A Tony Walton Retrospective

A never-before-seen collection of the artwork of award-winning director, production designer and costume designer Tony Walton will be unveiled at the Mark Borghi gallery, 34 Main Street, Sag Harbor on Friday, December 10, with a reception from 5 to 8 p.m. The “Tony Walton: Retrospective,” which will feature approximately 100 works by the Academy, Emmy, and Tony-Award winner, will be on view through February 3.

This marks the first time Walton’s work has been offered for sale in more than 60 years. The exhibition will include hand-drawn sketches, paintings and murals from Walton’s work on Broadway’s “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum,” “Guys and Dolls,” “Pippin,” “Annie Get Your Gun,” “Company,” “House of Blue Leaves,” “Sophisticated Ladies,” “A Christmas Carol,” “Uncle Vanya” and others. Also on view will be work from film versions of “Mary Poppins,” “Murder on the Orient Express” and “All That Jazz,” and the American Ballet Theater production of “The Sleeping Beauty.” A portion of the proceeds will benefit Bay Street Theater.

“I’ve tried hard to never repeat the look of anything I’ve already designed,” says Walton, a longtime East End resident. “It’s been important for me personally so I can learn and grow and as artist, and even more so for every production to have its own unique signature look.”

Standout pieces in the show, curated by Marisa Borghi, include costume sketches for Whoopi Goldberg in “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum,” pen-and-ink wardrobe drawings of Sean Connery, Vanessa Redgrave, Lauren Bacall, Michael York, Jacqueline Bisset and Ingrid Bergman for “Murder on the Orient Express,” watercolors of Lillian Gish, Julie Christie, and George C. Scott for “Uncle Vanya” and original preliminary sketches for “Mary Poppins.”

“Tony Walton and his work have been at the forefront of the Broadway and film art scene for the past seven decades. He’s a creative giant whose artistry has left an indelible mark on our culture,” says Borghi. “We are pleased to be able to offer so many works from this prolific and prodigious talent.”

Walton earned the Academy Award in 1980 for Best Art Direction for “All That Jazz” and was nominated for his work on the film versions of “Mary Poppins,” “The Wiz” and “Murder on the Orient Express.” His Emmy Award came for Outstanding Art Direction for “Death of a Salesman” in 1985. Walton’s Tony Awards were won for Best Scenic Design for “Pippin” (1973), “The House of Blue Leaves” (1986) and “Guys and Dolls” (1992). He earned many more nominations. He lives in Manhattan with his wife, Gen LeRoy-Walton, and is the father of Emma Walton Hamilton, whose mother is Julie Andrews, and stepfather of Bridget LeRoy.