Pinocchio (1940), original artwork, gouache on artboard and mixed media, British

Pinocchio (1940), original artwork, gouache on artboard and mixed media, British

Unframed: 14 x 18 in. (35.6 x 45.8 cm)

Framed: 18 1/2 x 20 5/8 in. (47 x 52.3 cm)

This charming artwork, featuring Pinocchio dancing with the string puppet, was used to create the British front of house lobby cards. On the bottom border are cut out printed pieces of paper, with the title and other information about the film.

Exceptionally rare. Original artworks rarely surface as the majority were destroyed.

Walt Disney's second animated feature film was made after the success of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937). Pinocchio, the world’s most famous wooden puppet, was originally the creation of the Italian writer and social commentator Carlo Collodi. Entitled The Adventures of Pinocchio, the story was initially serialized in the children’s section of a Roman newspaper and, following its popularity, became a book in 1883. When Walt Disney decided to adapt the story to film, Pinocchio had already climbed to widespread fame, but it was not until he was animated that the naughty wooden boy truly became embedded in the popular imagination.