Shortly before his 13th birthday Ray Harryhausen was taken to see 1933 blockbuster ‘King Kong’- a cinema trip that would change his life forever. From the second he saw the incredible, intangible movement of the film’s titular gorilla, he knew that he wanted to bring creations from his own imagination to life. Although information was scarce as to how such an impressive beast had been realised in the film, Ray deduced that stop-motion animation was the medium for such cinematic magic. He was later able to befriend and be mentored by the film’s lead animator, Wilis O’Brien. Ray would rewatch King Kong countless time throughout his life- this bronze tribute to his favourite film stands as testament to this eternal source of inspiration.

Although he is best known for his iconic stop motion animation, Ray Harryhausen was also an accomplished artist and sculptor. His work was deeply inspired by the work of 19th century artists John Martin, Joseph Gandy and Gustav Dore, and this influence can be seen in the key drawings that Ray created whilst planning each film. He described Dore in particular as ‘a motion-picture art director born before his time’, given the dramatic use of light in his artworks. This drawing of Sinbad fighting the Skeleton shows how he drew upon these fine art influences to create spectacular special effects sequences, the likes of which had never been seen in cinema before. Such drawings would provide the groundwork for set pieces in the finished film.

Ray Harryhausen’s filmography consisted of fifteen iconic movies. In 1992, he was presented with an Academy Award for his contribution to cinema, and was awarded with a special lifetime achievement BAFTA in 2010. However, for every film that Ray was able to produce, there were several which never made it to the big screen. This painting for unrealised project ‘Baron Munchausen’ shows a somewhat rare use of watercolour by Ray- he generally preferred to use charcoal and pencil for speed, given the volume of production drawings that were required. Although test footage was created for this film, the project was never completed. Foundation trustee John Walsh collated over 80 unmade projects in 2019 publication ‘Harryhausen: The Lost Movies’.

Ray’s early career was significantly helped by the encouragement of his parents, Frederick and Martha Harryhausen. After converting their garage into a makeshift studio for their budding young animator, the two would assist with the construction of early props and costumes. These metal armatures provided the structure for Ray’s stop-motion models, allowing him to create subtle incremental movements, one frame at a time. A machinist at trade, Fred Harryhausen created armatures for all of Ray’s films until ‘First Men in the Moon’ in 1964, after which he sadly passed away. This armature design for Talos shows the detailed work required for construction of models; these metal skeletons would later be enclosed in latex rubber and painted.

Perhaps Ray Harryhausen’s most beloved movie, ‘Jason and the Argonauts’ celebrates its 60th anniversary in 2023. Featuring some of Ray’s most iconic creations, including Talos and the seven headed Hydra, the film is best remembered for its astonishing finale, featuring a battle between the Argonauts and seven sword fighting skeletons. ‘The Children of the Hydra’s Teeth’ sequence took Ray over four months to animate. With the requirement to match so many moving parts to the movements of live action actors, he was able to complete less than a second of footage per day. These original Skeleton models have survived particularly well, being constructed of liquid latex dipped in cotton wool and then wrapped around a thin metal armature.