The gallery of paintings shown on these two pages all portray the same subject: Donald Duck. They were made over a period of four years by artists of Walt Disney's studios in Hollywood to illustrate how the Old Masters might have treated Donald. Starting with the Leonardo Da Vinci-type Madonna (opposite, abore), which was first employed purely as a gag in the Disney movie The Reluctant Dragon, Disney artists have since traced an imaginary Donald Duck influence all the way up to Picasso.
The birth of Donald himself ten years ago was every bit as accidental as the first duck-billed Madonna. Inserted as an "extra" in The Wise Little Hen on a Friday the 13th, Donald has become a web-footed Frankenstein monster. His name has been given to newborn babies, was even used by Allied Armies as a password on D-Day. Since Donald's introduction to live actresses in The Three Caballeros, Disney artists arc now idly thinking of dramatic parts for him.
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