A Treasury of Animation — Cartoon Art Museum

From the earliest hand-drawn cartoons to today’s blockbuster CGI films, all animation begins with an artist and an idea. The Cartoon Art Museum’s new exhibition, A Treasury of Animation, showcases original production art following the evolution of animation from the 1920s onward.

The first major exhibition drawn from the Cartoon Art Museum’s vast permanent collection since its reopening in Fisherman’s Wharf, A Treasury of Animation features historic never-before-seen work. “Our permanent collection houses thousands of animation cels and concept drawings,” says CAM Curator Andrew Farago, “but only a small portion of that artwork can be shown at any given time. This exhibition is an opportunity for us to show off the best of the best from the museum’s archives.”

Highlights include background paintings, cels and production art from beloved films like Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Fantasia and theatrical shorts starring icons like Bugs Bunny, Tom and Jerry and Popeye. The exhibition explores the history of television animation from the first TV animated series, Crusader Rabbit, through primetime favorites like The Simpsons.

This exhibition marks the next phase in the Cartoon Art Museum’s new location with new educational and family-friendly features. Activities throughout the galleries allow visitors to engage in drawing and learn the principles of animation firsthand. A timeline traces animation from experimental stop-motion to modern CGI. Visitors can view the animation camera used by Bay Area animator Alex Anderson during the production of Crusader Rabbit in the late 1940s, and videos from Pixar animators created “before they were stars.”

Educational programming in conjunction with A Treasury of Animation includes summer classes and workshops for all ages. For more information, contact Nina Taylor Kester at [email protected].

A Treasury of Animation is an original exhibition of the Cartoon Art Museum. The curatorial team includes Julie Davis, staff curator Andrew Farago, and Mark Simmons.