of the Moon
This post is just the tip of the iceberg... see reason number 6 on our The Top Ten Reasons To Support The A-HAA for links to more great posts about golden age illustration.
A few weeks back, we posted images from Kay Nielsen's beautiful book, The Twelve Dancing Princesses. Today, we are posting images from Nielsen's greatest book, East of the Sun and West of the Moon. Glancing through these images, I think you will be reminded of color schemes and design elements used in animated features over the years.
It is very difficult to scan these fragile old illustrated books without damaging the bindings. I'm happy to do it if people are benefiting from these postings. If you are, please let me know by posting to the comments link below. I would appreciate knowing which of our postings have most useful to you. Please comment on the appropriate page and link to your own sketches that have been inspired by our postings. This blog is yours.
The ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive is at the disposal of artists, so if there are specific things that would help you in your work, let me know by emailing me at sworth@animationarchive.org, and if we have any material that fits your needs, I will prioritize digitizing it.
We will be back at the Archive on Thursday working on more great reference material.
Thanks
Stephen Worth
Director
ASIFA-Hollywood
Animation Archive
Stumble It!
posted by Stephen Worth @ 8:33 PM
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58 Comments:
Stephen, it worries me when I see you phrase things like "Please tell me if this interests anybody, so that I do it." You should be doing it regardless; we archivists sometimes work in darkness and solitude for a very long time, even anonymously, to guarantee that important and informative media from decades before is there for hands and eyes decades hence. The people who will benefit from your work the most might not even be born yet.
You are doing fantastic work and building a beautiful collection. Keep it going, fragile bindings and all.
Thanks for the feedback. I really want to encourage a dialogue on these postings. Hopefully, when the archive is fully funded, our work will benefit future artists and researchers. But until then, we need to be sure that we're serving the current users. It will take us a year or two to get to the point where we will be in the position to apply for grants to sustain the project. Until then, we depend on the donations of individuals. It's vital that we remain relevant for our supporter base. Feedback is the best way to do that.
As an archivist, I'm always concerned when digitizing puts the physical object at risk. Unfortunately, some of the books I'm working with fall apart when they're pressed flat to scan. I would never take this risk with someone else's material, but these particular books come from my own collection. I'm willing to risk them because I personally feel the value of digitizing them outweighs the risk of damage. But it helps to know that I'm not the only one interested in them!
Thanks
Stephen Worth
Director
ASIFA-Hollywood
Animation Archive
Absolutely amazing! Keep it up! Are there high-res versions of these, perhaps on a flickr page? I would love to see these closer to check out all of the detail.
Breathtaking.
It's Archivist guy again.
May I humbly suggest the use of a Alestron SWOCR0015 OpticBook 3600 Book Scanner to do this work, so you don't have to press flat? I would be more than willing to pay for one and ship it to you, if you can use it.
Hi, I'm just begining to study Graphic Design, came here from BoingBoing, and I just saw Kay Nielsen's work, and I'm in love with his work :)
Anyway, what I wanted to say is a big THANK YOU for doing such a great work.
Hello Archivist Guy
I'm afraid we're Mac based, and the Alestron only supports Windows. We're currently using an Epson Expression 10000XL Photo 11x17 scanner and the latest version of OSX. If you have any advice or tips, I would certainly appreciate it.
Thanks
Steve
Thanks very much for posting these! I always loved Nielsen's work was on East of the Sun and West of the Moon, it's my favorite. Thanks, again.
BCNU
Archivist guy returns.
Well, heck. The big thing is there must be some other "don't bend the book" scanners out there that ARE compatible with Macintosh. I will keep looking.
Amazing images - I value the chance just to see them; that is the only "use" they have for me. I would love to see more. They resonate in with many other forms of illustration - ukiyo-e being one of them.
Thanks for letting us see these beautiful images.
julian miller
Yes thank you and keep doing this: good images of Kay Nielsen's work are very hard to find, even on the internet. Thank you!
i am enraptured by these images. if i cannot see them properly, if they are so rare, i am very appreciative of your work to digitise them.
so thankyou.
Thank you for posting these. They are absolutely beautiful! I now must find MORE of Kay Nielsen's work!
These are very beautiful. Where can we get more background information on them?
Interestingly, I found three other books by this title ("East of the Sun, West of the Moon,") none mentioning this artist. I assume these must be some traditional fairy tales or something, and the important thing here being the illustrator?
For more info on Kay Nielsen, see...
http://www.bpib.com/illustrat/nielsen.htm
Bud Plant Illustrated Books
Thanks for the link, Stephen! :)
Thank you so much for this valuable resource. I use it constantly as therapy and for my work.
It is highly valued among many I know.
Thanks again.
stunning, breathtaking, amazing
stunning, amazing, breathtaking
Thank you so much. I've been trying to buy some of his illustrations on Ebay, but of course they go for hundreds of dollars.
Please do more Kay Nielsen illustrations. Thank you so much again. You really brightened up my day :D
What a beautiful collection, thanks so much for providing a great resource.
BEAUTIFUL WORK!
Your artwork is soul touching.
Thank you for sharing.
Oh this is just stunning. For the first time in years I've seen the entire series together. This is breathtaking. I just can't understand why this beautiful work is out of print. It's an absolute crime that his work is so unaccessable. Generations of children would benefit from having these stunning and mesmerising images imprinted in their minds.
Kay Nielsons beutiful magic work is so worthy of digitalization so that we the lucky people stumble upon it and are bewitched.
Thank your site and Yahoo for leading me to it.
A delighted fan.
Mickie Smith, wanna-be.
Wonderful! Don't stop - I stumbled upon your site and so enjoyed the Kay Nielsen illustrations - I'll be back - Thank you! Kay D.
this is fantastic, thanks for sharing and thnks for your holy work!!
So beautiful! Thanks for sharing these.
I have had a first edition of this book for years but with some missing illustrations (it was after all a children's book)This is the first time that I have been able to see all of the illustrations and to identify which are missing. Very many thanks.
Hello - I've been looking at these pictures all day in an old book I inherited, they are too beautiful for words. I uploaded a few onto my blog - but like you said, it is rough on the bindings, and I wouldn't want the shape it is in to deteriorate.
I found my way here via a Google search on "Kay Nielsen" - and am very glad to see someone has gone to the trouble of putting these pictures up!
The Kay Nielsen images are invaluable. I teach design history at UC Davis and include Kay in my lectures. To have your site as a place my students can look at a number of images is so valuable. Thank you.
I would like to add my voice to those who say your posting of this work is definitely worth it.
These pictures are beautiful and life changing.
The reconciliation of the space within the picture and that of the flat page is truly sublime.
Many thanks.
i discovered kay nielsen about seven years ago, and remember feverishly browsing the web trying to find images of his illustrations with little success. since almost all of the books he illustrated seem to be out of print, this site is one of the few resources out there for fans of this sort of work: please continue to scan!
I bought a copy of "East of the Sun and West of the Moon" for a dollar at a coffeeshop in Phoenix. Unfortunately, all the color plates were gone, and I wanted desperately to see them. I had already fallen in love with the black-and-white ones on the book's regular pages. Thank you to everyone involved in getting these images out there.
I discovered Nielsen just today, actually, after watching a featurette on the new Little Mermaid DVD. I don't believe I've ever been so infatuated with an artist's work before, that it has lead me to feverishly seek out some more. Nielsen truly has some of the most inspiring work I have ever had the pleasure to lay my eyes on.
I wanted to say thank you for taking the time to put up some of his work. Now I have a new inspiration to work from in art class! :D
I found this site via the LJ Art Nouveau community. These are such beautiful illustrations - really brightened my day. Thank you for sharing them with us. It is much appreciated.
Just surfing through, and found some of the best fantasy illustrations I've ever seen. Keep up the good archive work. I will frequently check back.
Incredibly enough, this site is the only place where I have managed to find the whole illustration series of this book. I congratulate you for your patience and devotion towards this priceless work. I also wanted to say that the quality here is better than most other places, and the colours are beautiful. Thank you!
I had a copy of the 12 Dancing Princesses about 40 years ago and used to mimic Kay Nielson's drawings as a young girl. I long ago lost that book, but never the memories. I have since acquired a very dog-earred copy of East of the Sun. Your website brings tears to my eyes to see these wonderful old pictures - thanks so much!
When I was 11 I convinced my little sister to check out my favorite book from the library at school because I was no longer allowed to. It was East of the Sun - I'm now 40 and I have the very book that the librarian knew was never lost or stolen - (I) did pay! I stumbled onto this site and what can I say, those illustrations show life,love, struggle. You have warmed my heart! Thank you - nancy the pirate!
This may be my favorite book of all time! I was first a fan of Rackham, but there's something about Nielsen that just takes my breath away! Thanks for doing this!!
amazing. thank you.
I stumbled upon Kay Nielsen's work when I was looking up works by Edmund Dulac. Nielsen's work is absolutely amazing I'm glad that this site is up to share his art. Thank you
If any of you should wish to see some of Kay Nielsen's work live and have plans of heading over to good ol' Europe this summer, now is the chance to see an amazing exhibition of privately owned paintings at Gl. Holtegaard Museum in Copenhagen, Denmark 12 May - 19 August 2007. This is one not to be missed!
Just absolutely impressive. Thanks a lot for your efforts. It's thanks to people like you that the web is so interesting.
Wow, this is wonderful work.
I'll second what an earlier commenter said about desiring to see higher res versions. These pieces deserve it.
Thanks so much for doing this.
Yesterday I went to a fabulous exhibition at London's Dulwich Picture Gallery
Although it had some brilliant works by Arthur Rackham and Aubrey Beardsley, it was Nielsen who stole the show for me (not that that took much doing; I've always loved his work)
In fact it was so dazzling, I almost cried.
Please can someone recommend a book (IN PRINT please!) featuring his work???
Love xx
Fierykat
absolutely incredible. thank you!! i've been looking for this book for years. why it's OOP is beyond me.
I love Nielsen!!!!
This book shows his influence from Audrey Beardsley.
When he joined Disney, he gave an amazing style for Fantasia - The Night on Bald Mountain.
These are amazing. I found this site while exploring on-line resources about Errol Le Cain -- now I have another illustrator to add to my wish list. My god, they're gorgeous.
found my way to these illustrations via the New Yorker. I am not a design artist, "just" someone who finds joy in looking at such beautiful artwork. I also have a deep appreciation for archivists (I used to supervise a large library in another life). Good work! and thanks.
I'm so happy to find these, they're beautiful - thanks for the work!
Is it still in print? I'd love a copy! Off to search.
Beautiful! Absolutely beautiful!
When I was a child, I used to have a book, a compilation of illustration from late 19th and early 20th century children's books, and there was an illustration from this book, it's next to the last one here.
I liked it very much then, this battle scene, so intense and so detailed.
By the way, I found are some more illustrations from East of the Sun here: http://www.nocloo.com/gallery2/v/kay-nielsen-east-sun-west-moon/
If you didn't know already, The Eric Carle Museum in Amherst Ma. has an exhibit called Flights into Fantasy. It is wonderful! It has a number of Kay Nielsen originals! I never thought I would ever see these up close and personal but they are even more exquisite in person. Really breath taking. This exhibit is there until the end of Oct. 2008 - peace
Lovely resource - thanks for these images online.
"East of the Sun" IS BACK IN PRINT!
ISBN 978-1-606-60003-0
(Dover)
I wrote my dissertation on Nielsen in 1983. There was so little information out there then (other than David Larkin's book). I was helped immensely by the delightful Elva Bess Cook who knew the Nielsens when Kay was working on his murals in the 1950s. His work continues to delight. I was thrilled to see him credited on Disney's "The Little Mermaid" as he was working on those designs at the time of the 1942(?) studio strike, after which he was sacked for taking part... so I've been told... and he never worked in animation again. Sad.
i was lucky to find a framed print of the 4th page illustrated above. it appears to be a page from the book, period frame.
only $25 at my friendly A&C antiques dealer.
This is the first day I've encountered Mr. Nielsen and I am most impressed. Art nouveau and art deco, Persian miniatures, U-kiyoe, Aubrey Beardsley, etc. He seems to reflect all of those styles - whether to their develoment or borrowed I suppose it doesn't matter. His work is gorgeous. Before my time, but whatever the relationship is between him and them, it's real. Most beautiful illustrations.
Jim Jensen
I grew up with this and the Tenggren Tell-It Again books--they were deeply imprinted in my early memories. I still have the copies, which belonged to my mother when she was a girl. And yes...even opening them as carefully as you can is risky.
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