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ANIMATION WORLD MAGAZINE - ISSUE 4.7 - OCTOBER 1999

The Glad Family Trust Collection Is Truly Remarkable
(continued from page 1)

Acquiring Art
Glad's vision of what an animation collection could be came to him in the early 1980s when he purchased almost 100 works from Jerome K. Muller. Muller had organized "The Moving Image," a show of 101 works that toured about 30 museums and art centers from 1980-84. When Glad purchased most of this collection he realized this was the beginnings of an archive from which other exhibits could be organized. He slowly developed his plans for the themes of exhibits and as he learned more about animation, his vision changed and grew.

An example of how his approach has matured can be seen in his collection of WW II art. At first this was a general category, but by the time he began to organize the show "Helping Win the War, the Art of Animation During WW II" for the Academy of Motion Pictures Art & Science (1992), he had enough pieces to fill five sub-categories of wartime art. His headings for the show were training films, films made to keep South and Central American countries neutral, home front films, cartoons about the war and educational films.

An even closer look gives some idea of the richness of Glad's holdings. The first wartime category includes art from training films made by the military's animation unit at "Fort Roach" in Los Angeles (the former Hal Roach Studio). This part of the collection includes finished drawings and rough sketches for Private Snafu cartoons, two Trigger Joe cel set-ups and art from films that teach how to use the Norton bombsight and other equipment. Work from films made to bolster our friendship with our neighbors south of the border includes images from The Three Caballeros, Saludos Amigos and other films. Art from home front films comes from Andy Panda's Victory Garden, Falling Hare, Red Hot Riding Hood, Rationing, The Spirit of `43 and Der Fuehrer's Face. Cartoons at war includes images from Commando Duck, Pigs on Patrol, Skytroopers, Education for Death, Victory Through Air Power and other shorts. The WW II educational film category includes art from Disney's Water: Friend or Foe and The Winged Scourge. They were films once used to teach health and hygiene.

Much of this rare material would not exist today if it were not for studio employees who saved it from being destroyed. The Disney material was saved by a man told to toss the art out at the end of war. Glad says that much of the MGM Tex Avery art that survives was saved in a similar manner. A man at the MGM studio used to buy it from the trash collectors at the studio. The janitors made a few dollars saving Avery cels that were supposed to be taken to the dump.

There have been several individuals besides Jerome K. Muller who have played important roles in building this collection. One was the Hungarian director/producer John Halas whose "Masters of Animation" exhibit featured art from around the world. Halas not only sold Glad much of the collection, he also gave him the names and addresses of many world-class animators so he could continue to buy work in this area.

Another major collection Glad purchased was that of Vicktor Doudin from the former USSR. Doudin's archive covered Soviet animation art from the 1920s to the present. Segments of this collection had been exhibited in Eastern Europe and the USSR. Doudin now lives in the USA and works as an animator.

David Ehrlich, who has been an ASIFA international board member for many years, attends most of the major animation festivals. He generally brings back a selection of new cels and drawings for Glad to consider buying.

Herb Klynn, who was with UPA from the mid-1940s to the late-1950s, spent days talking with Glad about the importance of the studio, John Hubley and the other artists who worked there. Glad's UPA collection begins with color storyboard sketches from Hell Bent for Election (1944). There are also color models from Ragtime Bear (1949), the first Magoo cartoon. Glad has art from the UPA Oscar winners and other important works including the visually stunning Tell Tale Heart (1953). Glad says the art of UPA played a major role in shaping the aesthetics of the 1950s, yet it is undervalued as only a few collectors appreciate it.

To better understand his favorite subject Glad has videotaped dozens of interviews with animators. He hopes to include clips of these interviews in future shows along with segments from the films from which the works of art come. He says a show isn't complete unless people see the art of animation in motion.

Although Glad feels the golden age of collecting was from 1986 to 1991 when auctions were uncovering major works of art in great numbers, he still enjoys adding to his collection. Each year he tries to obtain art from the animated films nominated for Oscars. He also enjoys searching for works that fill in gaps in his collection. For example, he has yet to find an example of Warner Bros. art from the 1930s that shows the stars Bosko or Buddy. He is also looking for art from early Columbia cartoons.

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