DAMARISCOTTA, Maine -- Maurice E. Day, an artist best known for his work as an animated cartoonist for Walt Disney studios in Hollywood, died at his home following a long illness. He was 90.
Day died Sunday. He began his career as an illustrator for large circulation magazines such as Life, Atlantic Monthly and House Beautiful.
Later in his career, Day became involved in developing the Disney film 'Bambi' and is credited with persuading Disney that 'Bambi' should be a white-tailed deer from Maine.
Day also was an acclaimed watercolor painter and photographer. His paintings of Maine landscapes and seascapes and his illustrations have been exhibited at the Audubon House in New York City, the Washington Art Club in Washington, D.C., and the Farnsworth Museum in Rockland, Maine.
His color slides won two prizes at the International Color Salon in Chicago.
Day gradudated from Lincoln Academy in 1910 and received a degree from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston in 1915.
He is survived by his wife, Martha; two sons, McClure Day of Damariscotta and Richard Day of Farmington; and a stepdaughter, Harriet Bryant of Damariscotta.
