thumb The thumb is the first digit of the hand, next to the index finger. When a person is standing in the medical anatomical position (where the palm is facing to the front), the thumb is the outermost digit. The Medical Latin English noun for thumb ...

Alison de Vere (16 September 1927 – 2 January 2001), while married also known as Alison Weschke, was a British

animator An animator is an artist who creates images, known as frames, which give an illusion of movement called animation when displayed in rapid sequence. Animators can work in a variety of fields including film, television, and video games. Animat ...

, known for her animated short films ''The Black Dog'' and ''Psyche and Eros''.

Career

Born in

Peshawar Peshawar is the capital and List of cities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by population, largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It is the sixth most populous city of Pakistan, with a district p ...

into a British military family, de Vere studied art in

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

and at the

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House in Piccadilly London, England. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its ...

. She worked as a background designer at

Halas and Batchelor Halas and Batchelor was a British animation company founded by husband and wife John Halas and Joy Batchelor. Halas was a Hungarian émigré to the United Kingdom. The company had studios in London and Cainscross, in the Stroud District of Glou ...

studio beginning in 1951, at a time when women were unheard of in creative leadership roles in British animation. Nonetheless, she took the leadership of the animation unit of Guild Television Services in 1957. During the 1960s, she worked as a freelancer, but joined TVC in 1967 to work as design director on the

Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

film '' Yellow Submarine'', in which she had a cameo. The 1970s, when de Vere was an associate of the Wyatt Cattaneo commercials studio, were the beginning of her most productive period; the short films she made then "began her career of collecting prizes at every international festival at which her work was seen". In the 1980s and 90s, assisted by her son Ben, she created works for

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

, including her best-regarded works ''The Black Dog'' (1987, 19 min.) and ''Psyche and Eros'' (1994, 26 min.). She continued working on children's television series until the end of her life. Other animated works include ''Cafe Bar'' and ''Mr. Pascal''.

Acclaim

''The Guardian'' characterized de Vere as "not only the first woman

auteur An (; , ) is an artist with a distinctive approach, usually a film director whose filmmaking control is so unbounded and personal that the director is likened to the "author" of the film, thus manifesting the director's unique style or thematic ...

cartoon film-maker in Britain but also the best", thanks to her proficiency in animation technique and her design sense; and her film ''The Black Dog'' as representing "the same sort of advance in animation that ''

The Marriage of Figaro ''The Marriage of Figaro'' (, ), K. 492, is a ''commedia per musica'' (opera buffa) in four acts composed in 1786 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with an Italian libretto written by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It premiered at the Burgtheater in Vienn ...

'' was in opera". De Vere's awards include the Grand Prix at the

Annecy International Animated Film Festival The Annecy International Animation Film Festival (, officially abbreviated in English as the Annecy Festival, or simply Annecy) was created in 1960 and takes place at the beginning of June in the town of Annecy, France. Initially occurring ever ...

(1979 for ''Mr. Pascal'', ex æquo), and the first prize at the

Odense International Film Festival OFF - Odense International Film Festival is an Academy Award-Qualifying, week-long short film festival in Denmark. It takes place every year in the last week of August. The festival made its debut in 1975, making ''OFF'' the eldest film festival i ...

(1989, for ''The Black Dog''). In 2015, de Vere was among leading women animators honored by a short film opening the Annecy festival.

Works

In addition to her previously mentioned works, de Vere worked as an animator for the TV series '' The Animals of Farthing Wood'', ''East of the Moon'' and ''

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

'', among others.

Personal life

In 1948 de Vere married the painter Karl Weschke (1925–2005), whom she later divorced. The couple had a son, Ben de Vere Weschke.

References

Bibliography

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:De Vere, Alison British animators British women animators British film directors British animated film directors Women animated film directors British women film directors 1927 births 2001 deaths