Growing up I was surrounded by imagery and artwork that inspired me to become the artist and illustrator I am today. One of those artists was someone who's name I didn't know at the time. His work was featured in several of the Big Golden Books I enjoyed as a child, most notably, Disney's "Snow White and the Seven Dwarves."
I literally laid my head to rest each night on to his artwork. My Mom had gifted me a pillow case with a Campbell Grant illustration.
His depiction of Snow White was stylized and simplified and the illustrations in the book were definitely Disney and definitely his. I poured over these images and loved them and learned to draw from them. Check out a sampling of his work from that book. I hope it inspires you as well.
Born in Berkeley, CA on Nov. 7, 1909. Campbell Grant graduated from Oakland High School and then entered the CCAC. In 1930 he received a scholarship to the Santa Barbara School of the Arts and moved to that city. In 1934 he moved to Hollywood and began a 12-year period as an animator and story director for Disney Studios. He then settled in Carpinteria, CA where he remained. In the 1960s Grant began teaching at the Cate School in Carpinteria, and became interested in prehistoric Indian cave paintings which led to six books and several articles on the subject.  He died on March 24, 1992. He was the nephew of artists Gordon H. Grant and Douglas M. Grant, and the brother of artist Gordon K. Grant.Â