Tony Baxter Discusses His New Disney Fine Art Pieces at the EPCOT International Festival of the Arts
Disney Legend Tony Baxter may have retired from his role at Walt Disney Imagineering (WDI), but his storytelling prowess continues to shine. For those unfamiliar with his name, Tony Baxter is not only a Disney Legend but also a key figure in shaping Disney theme parks since 1970. Notably, he got his start in Imagineering by overseeing the artistic direction of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea for the Magic Kingdom.
Throughout the 1970s, 80s, and 90s, Tony contributed creatively to a series of influential Disney Parks projects, including the inception of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, which debuted at Disneyland in 1979. During the early 1980s, Tony played a pivotal role in developing the Seas, Land, and Imagination pavilions, introducing the iconic characters of Figment and Dreamfinder to EPCOT Center.
In 1983, Tony's team transformed Fantasyland at Disneyland into a detailed European village for New Fantasyland. In 1989, Tony and his Imagineering teams introduced Splash Mountain and The Disney Gallery to the Disneyland retail lineup and mountain range. His collaborations with filmmaker George Lucas resulted in Star Tours in 1987 and the 1995 debut of the innovative Indiana Jones Adventure in Adventureland at Disneyland. Tony’s list of attractions and touches to Disney Parks around the world is more vast and expansive than we have time for.
As of late, Tony has been working with Disney Fine Arts with a limited release of two exquisite pieces from his private collection of art he created several years ago, including one of the most iconic scenes from Walt Disney’s classic 1964 film musical Mary Poppins featuring the bird lady, “Steps of St. Paul’s.”
The second piece “Tyrolean Fantasy” (inspired by his mentor Claude Coats, who created the incredible backgrounds in Walt Disney’s classic 1940 animated feature Pinocchio) features storybook elements from many of the early Walt Disney Animated Classics.
Both works are available through February 23 at EPCOT during the 2026 International Festival of the Arts and are available online at disneyfineart.com.