Jules Engel: Icarus
J. Engel: Icarus, abstract oil on canvas, midcentury. Striking colors, broad strokes. 40 h x 24 w. Some slight cracking, also a chip uncovering paint underneath (see photos). Unsigned, but appears to be work of Jules Engel.
As one of the first members of the UPA Studios, he helped create Gerald McBoing-Boing, Madeleine and Mr. Magoo, among other favorite films. In 1959, he co-founded, Format Films, with Herb Klynn and received an Oscar nomination for his production of Icarus Montgolfier Wright, scripted by Ray Bradbury.
In the 1960s, he painted and made live-action films in Italy and France but, in 1970, returned to Los Angeles to work with the newly formed California Institute of the Arts(CalArts). He was the founding director of the Department of Experimental Abstract Animation on Film, a position he held until his death.
