Faith Hubley

Faith Hubley (née Chestman; September 16, 1924 – December 7, 2001) was an American animator, known for her experimental work both in collaboration with her husband John Hubley, and on her own following her husband's death.

Faith Hubley
Born
Faith Chestman

(1924-09-16)September 16, 1924
New York City, U.S.
DiedDecember 7, 2001(2001-12-07) (aged 77)
New Haven, Connecticut, U.S.
Occupation(s)Animator, storyboard artist, teacher
Years active1945–2001
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1955; died 1977)​
Children4

Biography

Born to Sally and Irving Chestman, Russian-Jewish immigrants, she grew up with three siblings on Manhattan's West Side during the 1920s and 1930s. She spoke little about her childhood and left home at age 15 to work in the theater, adopting the name Faith Elliott. At age 18, she moved to Hollywood, starting as a messenger at Columbia Pictures. She subsequently worked as a sound-effects and music editor, and then script clerk for Republic Pictures. She later worked as a script supervisor (12 Angry Men) and editor (Go, Man, Go; with the Harlem Globetrotters).

Career

The Hubleys jointly founded Storyboard Studios as an independent animation studio, vowing to make one independent film a year. They collaborated on more than 20 short films, up until John's death during open-heart surgery in 1977. At that time they were working on the Doonesbury television cartoon, A Doonesbury Special. Faith Hubley, with Garry Trudeau and Bill Littlejohn, completed the special despite the doubts of NBC executives. The Hubleys won Oscars for their shorts: Moonbird (1959), The Hole (1962) and A Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass Double Feature (1966); they also received Oscar nominations for Windy Day, Of Men and Demons, Voyage to Next and A Doonesbury Special. Her many solo projects established her as a significant film creator in her own right. She began her first solo project, W.O.W. (Women of the World), after being diagnosed with breast cancer in 1975.[1]

Between 1976 and 2001, she completed 24 further solo animated films. Her films often feature abstract imagery and non-linear stories; many draw on themes of mythology and indigenous art. She was also a painter, with her works being exhibited in galleries in Europe and the United States. Unlike conventional hand-drawn animation where a camera takes pictures of paintings on celluloid that are lit from above, she used a technique where drawings on paper were illuminated from below, giving the animation a special look.[2]

Faith Hubley taught at the Yale School of Art in the 1990s.[3]

Preservation, Legacy, and Accolades

The Academy Film Archive preserved several of Faith Hubley's films, including A Smattering of Spots, A Doonesbury Special, and The Hole.[4]

Faith Hubley received honors from the Cannes, Venice, London, and San Francisco film festivals. She won fourteen CINE Golden Eagle awards, and received honorary doctorates from the University of Chicago, Columbia College, and Hofstra University. Her 1981 animated film "Enter Life" can be seen at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History, as part of the Early Life exhibit. In 1995, the National Gallery of Art presented a retrospective program of her works.

To coincide with the unveiling of a historical marker for her husband, John Hubley, in his hometown of Marinette, Wisconsin, Marinette's mayor Steve Genisot proclaimed May 20, 2023 "John and Faith Hubley Day" in Wisconsin. Though not a native of Wisconsin, Faith Hubley was recognized for being "unarguably [one] of the most important figures in the history of independent animation, and indeed independent film".[5]

Death

Faith Hubley died in 2001, aged 77, in New Haven, Connecticut, following her long battle with breast cancer, 26 years after her initial diagnosis.[6]

Family

She married John Hubley in 1955. The couple had four children: Mark Hubley, animator Emily Hubley, musician/artist Georgia Hubley, and Hamp Hubley. Their children's voices were featured in a number of their films. [3]

Filmography

With John Hubley

Solo

  • W.O.W. (Women of the World) (1975)
  • Second Chance: Sea (1976)
  • Whither Weather (1977)
  • Sesame Street ("Catch the Kitty", 1977)
  • Step by Step (1978)
  • Sky Dance (1980)
  • The Big Bang and Other Creation Myths (1981)
  • Sesame Street ("Vitamin V", 1981)
  • Enter Life (1981)
  • Starlore (1983)
  • Hello (1984)
  • Sesame Street ("Bedtime Noises", 1985)
  • The Cosmic Eye (1985)
  • Sesame Street ("Telephone Cat", 1986)
  • Time of the Angels (1987)
  • Yes We Can (1989)
  • Sesame Street ("S-Snake", 1989)
  • Who Am I? (1989)
  • Amazonia (1990)
  • Upside Down (1991)
  • Tall Time Tales (1992)
  • Cloudland (1993)
  • Seers and Clowns (1994)
  • Rainbows of Hawai'i (1995)
  • My Universe Inside Out (1996)
  • The Girl With Her Head Coming Off (with Emily Hubley) (1996)
  • Beyond the Shadow Place (1997)
  • Africa (1998)
  • Witch Madness (1999)
  • Our Spirited Earth (2000)
  • Northern Ice, Golden Sun (2001)

References
  1. "Independent Spirits Filmography". PBS. Retrieved 2013-12-12.
  2. Profile, moma.org; accessed February 10, 2015.
  3. Jay, Hilary (Feb–Mar 1999). "Atelier Exposé". Mary Engelbreit's Home Companion. 3 (2): 74–77.
  4. "Preserved Projects". Academy Film Archive.
  5. "Common Council Regular Meeting Agenda - 5/2/2023". Agenda for the Common Council of the City of Marinette. Published April 28, 2023. Accessed May 2, 2023. p. 74
  6. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-dec-08-me-12827-story.html

Works

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