Kay Rasmus Nielsen, Danish 1886-1957 - The First Spring, 1943; coloured crayon on buff paper, 20.5 x 44 cm: together with a pencil drawing of another variant mural, 20.5 x 5 cm, and a photograph of the school room, 16.5 x 24 cm (part unframed) (3) (ARR) Provenance: James Cummins Bookseller, New York, catalogue no. 49, item 56, pg 26 & 27, where purchased by the former owner; a copy of this catalogue is available with the lot Note: A preliminary study for the mural at Central Junior High School in Los Angeles. Inspired by Genesis i:25: 'And God made the beasts of the earth after his kind and cattle after their kind and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.' Both are impressive, with an angel rising an ox, and animals of all kinds wandering through a fantastic landscape of hills and plains. 'His work on "The First Spring" has been Kay Nielsen's opportunity to express his appreciation to his nation which has given him a welcome and freedom to paint in these tragic times. He likes to think of it as his contribution to democratic ideals in which men of goodwill in all countries believe.' (Horn Book Magazine). The mural entitled Canticle of the Sun (second work) is in the Ralph Waldo Emerson Middle School, Westwood, Los Angeles. In 1939, Nielsen moved from Denmark to California to work for The Walt Disney Company. His work was used in Fantasia, and also produced concept drawings for The Little Mermaid, which were only used posthumously.