February 8, 2012: Amsel's GQ covers

I finally managed to find an image of Amsel's cover illustration for GQ's December, 1972 issue -- a stunning work of beauty, painted in homage to the work of Gustav Klimt. I've featured it here next to Amsel's other cover for March of '74; two wildly different styles, yet both very recognizable "Amsels". Enjoy.

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January 29, 2012: The LA Art Show

Last Saturday I visited the Los Angeles Art Show for the first time in years. It used to be held at a different venue (inside various airplane hangars), but this year it was at the LA Convention Center. I must say the center seemed a highly more appropriate setting -- though I may be a bit biased, as the new location is considerably closer to my home.

My favorite part of the show was, of course, The International Vintage Poster air, where art galleries from around the world showcased geniune, original lithographic posters -- Art Nouveau, Art Deco, and Mid-century Modern dating from the 1890's Belle Époque to the stylized 1930s, and on through the Atomic Age. My only regret about going was not having enough money to buy anything...

One of the exhibitors, Gregg Yaneff of the Yaneff Gallery, even had Richard Amsel's HELLO DOLLY poster up for sale. My eyes lit up when I saw it, as Yaneff was flipping through the posters, describing each one to a captive audience. When I mentioned this site to him, and my familiarity with the artist's work, he kindly indulged me as I explained -- to him and the crowd around us -- the fun backstory behind Amsel's poster. (Amsel did it while he was still just an art student in Philadelphia, winning a nationwide contest by 20th Century Fox.)

For my efforts, Yaneff kindly offered the poster to me at a very, very good price -- but with my rent and car payments right around the corner, I had to regrettably turn him down. I feel it's only fair for me to give him a little shout out here in appreciation.

Here's a great little video Yaneff made, "History of the Poster Belle Epoque". It, and the gallery's site, are definitely worth checking out:

January 24, 2012: The poster art of Howard Terpning

You'd think that an artist behind some of the most famous film posters of all time would have become a household name like Norman Rockwell, but Howard Terpning isn't someone often recognized, even within film circles. And strangely enough, that may be exactly what Terpning himself wants.

In my opinion, the roster of prestige, blockbuster films Terpning did posters for exceeds those of any other artist. And if you think I'm exaggerating, look at some of these as proof:

Forget that Gone With the Wind, The Sound of Music, and Doctor Zhivago (top row) are among the highest grossing films of all time. (GWTW still ranks #1 by an extremely wide margin, with inflation taken into account -- take that, Avator, Titanic and Star Wars.) The posters themselves are ubiquitous, not to mention artistically stunning...

Yet Terpning, whose work seemed the very cornerstone of 1960s movie poster art, abandoned his commercial career in favor of other creative pursuits. After spending time in Vietnam as a civilian combat artist, he returned to the States -- reportedly profoundly changed from the experience -- and moved to Arizona, embarking on painting scenes and landscapes of the American West.

Terpning -- who is happily still with us -- has often stated that his commercial work was often creatively unfulfilling, and his subsequent career as a fine artist has won him much acclaim. But while books of his Native American and Western art have been available for some time, I've yet to see any collections of his film posters published. And that's perhaps the way he wants it.

Thankfully, there are some excellent resources online dedicated to Terpning's film work:

http://in70mm.com/news/2006/howard_terpning/index.htm
http://www.thesandpebbles.com/terpning/terpning.htm
http://www.askart.com/AskART/artist.aspx?artist=2427&redir

There's a great weekly blog by Adrian Curry on "Notebook", an extremely addictive and insightful online magazine about film culture. Curry's posts are dedicated to the art of film posters, and they're a must read.

I first discovered his blog through his writeup on the work of Harold Seroy, a New York artist who created large, ultra-rare "two sheet" posters since the 1930s. Looking through his work is like discovering an ancient treasure, and my hat's off to Mr. Curry for sharing it with the rest of us. Here are some samples of the late Seroy's work:

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Turns out Curry also featured Richard Amsel's work on his blog -- smart man, he is! -- in an extensive post about the marketing of Robert Altman's THE LONG GOODBYE:

When the film premiered in 1973 at a weekend retrospective of Chandler movies in Tarrytown, New York, it was not well received. Altman was present for a Q&A and sensed a hostile response to the film. It opened to lackluster reviews and disappointing grosses in L.A. (where it played Grauman's Chinese), Chicago, Philadelphia and Miami and was promptly pulled from distribution before its New York opening. The rumors were that it was going to be re-edited, if not shelved, but instead United Artists analyzed the reception the film had received and decided that the fault lay with the misleading ad campaign for the film that made it look like a straightforward detective story. So the studio spent $40,000 on a new campaign designed by Mad magazine artist Jack Davis...whose cartoon illustrations had already enlivened It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World and Woody Allen's Bananas. Davis's poster, seen below, reimagines the film as a wacky free-for-all with Altman as ringmaster. Elliott Gould still has a cat on his shoulder, but no revolver in his belt, and you only have to look at the difference between Van Pallandt's dogs in each poster—one sleek and aristocratic, the other mangy and feral—to see how these posters are worlds apart. Altman's speech bubble ("Hi! I'm high-powered director Robert Altman") pre-empts criticism that this is not your father's Philip Marlowe (something the Tarrytown audience hadn't been prepared for) by declaiming "This film is full of fun—murder, maiming, drunkenness, infidelity, topless yoga freaks, four-letter words—everything!" ....

The film was finally released in New York six months after the original opening and got a new lease of life, ending up on the New York Times' Ten Best list. In Mitchell Zuckoff's recent oral biography of Altman, David Picker, the head of United Artists at the time, who had championed both Gould and Altman for the film (though Peter Bogdanovich was actually his first choice to direct) says "I found [Altman's] conduct in relation to us at United Artists and toward me personally incomprehensible. He took credit for something that we did. We're talking about the entire way the picture was released. I liked that picture a lot and I didn't like the way our marketing people initially distributed it. I pulled it out of release and did a whole new marketing campaign, and Altman took credit for it. He didn't have the grace to give us credit for it, and I told him to go fuck himself." Meanwhile the studio, or at least its international marketing department, must have decided that audiences overseas would accept the film as a more straightforward private-eye thriller, hence the international release poster below, artist unknown.

Above, left to right: Amsel's two poster designs, MAD Magazine artist Jack Davis' more comic approach to the poster, and an international poster (artist unknown) that highlights the more traditional thriller/suspense elements to the film.

Curry's blog is truly a labor of love, and definitely worth checking out.

After celebrating Christmas with family in Pennsylvania, I had a connecting US Airways flight through San Francisco International Airport during my return home. It turned out to be one of the worst experiences I've ever had at an airport. When I could not find my gate information on the travel kiosk, I spent 10 minutes tracking down a single US Air employee -- who directed me to another terminal, where I had to, all over again, go through the process of standing in a long line to check in (and pay for) my one bag, and standing in another long line to go through security. It was all so disorganized, chaotic, and I barely made my flight in the nick of time.

The only saving grace I found within the airport was in terminal 3, where I was able to glance through two exhibits on display -- Television: TV in the Antenna Age, and a retrospective of TV Guide.

I managed to snap some quick photos, though I was literally running and panting, and didn't have any time to spare. Poster-sized displays of a number of iconic TV Guide covers were lined up alongside a conveyor walkway, including Amsel's Lucille Ball illustration.

For more on the exhibit, go to the official SFO website. It runs through February 2012. (And if you fly with US Airways as I did, maybe you'll "run through it", too.)

I've now created this page dedicated to those posters often incorrectly attributed to Richard Amsel, as I feel it's an important topic worthy of further commentary.

One of my favorite childhood movies was THE NEVERENDING STORY, an elaborate 1984 fantasy directed by Wolfgang Petersen, and based on Michael Ende's beloved children's book (or at least the first half of it, as purists will admit). I recently watched the film again at a screening in Los Angeles, and was particularly struck by how unique its fantastic world looked. Cynics may carp about some of the film's dated special effects and animatronic work, but for its time it was quite astonishing, and there's never been another film quite like it. (Even the film's sequels grossly pale in comparison.) And in spite of their technical limitations, I personally feel there's far more magic to be found within those practical effects crafted with love and care in service to the story, than in anything glossy, digitized GCI can offer. (After all, who would seem more believeable to you: Kermit the Frog or Jar Jar Binks?)

Like H.R. Giger was to Alien, Italian concept artist Ul de Rico (aka Ulderico Gropplero di Troppenburg) was an instrumental creative factor in bringing the film's unique, one of a kind vision to life. When I first saw the movie at 11 years old, the lush, colorful landscapes seemed oddly familiar, but I couldn't quite understand why; I'd certainly never seen another movie that looked that way before.

It was some years later that I discovered the reason. De Rico was also the artist and illustrator of The Rainbow Goblins, a book my mother had given to me when I was very, very young. This gift was not chosen by coincidence, for even then, Mom always encouraged my artistic endeavors, and somehow knew that I'd take an instant liking to the book's vivid illustrations -- even if I wasn't quite old enough to read the words. When the book was reprinted in the late 1990's, I was quick to buy another copy. (Here's to you, Mom.)

Ul de Rico's website features not only his professional work, but pieces from his early years and training at the Munich Academy of Fine Arts. You can also see some of his early concept sketches for The NeverEnding Story, including landscapes and character designs. (I've included a few samples here, along with screen captures from the final film.)

November 10, 2011: Regarding Polanski's THE TENANT

Chalk this one up to another case of oft mistaken authorship.

I received an email from someone asking to confirm whether or not Amsel created the poster for Roman Polanski's THE TENANT...and I vaguely recall pondering that very same question long ago, upon seeing the artwork for the first time.

Dorian Hannaway has confirmed that this is NOT Richard Amsel's work, though it certainly evokes the artist's style during that period. That Amsel did a poster for Polanski's CHINATOWN might lead one to surmise his creating another illustration for the director...but alas.

November 2, 2011: Hollywood is DEAD!

I meant to post this Halloween morning, but have either been too busy at work, or too exhausted from partying. ("Partying" at my age is hardly hardcore, but still wears me out nonetheless!) So I'm sorry if this post is a bit late in the game...

For some years now, artist/illustrator Matt Busch has been creating some very popular movie poster parodies, reimagining classic film posters with a zombie twist. They're all darkly humorous and macabre, of course -- even the reworked titles are funny -- but I'm particularly struck by the technical level at which Busch recreates each poster. They're not digital touchups of existing work (as my spoof posters usually are), but hand drawn and painted, emulating the painting styles of diverse artists and their respective techniques.

“I grew up on great movies," Busch states, "but the movie posters themselves are almost more vivid in my memory as iconic images. So the opportunity to really study the original master artists like Drew Struzan, John Alvin, Bob Peak, Richard Amsel and others has been awesome.”

Be sure to check out Busch's HOLLYWOOD IS DEAD website, which offers oodles of fun even after the Halloween season.

October 4, 2011: Fruit of the Loom ad from 1971

Ah, the discoveries through eBay. I managed to find this Fruit of the Loom ad Amsel did back in 1971, pulled from the pages of Playboy. You can easily see a bit of the J.C. Leyendecker influence here.

September 17, 2011: THE BIG SLEEP

I managed to find an image of the "movie tie-in" paperback edition of THE BIG SLEEP, which differs from the final poster a bit, omitting the lion doorknocker -- obviously removed to make room for the title -- and changing the appearance of Candy Clark's face and hair. The two images (center and right) look like the same piece of art, only which one was the original, and which one was the modified?

Left: Amsel's preliminary design. Center: The final poster. Right: The paperback book cover.

My thoughts and prayers go to all those we lost on 9/11, their friends and family, as well as those who are still trying to find some healing ten years beyond that tragic day.

I was back on the east coast at the time, visiting my family in Pennsylvania, and watched everything unfold, as millions did, live on the television. My mom, sister and I all huddled together, and dad (thankfully) returned from his New Jersey office and stayed at home in the days that followed. While I was scared at the thought of having to fly back to Los Angeles, I realized how lucky I was to be safe, to have my family safe, and -- luckiest of all -- to have my friends living and working in New York safe. (In an extraordinary turn of events, one of my childhood friends worked in the World Trade Center. When I finally was able to get through to my home phone's voicemail, I found a message from him out of the blue, which he had left just the day before, stating that he was actually on a business trip in California for the week!)

In 2001 my website was in its infancy, and I remember posting this cartoon image (right) in response to the tragedy. It was done by legendary cartoonist Doug Marlette in covering the 1986 space shuttle Challenger disaster. The simplicity the image somehow managed to perfectly express so many feelings -- of mourning and loss, of patriotism, and of a profound collective understanding of the human condition.

A picture can be worth more than a thousand words; it can evoke a thousand feelings.

In researching this cartoon for today's post, I was saddened to learn that Marlette had died in a traffic accident four years ago. It seems to be such a trivial, unfitting end to so illustrious a career; not only had Marlette won the Pulitzer Prize for his cartoons, but was an award winning author and playwright.

Like the best of editorial writers, Marlette didn't shy away from controversial subjects, and in examining them, he not only wanted people to react, but to make them think. Take, for example, this story excerpted from The Cagle Post:

Doug found himself blasted by the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) in an e-mail Jihad when he drew a cartoon with the caption, "What Would Muhammad Drive?" The drawing showed a man wearing Arab headdress and driving a Ryder truck (a reference to Oklahoma City bomber, Timothy McVeigh). It became one of Doug's most famous cartoons and inspired thousands of angry, threatening e-mails.

Doug wrote, "I was used to negative reactions from religious interest groups, but not the kind of sustained violent intensity of the Islamic threats. The nihilism and culture of death of a religion that sanctions suicide bombers, and issues fatwas on people who draw funny pictures, is certainly of a different order and fanatical magnitude than the protests of our home-grown religious true believers."

Marlette continued, "As a child of the segregated South, I am quite familiar with the damage done to the "good religious people" of my region when the Ku Klux Klan acted in our name. The CAIR organization that led the assault (on me), describes itself as a civil rights advocacy group. Among those whose "civil rights" they advocated were the convicted bombers of the World Trade Center in 1993. They cannot be taken seriously. For many of those who protested my cartoon, recent émigrés, many highly educated, it was obvious that there was not that healthy tradition of free inquiry, humor and irreverence in their background that we have in the west. There was no Jefferson, Madison, Adams in their intellectual tradition. Those who have attacked my work, whether on the right, the left, Republican or Democrat, conservative or liberal, Protestant, Catholic, Jewish or Muslim, all seem to experience comic or satirical irreverence as hostility and hate. When all it is, really, is irreverence. Ink on paper is only a thought, an idea. Such people fear ideas. Those who mistake themselves for the God they claim to worship tend to mistake irreverence for blasphemy."

Another indelible "cartoon" image was, of course, Art Spiegelman and Françoise Mouly's "black on black" cover for the Sept. 24th, 2001 issue of The New Yorker:

I could go on and on about the power of this image, but will instead defer to this article, where Mouly reflected on creating the cover:

“Ten years ago, my husband, the cartoonist Art Spiegelman, our daughter, and I stood four blocks away from the second tower as we watched it collapse in excruciatingly slow motion. Later, back in my office, I felt that images were suddenly powerless to help us understand what had happened. The only appropriate solution seemed to be to publish no cover image at all—an all-black cover. Then Art suggested adding the outlines of the two towers, black on black. So from no cover came a perfect image, which conveyed something about the unbearable loss of life, the sudden absence in our skyline, the abrupt tear in the fabric of reality.”

Spiegelman, whose legendary MAUS remains the only comic book to have ever won a Pulitzer Prize, also wrote the extraordinarily powerful In the Shadow of No Towers -- both his personal recollection of what happened that day, and fury over how the Bush administration exploited the tragedy.

It may seem a bit inappropriate of me to have segued from the events of 9/11 to the topic of cartoons, but I feel that such subject matter -- in stark contrast to those ready to dismiss pen & ink images as something flippant or inconsequential -- can nevertheless carry substantial emotional and intellectual weight, and remains an important medium in addressing both personal and world events.

August 3, 2011: Bob Peak show revisited / Matthew Joseph Peak.

My follow up to the Bob Peak exhibit at the Motion Picture Academy is long overdue, but better late than never. I visited the exhibit twice, and still can't get over how stunning Peak's work looks in person. Whereas seeing many other artists' original illustrations up close tends to reveal their little faults and imperfections, Peak's paintings and drawings often look better than their final reproductions.

Above, from left: 1.) Me, full figured a la Marlon Brando, standing in front of Peak's illustrations for Superman. 2.) My friend Michael Gibney, standing in front of Peak's Apocalypse Now painting. 3.) One of Peak's secondary poster designs for Apocalypse Now. 4.) Peak's portrait of Timothy Dalton, for an unused License to Kill poster concept. The latter painting was not featured in the exhibit, but it's one of my favorites of all Peak's work; I always felt it was a terrible shame that it was rejected in favor of a blander, far less interesting film campaign.

Recently I've had several wonderful conversations with Peak's son, Matthew Joseph, about his father's life, career, and body of work. Matthew is a celebrated artist in his own right, whose work I've also long admired. His posters for the original Nightmare on Elm Street and Rush are classics, showing some of his father's stylish influence, while bearing a unique signature all its own.

Above, from left: 1.) Matthew Peak's poster for A Nightmare on Elm Street, which, as with the film, has become iconic in the annals of horror. 2.) Matthew's illustration for Rush is among my personal favorite posters of the last quarter century, showing stylistic flourishes reminiscent of his late father, but also his own personal touch. 3.) Matthew's album cover illustration for the CD soundtrack to Psycho. Film score lovers will almost certainly recognize the artist's work, especially for numerous Varese Sarabande and Star Trek albums.

I first met Matthew at the opening reception of his father's exhibit at the Nucleus Gallery, and admitted, rather embarassingly, that when I was younger, I had often mistakenly attributed his work to his father. I didn't mean this as a slight in any way, but rather as a towering compliment, having held their collective works in such a high regard. (Though it took me a few long, rambling, awkward sentences to finally get that point across.) Matthew described what it was like growing up, learning about art under his dad's tutelage. How extraordinary it must have been to have had the elder Peak as a teacher!

Matthew recently created www.BobPeak.net, an official resource into his late father's work. And for you art collectors out there, check out THE SANGUIN FINE ART GALLERY, where high-quality prints and originals of both Peaks' works are available for purchase!

Shortly before the Peak exhibit at the Motion Picture Academy came to a close, I managed to splurge on an eBay auction of one of Bob Peak's original sketches (image below). To the seller, the sketch had a value of $55. To me, it was absolutely, irrefutably priceless.

July 31, 2011: More poster art news -- BBC article, and remembering Kazuhiko Sano (1952-2011).

BBC News featured this little story about movie poster artists in their ENTERTAINMENT & ARTS section back on July 22nd. I was happy that they mentioned Richard Amsel by name, along with a small pic of his rerelease poster for Raiders of the Lost Ark. I later learned, however, that the original article had credited the artwork to Drew Struzan, and it was only after Dorian Hannaway contacted them that Richard's name was restored to its rightful place. (Honestly, if you're going to write a story on movie poster artists, a little research would do you well. Not that writer Kev Geoghegan would have had to look very far; the AMSEL name is on the lower right corner of the piece!)

Remembering Kazuhiko Sano (1952-2011)

In sadder news, I recently learned that artist Kazuhiko Sano died May 31st after a two year battle with cancer.

For those unfamiliar with the name, you've likely seen his work at one time or another. Sano created illustrations for organizations including National Geographic, the Walt Disney Co., Paramount Pictures, Chevron, Coca Cola and General Electric, among others. His most well-known works include movie posters for "Return of the Jedi," and a commemorative postage stamp featuring Frank Sinatra.

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From StarWars.com:

Though his name may not be as readily known as some other famous Star Wars poster illustrators, Kazuhiko Sano shares a special place in the hearts of many Star Wars fans for his stunning depiction of Luke, Han, Leia, Lando and others for the Return of the Jedi Style "B" poster, released in 1983.

Sano, who taught illustration at the Academy of Art College in San Francisco, died of cancer last week.

Sano, who was born in Tokyo in 1952, was a prolific illustrator, lending his talents to clients such as the National Geographic Society, United States Postal Service, the Walt Disney Company, Coca-Cola, American Red Cross, and scores of others. His website provides a generous sample of many of his professional and personal works.

As we remember Sano's iconic contribution to Star Wars poster imagery, we should also acknowledge the artist's other works set in our favorite faraway galaxy. The following three illustrations showcase additional Star Wars inspired artworks done by Sano, beginning with a trade magazine ad commissioned by George Lucas during the early '80s to congratulate friend Steven Spielberg on his E.T. The Extraterrestrial box office success.

To learn more about the late artist's life and work, check out his website, and this obituary article.

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July 22, 2011: Pushing the boundaries of censorship.

David Byrd sent a few of these to me -- some grand old movie posters for films made in the early 1930's, right before the Motion Picture Production Code was effectively enforced...for the apparent betterment of corruptible youths and salaciously sensitive persons across America.

It's surprising to see just how suggestive these films were for their time; even the titles give reason to pause. While cinema sex and violence seem to have escalated several hundred times over throughout the past eight decades or so, it's still pretty impressive that such films were not only able to be made within the studio system, but feature marquee stars, to boot.

No doubt that that ever-devoted Republican Presbyterian himself, the late Will Hayes (who was paid a then staggering annual sum of $100,000 -- still a pretty decent amount in my book), frowned on such indecent material.

Enjoy, I say!

July 21, 2011: Sweet Byrd of youth...

Just a reminder that tomorrow is the final day of my friend David Byrd's art show at Brand Library & Art Center. The gallery closes at 5pm, so if you can make a last-minute visit, you'd better hurry!

I'll be helping David take down the installation on Saturday. I've been excited enough just at having one painting currently on display in a show -- while David has an entire exhibit of his lifelong career. Talk about putting things in perspective!

July 1, 2011: TOTAL FILM article: The 30 Greatest Hand Drawn Movie Posters.

TOTAL FILM's George Wales has written an interesting article on what he considers to be the 30 greatest hand drawn movie posters. While many of Wales' choices made me wince -- the omission of works from artists like Bob Peak, in favor of Z-grade, below Grindhouse level dreck (Lesbian Vampire Killers? Are you kidding me?) is an unforgiveable sin in my eyes -- I was admittedly happy to see that artists like John Alvin and Drew Struzan were well represented.

And what poster was deemed #1, praytell? I'll give you a hint: It's something I agree with wholeheartedly. :)

June 25, 2011: Shameless promotion of my own work.

Since this site's inception in 2008, I've tried to focus it exclusively on the life and career of Richard Amsel and movie poster art in general. So forgive me for now steering a little bit off topic by discussing my own artwork here -- something that, until now, I've tried to limit to my personal website.

It was about a year ago (how time flies!) that one of my paintings was selected by Gallery Nucleus for their upcoming Harry Potter tribute art exhibition. I've been a longtime fan of the gallery, which has showcased work from some of my favorite artists and illustrators. Naturally I was thrilled at the opportunity to have something of my own put on display there, but I faced a big problem: I had already sold the original painting in question -- a fact I curiously failed to mention when I submitted a pic of the painting for their consideration.

With the submission deadline approaching, I decided to not only repaint the piece, but try to make it better. The original only took a week or so to do, outside of my full time job. The new one took considerably longer, as I wanted to add far more detail and complexity.

2001	2011

This shall be the first time my work is featured in a gallery in California, alongside other artists such as Drew Struzan (who did the first film’s poster), Mary Grand Pre (who illustrated the American book covers of the series), and fantasy artist William Stout. I won’t say my work is as good as those other artists’, but I can definitely guarantee that it’s a lot less expensive!

I'll be attending the opening night reception party on July 9th, so by all means, stop by and say hello! The gallery will be hosting Harry Potter themed contests and prize giveaways, so it's fun for the whole family. If you can't make it, the show is open through August 1st; those Harry Potter fans willing to purchase artwork are particularly welcome. :)

GALLERY NUCLEUS
210 East Main Street
Alhambra, CA 91801
July 9 - August 1, 2011

And now we've lost another art giant.

Legendary fantasy artist Jeffrey Catherine Jones passed away on May 19th, from severe emphysema and bronchitis as well as hardening of the arteries around the heart.

Born Jeffrey Durwood Jones in 1944, Jones celebrated a long career whose highlights included a 1970s run doing cover paintings for major fantasy novels like Fritz Leiber's "Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser" and a number of comics including "Idyl" for "National Lampoons" and "I'm Age" for "Heavy Metal." While the world of fantasy illustration and comics proper intersect less than one might imagine, Jones was a figure whose work in both forms left an impression on her peers. Her work was notably praised by recently deceased fantasy legend Frank Frazetta as "the greatest living painter."

Jones also shared space with a slew of legendary comics talent in the '70s under the name The Studio – a group which included Mike Kaluta, Bernie Wrightson and Barry Windsor-Smith. Jones is also a rare example of a transgendered artist in the genre world. Though a string of personal and financial issues saw her fall on hard times in the early 2000s, recent years had seen stable living conditions and steady production of new work from the artist.

For more on Jones' life and work, visit her official website.

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Sources: Comic Book Resources, Muddy Colors, Wikipedia.

Those with an interest in movie posters and film advertising should check out THE KEY ART AWARDS' official website and Facebook page. They've long been overdue, and I'm glad that there's finally an official forum for this four-decades-old organization.

The Hollywood Reporter's Key Art Awards is entertainment's most recognized awards competition for advertising and communications. Celebrating it's 40th Anniversary in 2011, the Key Art Awards is renewing its original commitment to celebrate and reward creative excellence and its impact on modern culture. The Key Art Awards remains focused on evolving with the industry in order to acknowledge the most current, breakthrough work. New ideas, technologies and techniques are expanding the ways in which filmmakers, television producers and game developers can reach out to audiences in an increasingly competitive landscape. The Key Art Awards is proud to honor the creative teams that produce the best work in entertainment advertising.

My two big gripes, though, are that: 1.) The website has yet to create a listing or archive of past winners (of whom Richard Amsel was one), and 2.) Their Facebook posts seem more dedicated to pop culture happenings and celebrity gossip (American Idol, anyone?) than to the art of film advertising, or those artists working behind it.

I came across this alternate illustration Amsel had created for Altman's film version of THE LONG GOODBYE. Dorian Hannaway kindly verified its authorship.

March 8, 2011: Bill Gold: Posterworks

In a career spanning six decades, Bill Gold has worked on some of the most famous movie posters of all time. Some of them he painted himself (CASABLANCA, at right), others he conceived (THE STING, CAMELOT), and some of them he photographed (FOR YOUR EYES ONLY -- perhaps the most famous, certainly the most controversial, poster of the James Bond series). Through them all, Gold displays not only a strong artistic sensibility, but an innate power to capture the spirit and personality of a film within a poster. (Not to mention a cute sense of humor, as his poster for DRACULA HAS RISEN FROM THE GRAVE demonstrates; it helped to make the little Hammer horror film a big commercial hit.)

I was fortunate to attend a Warner Bros. panel this afternoon, where Gold, now 90 years young, discussed his career and longstanding relationship with the studio. Most interesting was his personal reflections on working with different directors. Clint Eastwood, with whom Gold collaborated from DIRTY HARRY through MYSTIC RIVER, seemed to have a "less is more", easygoing approach, while Stanley Kubrick, in developing the campaigns for A CLOCKWORK ORANGE and BARRY LYNDON, was a maddening perfectionist -- requiring a WB courier to personally deliver artwork by air from New York to England, back and forth several times.

I asked Gold about what it was like to collaborate with other illustrators like Bob Peak and Richard Amsel, whom Gold worked with on CAMELOT and THE STING, respectively. Gold was a fan of both artists, Peak being his most personal favorite, and he stated that while creative collaboration can have its ups and downs, in the end it's all about finding the right person for the right style of job.

At the end of the presentation, someone asked Gold if he had any advice for aspiring artists looking to get their feet in the door within the industry -- and on movie posters in particular. His reply was both humorous and telling: "Learn to make good coffee."

Gold has a new book out, BILL GOLD: POSTERWORKS -- a massively illustrated, 448 page limited edition book chronicling his career, work, and artistic process. It runs a steep price (about $650), but is lavish and beautifully bound and encased.

Oh, what I'd give to be a rich man... Or even middle class... Now kindly excuse me while I sulk and heat up the nearby coffeemaker.

For more info, check out these links:
The artist's website.
Interesting article on Gold's career.

BARRY LYNDON

Even a number of leading movie poster art websites have wrongly credited this one to Amsel; it's style certainly evokes the late artist's work.

The truth, though, is that this poster was the work of Charles Gehm.

CHINATOWN

While Amsel did do an alternate poster for the 1974 film, this one above was made by artist Jim Pearsall.

THE SEVEN PERCENT SOLUTION

The design of this poster is subject to more than a bit of controversy. When you compare Richard Amsel's original illustration, which was subsequently rejected by the studio, to the one used in the final poster, done by artist Drew Struzan, there's no denying an uncanny similarity. Is it a case of two great minds thinking alike? Possibly. (In full disclosure, I've only heard one side of the story, and it's not my intension to throw out any accusations here.) But for those wishing to hear more about this subject, I discussed it in greater detail in an episode of the INDYCAST some time ago. Needless to say, they're both great posters, done by two great artists.