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The Art of Kay Nielsen

tragic tale of Pierrot. We also show illustrations specially commissioned for the 1913 Christmas Edition of The Illustrated

London News and accompanied Perrault in Powder and Patch: Famous and Familiar Fairy Stories in their Proper Guise.

Another three very special images we show appear to have been prepared in 1914 to accompany a version of The Monk

of Fife - a romance of the days of Jeanne D'Arc (St Joan or Joan of Arc). A further suite of images was prepared prior to

1923 for a version of A Thousand and One Nights that was not published due to scarce resources in Denmark following

World War I.

'Kay Nielsen's Story - In his own words' appeared in Contemporary Illustrators of Children's Books (1930) and makes interesting

reading on Nielsen's early career and artistic influences.

Following his emigration to the United States, Nielsen found work with Disney developing concept artwork for a number

of projects. His most recognized work with Disney was towards the "Bald Mountain/Ave Maria" sequence in Fantasia. He

did, however, also contribute artwork for projects following Fantasia, including what has been identified as its potential

sequel, The Ride of the Valkyries (this did not go beyond the concept stage), Sleeping Beauty and The Little Mermaid.

After he separated from Disney in the early 1940s, Nielsen's substantial artistic work seems to have been restricted to a

number of commissions for major murals throughout California.

We invite you to take the time to peruse the wonderful artwork from Kay Nielsen that is included in the Collection -

to view images from any one of Nielsen's suites or individual illustrations listed below, simply 'click' on the hyperlinks

embedded within the titles and the images.

In the Autumn of Youth: Fallen Leaves 1 colour image	In Powder and Crinoline 39 images	"The Drawings of Kay Nielsen" 4 images	Perrault in Powder and Patch 4 images
East of the Sun and West of the Moon 47 images	Scenes from the Life of Joan of Arc 3 images	Thousand Nights and a Night 42 images	Fairy Tales by Hans Andersen 28 images
Hansel and Gretel: And other stories by the Brothers Grimm 22 images	Red Magic 58 images	The Apple 1 colour image	A Seated Girl and a Monkey 1 colour image
Kama Sutra 1 colour image	Deserted Moment 1 colour image	Le Belle au Bois Dormant 1 colour image	The Blue Belt The Lad in the Bear's skin, and the King of Arabia's daughter 1 colour image
The Widow's Son When he had walked a day or so, a strange man met him. "Whither way?" asked the man 1 colour image	The Faun 1 colour image	The Marsh King's Daughter 1 colour image	The Story of a Mother 1 colour image
Concepts for "Fantasia" 27 images	Concept for "The Ride of the Valkyries" 1 colour image	Concepts for "The Little Mermaid" 35 images	Advanced Concept for "The Little Mermaid" 1 colour image
Concepts for "Sleeping Beauty" 2 colour image	"The First Spring" 2 monotone images	Mayme and Thomas Wong bookplate 1 monotone image

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Kay Nielsen's Story: In his own words

The following extract from Contemporary Illustrators of Children's Books (1930) provides Nielsen with an opportunity to

share his story in his own words:

I was born in Copenhagen the 12th of March 1886. both my father and mother were artists.

My father, Professor Martinius Nielsen, was in his youth an actor in the classical repertoire. He

became the leading and managing director of the Dagmartheater in Copenhagen, which under

his directorate became the modern literary stage.

 

My mother, Oda Nielsen, was actress to the court of the royal theater in Copenhagen. In her

youth she lived in Paris and brought home the great French repertoire from the eighties. Later

she joined the Dagmartheater ad the repertoire, thereon. Her love for the French she kept in

her song (repertoire Yvette Gilbert) and she also became the interpretress of the songs of the

Old Danish folklore.

 

In this tense atmosphere of art, I was brought up. I remember such men as Ibsen, Bjornsen, Lie,

Grieg, Sinding, Brandes and many others probably unknown to the American public. Since early

boyhood I have been drawing. When the Sagas were read to me I drew down the people

therein. Anything I heard about I tried to put in situations on paper. I heard much and saw much

concerning art, but I never really intended to be an artist myself.

 

When I was twelve years of age I was taken out of school and given my own teachers. I had a

vague idea of being a medical man, but when I was seventeen I suddenly broke off from books

and went to Paris to study art.

 

I lived in Paris at Montparnasse for seven years and I frequented several schools of art. First the

"Académie Julien" under Jean Paul Laurence; thereafter "Collarossi" under Kristian Krog, and

several others; the last was Lucien Simon. I worked and lived in the usual routine of French

school live, always working from nature, but in my hours away from the school I did drawings

out of my imagination; among these, The Book of Death (unpublished). Or, inspired from reading,

I did drawings to Heine, Verlaine, Hans Andersen. These drawings, most of them done in black

and white, became numerous and in 1910 they were seen by London people and an exhibition

was offered by Dowdeswel and Dowdeswel.

 

In 1911 I left Paris for London. In 1912 I had my first show held by Dowdeswel and Dowdeswel,

consisting of the drawings done in my Paris days. After this I worked for England entirely.

 

From 1918-1922 I worked on a Danish translation from the original Thousand Nights and a Night

(Arabian Nights), unpublished, and in the same period I did series of setting for the Royal Theater

in Copenhagen: Shakespeare, The Tempest; Oehlenschlaeger, Aladdin; Sibelius, Scaramouche;

Magnussen, The Dream of the Poet.

 

I was brought up in a classical view concerning art, but I remember I loved the Chinese drawings

and carvings in my mother's room brought home from China by her father. And this love for the

works of Art from the East has followed me. My artistic wandering started with the early Italians

over Persia, India, to China.

 

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