BATTAGLIA, Aurelius

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Birth/Death

Birth: 1910,  Washington, D.C..
Death: May 1984,  Provincetown, Mass.


Occupation/Title

Illustrator, muralist, writer, director


Bio Summary

Early Life/Family

Aurelius Battaglia was born in Washington, D.C. in 1910, the son of Guiseppe and Concetta Battaglia, who had emigrated from Cefalu, Italy.


Education/Training

Aurelius attended the Corcoran School of Art. He graduated as one of the Corcoran’s most promising students, winning $50 in a Corcoran-sponsored art contest.


Career Outline

Battaglia migrated west in the late 1930s and worked for the Walt Disney studio from 1937 to 1941. He contributed most notably to “Dumbo” and “Pinocchio” and is credited as one of the writers of the latter.

In the mid-1950s, Battaglia joined United Productions of America, a studio staffed by some of the industry’s most accomplished, forward-thinking animation artists. Perhaps his most outstanding UPA contribution was the short film “The Invisible Moustache of Raoul Dufy.” Battaglia directed the film, which was nominated for a BAFTA award.

Battaglia was also a prolific children’s book illustrator. His picture book work in the 1950s and 60s differs significantly from the deco-inspired circus animals of his depression-era murals. They feature bold, solid colors and striking, stylized pen and brush work indicative of the looser, more abstract mid-century cartooning style that he helped pioneer. Notable examples include "Cowboy Jack, the Sheriff," "The Fire Engine Book," "Little Boy With a Big Horn," "When I Met Robin," "Captain Kangaroo’s Read-Aloud Book" and "The Fireside Book of American Folk Songs." Contributed to the Childcraft book series published by Field Enterprises.

Battaglia moved to Provincetown, Mass., where he continued to work until his death in May of 1984.


Comments On Style

In the 1930s, Battaglia worked in a flowing, deco-influenced, organic style informed by classic European illustration. His later children’s book and animation work was emblematic of the radical, more abstract stylization prevalent in the 1950s and ‘60s, a trend he helped to establish.


Influences

Personality

Anecdotes

Miscellaneous

In 1934, the Works Progress Administration commissioned Battaglia to paint murals in the children’s section of the library in the Mount Pleasant neighborhood of Washington where he resided. The result was a stunning, whimsical panorama of anthropomorphic animals at play. It still hangs in the alcoves of the building’s second floor.

For more images of the Mount Pleasant Library mural, see The Sistine Chapel of Golden Books
Like too many cultural landmarks, Battaglia’s marvelous Mount Pleasant Library murals fell into disrepair over the years. Mounted on leaky walls, some were water stained, some vandalized. In an effort to preserve them, a thick layer of Plexiglas was placed over them. The Plexiglas is also somewhat fogged with age, making the murals difficult to photograph or study. An expensive restoration project is currently being sponsored by the Friends of Mount Pleasant Library. One of the more striking figures in the mural, the lion orchestra conductor, serves as the library mascot, printed on banners that flank the entranceway.

Only recently, Battaglia’s daughter made a gift to the library of a mural study her father had done for a Washington saloon in the 1930s. Rendered in a flowing deco style, the study, painted on wood, depicts an assortment of animals guzzling spirits in a rowdy bacchanalia. The exuberance it presents was evident in Battaglia’s work throughout his long career.


Filmography

"Pinocchio" (1940)
"Dumbo" (1941)
"The Invisible Moustache of Raoul Dufy" (1955)


Honors

1955 BAFTA Award nomination, best animated film


Related Links

http://www.animationarchive.org/2008/03/illustration-sistine-chapel-of-golden.html
http://www.iamprovincetown.com/marzia.html
http://digilander.libero.it/killah80/aurelius1.htm
http://digilander.libero.it/killah80/vita1.htm
http://digilander.libero.it/killah80/disegni11.htm
http://digilander.libero.it/killah80/disegni21.htm
http://digilander.libero.it/killah80/disegni31.htm
http://digilander.libero.it/killah80/disegni41.htm
http://digilander.libero.it/killah80/american_songs1.htm
http://www.flickr.com/photos/leifpeng/sets/72057594131793845


Bibliographic References

Contributors To This Listing

Marty Baumann

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