Check out Google today to learn about legendary artist Tyrus Wong

SCREEN CAPTURE / CBS

Tyrus Wong's most famous work was for Disney's animated 'Bambi.'

ASAM NEWS

CHINESE AMERICAN ARTIST Tyrus Wong was featured as the Google Doodle today (Oct. 25) to celebrate his 108th birthday, reports CNN.

While Wong was a multitalented artist, he is best known for working on the 1942 Disney movie Bambi as an animator and illustrator, the movie’s scenic backgrounds he painted inspired by Song dynasty-era classical Chinese art.

Google Doodle creator Sophie Diao said Wong’s work “has inspired me since I first learned about him as a first-year animation student,” explaining that his art “motivates me to think about ways to channel my own Chinese heritage in the stories and artwork I make.”

Born in China in 1910, Wong immigrated to the U.S. at nine years old with his father. The Chinese Exclusion Act restricted the number of Chinese immigrants at the time; while his father got into the U.S., Wong was held for nearly a month before he was able to enter the States, reports Newsweek.

Wong said his father encouraged his love for art and made him practice calligraphy daily with water and newspaper since they couldn’t afford formal education, according to an interview Wong had with the Otis Art Institute. The institute offered him a scholarship at 16 years old.

DISNEY

Tyrus Wong's work on behalf of Disney are works of art unto themselves.

According to Newsweek, Wong was initially credited as only a background artist for his work on Bambi. Despite his talents as a painter, muralist, ceramicist, lithographer, kite maker, set designer, and storyboard artist, he was not recognized for most of his achievements until the latter part of his life.

Wong also recalled wearing a pin stating he was Chinese, not Japanese, during World War II, a time of high anti-Asian sentiment. He became a U.S. citizen in 1946.

Wong was fired by Disney after an animators’ strike in 1941. He then worked at Warner Brothers for most of the rest of his career. Major credits include The Sands of Iwo Jima (1949), Rebel Without a Cause (1955), Around the World in 80 Days (1956), and The Wild Bunch (1969). He also designed popular greeting cards for Hallmark.

Wong’s work has been featured in the Chinese American Museum and the Craft and Folk Art Museum in Los Angeles.

In 2001, Disney honored him by naming him a Disney Legend for outstanding contributions to animated media. He died in 2016.

Wong’s work has been featured in the Chinese American Museum and the Craft and Folk Art Museum in Los Angeles.

In 2001, Disney honored him by naming him a Disney Legend for outstanding contributions to animated media. He died in 2016.

Wong’s daughters Kim, Tai-Ling, and Kay collaborated with Google for this project. “Our Dad was always creating art,” they stated. “Growing up, we benefited from his rich imagination and creativity—from his design of our family’s home and garden to the handmade holiday gifts he created for us even when he was in his 90s.

“Through his work ethic, appreciation of nature’s beauty, and joy in creating art, Dad was a role model for us. We miss him very much and to this day, whenever we see something humorous, clever, or beautiful, we think of him and wish we could share it with him.”
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RIP Tyrus Wong: Legendary Chinese American artist dies at 106

DISNEY MUSEUM

Tyrus Wong, 1910-2016

ASAM NEWS

LEGENDARY Disney artist Tyrus Wong has died at the age of 106.

Wong is best known for his work on the classic Disney film Bambi. In 1938, Wong heard that Disney was in preproduction on the film and went home to sketch pictures of deer in the forest. The Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco says those sketches caught the attention of Walt Disney himself and became the basis for the film’s artistry, in particular how he rendered the forest background and the play of light through the trees.

As legendary animators Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston point out in their book about the making of the motion picture, “He set the color schemes along with the appearance of the forest in painting after painting. Paintings that captured the poetic feeling that had eluded us [artists] for so long. Ty Wong not only inspired the other visual artists, but he created a standard that was met by musicians and special effects too.”

DISNEY MUSEUM

Tyrus Wong's renderings inspired the style and mood of the animated classic 'Bambi.

Wong's background work allowed the woodland
characters Bambie and Thumper stand out.

Although he only worked for Disney for three years until 1941, the studio recognized him with its Disney Legends Award. The honor is given to a select few who made an extraordinary and integral contribution to the Walt Disney Company.

The Chinese American Museum in Los Angeles held an exhibition of Wong’s work in 2004. Among the work showcased were his colorful kites. The museum awarded Wong its CAM Historymakers Award in 2001.

Wong worked at the Warner Bros. studio from 1942 to 1968, creating concept images for many films including Rebel Without a Cause [1955] and The Wild Bunch [1969].

Wong’s life was documented by filmmaker Pamela Tom in the documentary Tyrus in 2015. The film played at numerous film festivals. 

He was born in Canton, China in 1910. He immigrated with his father in 1920, and never saw his mother and sister again.

After successfully passing a brutal interrogation on Angel Island, Wong joined his father in Sacramento, California. 

"In the years that followed, he endured poverty, discrimination and chronic lack of recognition, not only for his work at Disney but also for his fine art, before finding acclaim in his 90s," wrote the New York Times in his obituary.

Wong’s death was announced Friday, Dec. 30 on his Facebook page.

“With heavy hearts, we announce the passing of Tyrus Wong,” the post read. “Tyrus died peacefully at his home surrounded by his loving daughters Kim, Kay and Tai-Ling. He was 106 years old." 

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Pixar artist Ronnie del Carmen adds his comments below. (Views from the Edge contributed to this report)

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