The Life and Art of Mary Blair - Part Twenty-Eight
·29 min
The story begins a few years after Walt's death. Roy Disney is running the company now, and he chooses a more practical Florida resort than the one Walt had pictured. The plan gets pared down. Most of the themed hotels go away; the Polynesian stays, and the Contemporary joins it, closer to Roy's business-travel instincts. That leaves a design problem. The Contemporary does not yet have the playful feel people expect from Disney, and Mary Blair's mural becomes part of the fix. While that job inches toward the point where final designs can go onto ceramic tiles, the Blair family is dealing with harder business at home. Donovan's care pushes Lee to sell the Great Neck house and two undeveloped parcels, then buy in California. Winter makes the sale awkward. The agent warns that few families want to move in the cold months, so the Blairs are packing before the money is settled. Paintings, sketchbooks, photos, and decades of New York life go into boxes while Mary keeps at the Disney work. Kings Park gives Mary and Lee a condition: they can take Donovan if they leave the state and find proper treatment in California. They rent in Monterey Heights first, but Lee wants the water. Soquel is the landing spot, about five miles south of Santa Cruz, with a hill house, a wide front window, and the Pacific out front. The view is not just pretty here. It is the family's new bargain with care, work, and whatever comes next.
