Background Artist

Reviews / Votes

"The definitive new biography." (Smithsonian Magazine) "Fang reveals how Wong's career . . . reflected the tension between visibility and invisibility experienced by many of the era's Asian immigrants, who shaped American culture in ways that were often overlooked or unseen. . . . The result is a worthy tribute to a groundbreaking artist." (Publishers Weekly) "Though a creative legend is the heart of Fang's well-researched and affecting book, it also explores L.A.'s Chinese American culture and the powerful potential of art." (Booklist) "A much-needed addition to the annals of Chinese American history." - Katie Gee Salisbury (Half-Caste Woman) "Fang tells the wider and deeper story of Wong as an Asian who expressed life through his art." (DisneyExaminer) "What is more amazing: the artwork of Tyrus Wong or the story of his life? Intertwining both, Fang's captivating narrative unveils Wong's immigrant journey to his groundbreaking contributions to Bambi and beyond. " - Pete Docter (director of Pixar's Monsters Inc., Up, Inside Out, and Soul) "Background Artist is simply a must-read for any art or history buff. Karen Fang blends art, Hollywood, California, and American history into a beautiful, important portrait of a beautiful, important life. Packed with vivid details, she brings Wong's fascinating story to life. As essential as it is moving, this book is just wonderful." - Mallory O'Meara (national best-selling author of The Lady from the Black Lagoon: Hollywood Monsters and the Lost Lega) "Karen Fang has created a sweeping and richly detailed portrait of Tyrus Wong that captures both the breadth and beauty of his art and the complexity and often cruel irony of living in a society that simultaneously embraced and tried to erase him. Background Artist is a stunning achievement."

- Pamela Tom (director of award-winning PBS American Masters documentary Tyrus) "Karen Fang has written a deeply researched and intimate biography of the great modern Chinese American artist Tyrus Wong, whose elegant, poetic, and dramatic brushstrokes have been enjoyed by millions. This is an inspiring and pertinent portrait of Wong, an immigrant child who lived to be 106 years old and who struggled to overcome racism with his art." - John Canemaker (Oscar-winning animator and professor emeritus at NYU Tisch School of the Arts) "In Background Artist, Tyrus Wong finally receives the biography he deserves. Placing Wong's life within the broader narrative of Asian American history, Karen Fang illuminates the ways in which events ranging from Chinese Exclusion to Japanese American wartime incarceration to the creation of the Model Minority myth influenced Wong's work as an artist. Fang's engaging, highly readable style makes this a must-read for academic and general audiences alike."

- William Gow (author of Performing Chinatown: Hollywood, Tourism, and the Making of a Chinese American Community) "Through incredible storytelling, Karen Fang effortlessly illuminates historical context through Tyrus's lived experiences of the injustices, restrictions, and complexities of the Chinese Exclusion Act. Background Artist broadens and deepens our perspective and above all humanizes our understanding of not only the past but our present. What a valued gift to our community!" - Li-Shin Yu (Emmy Award-winning filmmaker of The Chinese Exclusion Act) "Karen Fang has done a thorough and meticulous job chronicling the life of the remarkable and inspiring Chinese American artist Tyrus Wong. Here was a man of many firsts, who surmounted many professional obstacles and personal struggles. Without having met Tyrus, Fang has captured his sense of humor and the wondrous way he looked at the world around him. As a book, Background Artist is as versatile as Tyrus was and will find a place on many different shelves: Chinese American history, Disney lore, art history, and artist biography." - Lisa See (best-selling author of On Gold Mountain: The One-Hundred-Year Odyssey of My Chinese-American Family) "In her compulsively readable, painstakingly researched biography of the multi-hyphenate Tyrus Wong-storyboard and sketch artist at Disney and Warner Bros., painter, illustrator, Hallmark card designer and kite maker, Chinese EmigrE and American trailblazer-Karen Fang skillfully blends political, cultural, and motion-picture history to tell the gripping story of one of classical Hollywood's unsung heroes."

- Noah Isenberg (author of We'll Always Have 'Casablanca': The Life, Legend, and Afterlife of Hollywood's Most Belove) "Karen Fang portrays Tyrus Wong's illustrious career in a way that's just as bright and brilliant as the artist's most dazzling work, all while examining it against a very dark time in America. This is an important story that's been left out of our history books." - Susan Blumberg-Kason (author of Bernardine's Shanghai Salon: The Story of the Doyenne of Old China) "Background Artist is a beautifully written biography of Tyrus Wong, an artist whose life spanned over a century and whose work crossed boundaries of fine, commercial, and entertainment art. Karen Fang is a master storyteller and deft interpreter who brings to life this remarkable individual by contextualizing Wong's significance in relation to Chinese American history and the history of art." - Judy Tzu-Chun Wu (author of Doctor Mom Chung of the Fair-Haired Bastards: The Life of a Wartime Celebrity) "This is the inspiring journey of the long and extraordinary life of Tyrus Wong - an immigrant whose talent as a visionary artist transcended barriers, shaped unique cinematic landscapes, and left an indelible mark on our industry. Background Artist is a testament to the American dream!" - Francois Audouy (award-winning production designer) "A crucial account, brimming with illuminating detail, that brings to light the contributions of one of the unsung creators of twentieth-century popular culture, from Disney to Warner Bros. to Hallmark-and beyond. Karen Fang has given us the gift of a quintessentially American story." - Michael Lobel (author of Van Gogh and the End of Nature) "Karen Fang unveils the rich tapestry of Tyrus Wong's remarkable life from his early struggles as an immigrant to his pioneering contributions in art, films, and beyond. Despite facing discrimination and adversity at every turn, he soared above every challenge with resilience and humor, reminding us of the Chinese saying 'real gold does not fear the test of fire'. A must-read for anyone seeking to know the full story of a legend whose legacy extends far beyond his work on Bambi." - Rona Liu (production designer of Pixar's "Bao" and Turning Red) "In this deeply researched and timely biography, Karen Fang rightly positions Tyrus Wong at the center of American visual culture of the mid-20th century. Background Artist brings Wong and the Chinese diaspora to the foreground, reorienting how we think about Hollywood, California history, and American commercial production, generally."

- Jennifer Greenhill (endowed professor of American art, University of Arkansas) "A classic Hollywood tale about an immigrant who overcame overwhelming odds to leave a lasting mark on American culture, Karen Fang has written the definitive biography of Tyrus Wong. Background Artist is a book that left me feeling uplifted and inspired. It makes an important contribution to our understanding of the Chinese American experience." - Julia Flynn Siler (author of The White Devil's Daughters: The Women Who Fought Slavery in San Francisco's Chinatown) "Tyrus Wong is an American treasure whose triumphant immigrant story and contributions to art will now be better known thanks to Karen Fang's illuminating biography, Background Artist. Fang brilliantly paints a portrait of a man whose bold brush strokes helped make Bambi an iconic film, created the background for many Hollywood movie sets, and graced numerous Hallmark greeting cards, among other accomplishments." - Frances Dinkelspiel (author of Towers of Gold: How One Jewish Immigrant Named Isaias Hellman Created California)