Peter Ellenshaw R.I.P.

[julian_craster]

The Independent

Obituary: Peter Ellenshaw
Film special-effects virtuoso
Published: 04 April 2007

Peter Ellenshaw, matte artist: born London 24 May 1913; married 1942 Bobbie Palmer (one son, one daughter); died Santa Barbara, California 12 February 2007.

In the era before computer-generated special effects, budget-conscious film-makers relied upon background paintings to conjure up convincing historical or exotic locales as a cheap substitute for building sets or filming on location. This arcane art, known as matte painting, supplied the illusion of Captain Nemo's volcanic island in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Treasure Island in the film of the same name and the rooftops of Edwardian London in Mary Poppins, and the pre-eminent practitioner of it throughout the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s was the special-effects virtuoso Peter Ellenshaw.
In matte painting, mattes are used to block out parts of the frame before the live footage is shot, the artist paints in the matted areas (usually on glass) and the two are blended via a double-exposure. Ellenshaw's wizardry with the technique was used on over 30 films for the Walt Disney Studios and won him an Oscar for his stunning settings for Mary Poppins (1964), along with nominations for his work on three other Disney films: Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971); The Island at the Top of the World (1974); and - jointly with his son and fellow matte painter Harrison Ellenshaw - The Black Hole (1979).
Peter Ellenshaw's connection with Disney began in 1947 when he was hired as a freelancer for the studio's very first entirely live-action production, Treasure Island (1950), the inaugural project from its English production unit. From 1953, when he moved to California, until his official retirement in 1979, he worked exclusively for Disney, mainly on live-action films such as The Story of Robin Hood and his Merrie Men (1952), Swiss Family Robinson (1960) and The Love Bug (1969).
He also designed several of the rides for Disneyland, as well as painting the iconic first map of the theme park, and supplied backgrounds for the hit television series Davy Crockett and Zorro.
Raised on a farm in Essex, Ellenshaw had learned to draw under the family kitchen table as a distraction from German zeppelin raids. Leaving school at 14, he continued painting as a hobby while working as a mechanic to support his widowed mother and family.
In 1935 he landed a job at Denham Studios (and later Shepperton Studios) as uncredited assistant to his stepfather, W. Percy Day, the inventor of matte painting, on such films as Things to Come (1936), The Thief of Bagdad (1940) and Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger's Black Narcissus (1947).
After serving as a pilot in the RAF during the Seond World War, Ellenshaw resumed his matte painting career, freelancing for various studios, including for MGM on Quo Vadis (1951), until his move to California and exclusive contract with Disney.
Off-duty, Ellenshaw became a prolific and widely-exhibited painter, most notably of seascapes, especially after he moved to Ireland in 1970. Following his official retirement from Disney, he was called back to create several matte paintings for the 1990 film Dick Tracy and in 1993 he was made a "Disney Legend" by the studio.


Alan Woollcombe

[julian_craster]

Peter Ellenshaw
Daily Telegraph
31/03/2007

Peter Ellenshaw, who has died aged 93, was a pioneer of visual effects and shared an Oscar for the 102 paintings of Edwardian London which he helped create for the backdrop to the 1964 film Mary Poppins.
During a 30-year association with Walt Disney, Ellenshaw created the hand-painted "mattes" (sets in front of which the characters play their scenes) for such films as Treasure Island (1950), 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954) and Darby O'Gill and the Little People (1959). Mattes used to be painted on glass before computers made the process redundant.
Peter Ellenshaw was born in Essex on May 24 1913. His father was killed in the First World War, and Peter left school aged 14 to help support his family, finding work as a garage mechanic. He was, however, a talented artist and after meeting the British portrait painter W Percy Day, who was an early exponent of matte painting, he spent seven years as Day's assistant.
The two men worked together on epics such as Things to Come and The Thief of Baghdad.
After service with the RAF during the Second World War, Ellenshaw returned to the film business as a matte artist and started working for Walt Disney in 1948 when he was hired to paint backgrounds for the studio's first live action film, Treasure Island.
Disney immediately identified him as a man who could re-create historical England, thus saving the studio the cost of many difficult location shots. Ellenshaw also worked for MGM on the film of Quo Vadis (1951), and created a matte painting of Rome for Stanley Kubrick's Spartacus (1960).
In 1953 he moved to California, where he continued his association with Disney. In all he worked on 34 films and numerous television shows for the studio. He also contributed to the design of many of the attractions at the Disneyland theme park.
Ellenshaw was nominated for four Academy Awards, including for his work on Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971), The Island at the Top of the World (1974) and The Black Hole (1979).
Throughout his career Ellenshaw worked as a traditional seascape and landscape artist, spending much of his leisure painting on the coast of California.
Peter Ellenshaw died on February 12. His wife died in 2000, and he is survived by their two children, Lynda Ellenshaw Thompson, who was also a visual effects producer, and Harrison Ellenshaw, whose work is featured in such films as Star Wars: Episode IV and V.

[Steve Crook]

Why have they both only just noticed?
He died in February, as was mentioned in a thread about him on this forum and in various other places like the P&P email group.

Lovers of British films are most likely to know his work, even if it's not always obvious.
He painted the vertiginous drop below the bell tower in Black Narcissus

Steve

[penfold]

Originally Posted by Steve Crook Why have they both only just noticed? He died in February, as was mentioned in a thread about him on this forum and in various other places like the P&P email group. Lovers of British films are most likely to know his work, even if it's not always obvious. He painted the vertiginous drop below the bell tower in Black Narcissus Steve

Newspapers tend to commission obits well in advance; someone famous, knocking on, they get a colleague or expert to write up the life, then put it on file. When the subject passes on, they just whip open the file, do a quick update if necessary, for the next day's paper. Hence you occasionally get situations whereby an obituary has apparently just been written by someone who has been dead some years themselves....or in one case, by someone who knows full well they're still alive. Violinist Dave Swarbrick had a nice sideline in Autographed Daily Telegraph obituaries of himself....in the case of Mr Ellenshaw, I suspect the obits have been specially commissioned after the event, but even so, six weeks is an unusually long wait....and that the Indie only noticed after they read it in The Telegraph...

[Steve Crook]

Originally Posted by penfold Newspapers tend to commission obits well in advance; someone famous, knocking on, they get a colleague or expert to write up the life, then put it on file. When the subject passes on, they just whip open the file, do a quick update if necessary, for the next day's paper. Hence you occasionally get situations whereby an obituary has apparently just been written by someone who has been dead some years themselves....or in one case, by someone who knows full well they're still alive. Violinist Dave Swarbrick had a nice sideline in Autographed Daily Telegraph obituaries of himself....in the case of Mr Ellenshaw, I suspect the obits have been specially commissioned after the event, but even so, six weeks is an unusually long wait....and that the Indie only noticed after they read it in The Telegraph...

Still, nice of them to remember him, even if it was a bit late.
He really was a great artist. Especially good at deep perspective but he painted in a lot of other styles as well.

Steve