Cel and Matching Background Painting for the Silly Symphony, The Tortoise and the Hare, 1935

I bought this set up at the 1984 Basmajian auction. It was one of four [the best in my opinion] matching set ups from the 1935 Academy Award winner for animated shorts. Strangely, all four had cels of Max Hare and none had an image of Toby Tortoise.

##############################

Collecting Disney Background Paintings, Part 8, Cont.

I walked toward Carl and he moved the same distance away from me, just as one would do if trying to not speak with someone. I should have just darted across the grass, but I don't "dart," and I still had a little pride back then, at least enough not to chase after someone who had just shut me out on everything I wanted in the auction. So, I went back inside and, when the auction began again, bid on and bought for modest prices three equally rare but much less attractive background from the 1932 Silly Symphony, Babes in the Woods. Harper didn't bid on any of these, and no one else seemed to care much about them. I never found out what was up that day, and Carl Harper and his associate, Marsha, both passed away a few years later. They had bought heavily for at least a decade, and none of their animation art has ever turned up again [at least to my knowledge]. I guess I'll never know why they were after art outside their normal collecting area on the day I wanted eactly the same things.