A Friday Visit with Jim Korkis: The Artwork of the Disney World Dolphin

By Dave Shute

Welcome back to Fridays with Jim Korkis! Jim, the dean of Disney historians and author of Jim’s Gems in The easy Guide, writes about Walt Disney World history every Friday on yourfirstvisit.net.

THE ORIGINAL ARTWORK OF DISNEY WORLD’S DOLPHIN HOTEL

By Jim Korkis
Architect Michael Graves had complete creative control over every aspect of Walt Disney World’s Swan and Dolphin resort hotels from uniforms to room keys to its murals.

The murals were rendered in miniature by Graves, then the builder Tishman Realty & Construction Company commissioned Maer-Murphy Inc. (a company specializing in murals and decorative finishes) to follow those designs and execute the final full-sized paintings.

In a 4,000 square foot studio under the Manhattan Bridge in Brooklyn, shifts of eight artists worked on fireproof linen canvases up to 40 feet long to create 64 dramatic floral-patterned murals, which ranged in size from 200 to 600 square.

The artists painted in teams, each responsible for different mural elements. The fast-paced process, using more than 160 gallons of paint for the ballroom murals alone, achieved a consistent feel throughout each series without sacrificing the individual artists’ touch.

As the murals were completed, they were rolled onto carpet spools and driven to Walt Disney World. Once there, they were stretched and stapled onto large birch frames, eight to twenty-three feet above the floor, and finished with trim molding.

Fifteen doors leading to audiovisual control rooms posed a special challenge. Workers cut out the canvas around these passageways, then re-stretched new canvas directly onto the doors. Artists then painted the doors on-site, integrating the pattern.

The Maer-Murphy team produced other murals that were painted on canvas at the studio and then affixed directly to the hotel’s walls, such as a nine by one hundred and twenty nine foot floral patterned mural hanging behind the lobby reception desk, seven stairwell murals, composed of a collage of textures and geometric patterns and ten floral-patterned corridor murals.

One of the highlights was the Copa Banana Night Club that featured three giant fruit murals and three-dimensional fruits made of hand-painted wooden cut-outs which festoon the furniture. These works included a fifty foot long banana bar, watermelon, cantaloupe and grapefruit drink rails up to ten feet long and palm tree cut-outs thirteen feet high.

Some artwork was produced on site, such as the three and half by two hundred and forty two foot hand painted wooden leaf valance that edged the ceiling of Harry’s Safari Bar and Grille, and the five foot square checkerboard patterns painted directly onto the light blue wall covering in Tubbi Checkers Buffeteria, the 1950s themed fast food restaurant.

In the Coral Café, twenty-four oversized fish (catfish, mousefish and even a school of fish sporting mortar boards) seem to “float” from the ceiling with another twenty affixed to the walls. The four to six foot long wooden cut-outs were by artist Robert Braun.

Braun painted the floral patterned mural for the rotunda lobby and also created beach scene murals, complete with palm trees, beach balls, and pails and shovels to line the corridor, which the carpet design was meant to resemble a sandy beach with beach towels, balls and suntan lotion designs.

Like Walt Disney World areas, some of these areas had back stories. Harry’s Safari Bar and Grille was owned by a legendary traveler who roamed the world in search of gourmet treasure which included open-flame cooked meats, fish and vegetables flavored with exotic herbs. The staff never knows when Harry may stop in so his table is always ready and Harry’s Safari Ale is always in the cooler.

In addition, over 4,500 prints of classic paintings hung throughout the hotel representing artists who had influenced Graves’ style including Picasso, Matisse, Hockney and Rousseau.

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Thanks, Jim. And come back next Friday for even more from Jim Korkis!

In the meantime, check out his books, including Secret Stories of Walt Disney World: Things You Never You Never Knew, which reprints much material first written for this site, and The Vault of Walt: Volume 4, and his contributions to The easy Guide to Your First Walt Disney World Visit, all published by Theme Park Press.

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