MARSHALL TOOMEY: BLACK AMERICANA
OCTOBER 19, 2024–APRIL 13, 2025
My style is inspired by the masters and by my history as a Disney animator.
Marshall describes his work as autobiographical. “My own style is blended with traditional techniques to create an enriched view of the life I’ve experienced. I placed myself in the scene along with other characters from my life. I am taking a look at the positives in everyday life; the perspectives, traditions, and routines of being outside of the struggles.
My paintings represent moments in time. I aim for realism with incredible vitality—they feel almost alive. I like to paint portraits, animals, and food. I have always had a drive to be the best artist I could be. I continue to constantly look at the masters of art in magazines and books, and study every cartoonist I see.
This first solo show is an extremely important step early in my fine art career. Telling a NEW story is my goal. Museums need a different look at history for people to see that there is always more to the story.”
Toomey’s mission is to make art for the masses. His early childhood goal was to have a successful syndicated comic strip running daily in every newspaper in the world. Although he sent hundreds of submissions to syndicates into his young adult years, he never got picked up. Although he had to let go of that particular dream, he never gave up on dreaming altogether and at 24-years-old he bought a one-way ticket to Hollywood, California. Toomey went on to become a successful animator with a 40-year career as a professional artist, including 20 years at Walt Disney Animation Studios. His credits include participation in Aladdin (1992), The Lion King (1994), The Hunchback of the Notre Dame (1996), and Hercules (1997). He also illustrated many books, including The Lion King book created after the movie.
Toomey was born in 1953 and raised in Kansas City, Missouri. He was selected for this solo exhibition as the Grand Prize winner in OMA’s 2023 Artist Alliance Biennial, for his painting The Shop.
THE ARTIST
Marshall Toomey is an artist and animator with a 40 year career as a professional artist, including 20 years as movie animator at Disney Animation. Toomey was born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri. He moved to Southern California in the 1970s to pursue his artistic career. He worked for Walt Disney Animation Studio for 20 years with credits including participation in the animated creation of Rafiki in “The Lion King” and Quasimodo in “The Hunchback of the Notre Dame”. He also illustrated many books, including “The Lion King” book created after the movie. A full list of film credits can be found on his IMDb webpage.
SELECT IMAGES
Marshall Toomey, The Last Supper, 2024. Oil on canvas, 40" x 30".
Marshall Toomey: Black Americana Installed at OMA
Suggested reading, courtesy of the Oceanside Public Library
- Burke, Tarana, and Brené Brown, eds. You Are Your Best Thing: Vulnerability, Shame Resilience, and the Black Experience: An Anthology. New York: Random House, 2021.
- Drew, Kimberly, and Jenna Wortham, eds. Black Futures. New York: One World, 2020.
- Godfrey, Mark, and Allie Biswas, eds. The Soul of a Nation Reader: Writings by and about Black American Artists, 1960-1980. New York: Gregory R. Miller & Co., 2021.
- hooks, bell. Art on My Mind: Visual Politics. New York: New Press, 1995.
- Howard, Sheena C. Encyclopedia of Black Comics. Golden, CO: Fulcrum, 2017.
- Hudson, Wade. Invincible: Fathers and Mothers of Black America. New York: Calkins Creek, 2023.
- Jackson, Tim. Pioneering Cartoonists of Color. Jackson, MS: University Press of Mississippi, 2016.
- Jones, Kellie. South of Pico: African American Artists in Los Angeles in the 1960s and 1970s. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2017.
- Lewis, Samella S., and Ruth G. Waddy, eds. Black Artists on Art. Los Angeles, CA: Contemporary Crafts Publishers, 1969.
- Marin, Natasha. Black Imagination. San Francisco, CA: McSweeney’s. 2020.
- Michael Rosenfeld Gallery, and Texas Southern University. African-American Art: 20th Century Masterworks, VIII. New York: Michael Rosenfeld Gallery, 2001.
- Mitchell, Verner D., and Cynthia Davis, eds. Encyclopedia of the Black Arts Movement. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2019.
- Neal, Larry. Any Day Now: Toward a Black Aesthetic. New York: David Zwirner Books, 2024.
- Patterson, Robert J., ed. Black Cultural Production After Civil Rights. Urbana, Il: University of Illinois Press, 2019.
- Perry, Rachel Berenson. The Life and Art of Felrath Hines: From Dark to Light. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 2018.
- Reed, Eli. Black in America. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 1997.
- Rembert, Winfred, as told to Erin I. Kelly. Chasing Me to My Grave: An Artist's Memoir of the Jim Crow South. New York: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2021.
- Tubbs, Anna Malaika. The Three Mothers: How the Mothers of Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, and James Baldwin Shaped a Nation. New York: Flatiron Books, 2021.
- Widener, Daniel. Black Arts West: Culture and Struggle in Postwar Los Angeles. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2010.
- Zoboi, Ibi Aanu, ed. Black Enough: Stories of Being Young & Black in America. New York: Balzer + Bray, 2019.
- Bolden, Tonya. Tell all the Children our Story: Memories and Mementos of being Young and Black in America. New York: Abrams, 2001.
- Bryan, Ashley. Infinite Hope: A Black Artist's Journey from World War II to Peace. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2019.
- Cook, Michelle. Our Children Can Soar: A Celebration of Rosa, Barack, and the Pioneers of Change. New York: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2009.
- Dickinson, Stephanie. Jacob Lawrence: Painter. New York: Cavendish Square Publishing, 2017.
- Grimes, Nikki. One Last Word: Wisdom from the Harlem Renaissance. New York: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2017.
- Jackson, Sharna. Faith Ringgold: Narrating the World in Pattern and Color. New York: DK Publishing, 2021.
- Montague, Liz. Jackie Ormes draws the future: The Remarkable Life of a Pioneering Cartoonist. New York: Random House Studio, 2023.
- Pinkney, Andrea Davis. A Poem for Peter: The story of Ezra Jack Keats and the Creation of The Snowy Day. New York: Viking, 2016.
- Pinkney, Jerry. Just Jerry: How Drawing Shaped My Life. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2023.
- Rochelle, Belinda, selector. Words with Wings: A Treasury of African-American Poetry and Art. New York: HarperCollins, 2001.
- Steptoe, Javaka. Radiant Child: The Story of Young Artist Jean-Michel Basquiat. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2016.
- Tate, Don. Pigskins to Paintbrushes: The Story of Football-playing Artist Ernie Barnes. New York: Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2021.
EXHIBITION CELEBRATION
Saturday, March 1, 2025, 5:00-7:00pm
(Members free, Visitors $15)
Artwork pictured at the top of the page: Marshall Toomey, The Shop, 2023. Oil on canvas, 38" x 38" (detail).