Fil Mottola was a World War II veteran and former Walt Disney Studios artist whose work is currently under institutional review by major galleries and auction houses, including ongoing correspondence with senior specialists at Sotheby’s and Christie’s. His abstract paintings are being evaluated for future exhibition and private placement within the context of postwar American abstraction.
Mottola served in the South Pacific during World War II, including the Guadalcanal campaign, where he was wounded and contracted malaria before being sent home. After a prolonged recovery, he went on to work at Walt Disney Studios for twelve years, contributing to landmark films such as The Sword in the Stone and Sleeping Beauty.
At the age of 67, Mottola opened a gallery on Pacific Coast Highway in Laguna Beach, California. It was during this later period of his life that he committed fully to abstraction. While contemporaries such as Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning were developing their abstract languages in postwar New York, Mottola’s formative years were shaped by combat, discipline, and survival. These experiences would later inform the restraint, physicality, and internal tension present in his abstract work.
Influenced by the principles of The Art Spirit, Mottola’s abstract paintings have drawn increasing attention from galleries, collectors, and scholars. Works executed on newspaper and Masonite are now regarded as historically significant, reflecting a disciplined, intuitive approach to abstraction shaped by a life lived outside the conventional art-world trajectory.
Fil Mottola’s Philosophy
"Creating a painting is not a job. It is my way of life. There is no middle ground. It is all or nothing. Every stroke matters. If a scene or idea resonates with me, I commit to it fully. If it does not, I do not paint it. When painting is done with true passion and dedication, the soul of the work can be felt."