Pen & Ink Stipple Portrait of the Cowardly Lion

Back in 1986, Turner Entertainment purchased MGM's film library including the 1939 classic, "The Wizard of Oz". Several years later - to coincide with its first telecast on their own cable channel TNT - I was commissioned to create pen & ink renderings of the four iconic leading characters (plus Toto). Back then, it was (unfortunately) customary for a client to keep an illustrator's original artwork (unless specified differently in my contract). I was really pleased with the way my drawing of Bert Lahr as the Cowardly Lion turned out so I asked to hold on to it for a while and they never asked for it back. I have absolutely no idea where my drawings of Dorothy, Scarecrow and the Tin Man are today - perhaps in a flat file somewhere on the Warner Brothers lot...or (more likely) thrown away. And - at least I have this one drawing to remind me of the fun project! Disney's "Oz the Great and Powerful" opened this past weekend, and having loved the original film - of course I had to see it opening night! It wasn't horrible...it definitely had it's moments...but I'll sure be surprised if I am commissioned to create portraits of this new cast of players 50 years from now.