Film special effects master Ray Harryhausen elevated stop motion animation to an art form during the 1950s to 1980s. For the first time, highlights from Ray’s collection will be showcased as part of the largest and widest-ranging exhibition of his work ever seen, with newly restored and previously unseen material from his incredible archive
Skeleton models from Jason and the Argonauts (1963); photo by Sam Drake, courtesy of the Ray and Diana Harryhausen Foundation
An immersive exhibition on the pioneering and unparalleled work of Ray Harryhausen (1920-2013), the cinematic titan whose movies shaped the face of modern cinema, will be coming to the National Galleries of Scotland (NGS) this Autumn, as part of the late filmmaker’s centenary celebrations.
Titan of Cinema will be the largest and most comprehensive exhibition ever of the art of the legendary trailblazer Harryhausen, who elevated stop-motion animation to an art form between the 1950s-1980s, and whose exhilarating movies inspired a generation of the world’s greatest living filmmakers, among them Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Sir Peter Jackson and Guillermo del Toro.
The exhibition, originally scheduled for May 2020 but rescheduled due to current events, is now open with an extended run until September 2021. Visitors can secure their tickets via a new online booking system up to three months in advance.
Titan of Cinema will showcase the original models that were miraculously brought to life on screen by Harryhausen’s mastery of stop-frame animation, such as the iconic skeletons from Jason and the Argonauts (1963), the Cyclops from his highly-influential Sinbad series, and his trademark UFOs from 1956’s Earth vs the Flying Saucers. The models shown will include those which would later inspire movies such as Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Jurassic Park, Pan’s Labyrinth and Mars Attacks!
Also on display will be the young Harryhausen’s very first models, including a marionette inspired by the gorilla from King Kong, conceived by the film’s special effects supervisor Willis O’Brien, and artwork from Mighty Joe Young, the first film that Harryhausen and O’Brien worked on together, and the movie which effectively launched Harryhausen’s career.
Californian-born Harryhausen was massively inspired by the work of Willis O’Brien after seeing King Kong at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Hollywood in 1933. As a teenage boy, he went to see the film 33 times. Soon after, he was experimenting with models and stop-motion animation in his backyard, and was later mentored by O’Brien.
Titan of Cinema tells the story of how this young boy became so enraptured by O’Brien’s special effects , he devoted his entire life to filmmaking, invented ingenious techniques, created unforgettable cinematic moments, became what Aardman Animations’ Peter Lord described as a, “one-man industry” and inspired many of the world’s greatest movie-makers.
Ray Harryhausen: Titan of Cinema | 24 October 2020 — 5 September 2021 | 73 Belford Road, Edinburgh, EH4 3DS | Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art (Modern Two)
| 0131 624 6200 | nationalgalleries.org | Tickets: £12-14 (concessions available)
Above images by Sam Drake, courtesy of the Ray and Diana Harryhausen Foundation