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Legendary Disney Imagineer and Sculptor Blaine Gibson, passed away on Sunday, according to the Walt Disney Family Museum, he was 97.
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Gibson worked with Walt Disney during the design and construction of Disneyland and his sculptures were the inspiration for characters on famed attractions such as the Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean and the Enchanted Tiki Room.
While many may not know his name, his work is very familiar to those who have visited Disneyland Resort and the Walt Disney World Resort. Blaine Gibson is best know for his sculpture of the iconic “Partners” statute situated in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle in Disneyland and Cinderella Castle at Walt Disney World.
The statue is not from the original sketches created by Blaine Gibson. One of the first designs showed Walt holding blueprint plans for Epcot with his hand pointing forward, while another showed Mickey holding an ice cream cone and pulling ahead of Walt.
Gibson joined the Walt Disney Company in 1939 as an animator and his works include animated classics such as “101 Dalmatians,” “Bambi,” “Song of the South,” “Peter Pan” and “Sleeping Beauty.”
Though his heart was in animation, one of his hobbies was sculpture and was assigned by Walt Disney to help with the creation of Disneyland in 1954. Gibson continued to work as an animator for the company but then moved to WED Enterprises (currently Walt Disney Imagineering) in 1961 where he was the supervisor of the newly created sculpture department.
Gibson was the sculptor for the widely popular exhibit of Walt Disney’s Audio-Animatronic of Abraham Lincoln for the 1964 World’s Fair Exhbit “Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln” and directed all of the U.S. Presidents at the Hall of Presidents attraction at the Walt Disney World Resort through George W. Bush through 2001.
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Blaine Gibson retired from the Walt Disney Company in 1983 after 45 years but continued to work as a consultant on various projects. He completed the “Partners” statute for the Magic Kingdom Park at Walt Disney World in 1993. He also sculpted other well-known Audio-Animatronics such as Mark Twain and Ben Franklin for the American Adventure attraction in the American Adventure pavilion at Epcot.
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In 1992, Gibson received one of the greatest honors from the Walt Disney Company – a window dedicated to him on Main Street, USA at the Disneyland Resort noting “Blaine Gibson, Headmaster, The Eternal Pursuit of the Artist’s Craft,” and was named a Disney Legend in 1993.
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