A very special opportunity to acquire one of the greatest unseen treasures of movie poster art. Star Wars, painted in 1977 by legendary poster artist Tom Beauvais.
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- Hand signed and numbered by artist Tom Beauvais.
- Limited edition of 295 fine art Giclee prints.
- UK quad poster size 30×40 inches.
In the realm of cinematic poster art few films can boast such appeal as the Star Wars saga. The iconic and fantastical imagery of the Star Wars saga has adorned cinema walls courtesy of many of the greatest poster artists of the twentieth century; Tom Chantrell, the Brothers Hildebrandt, Drew Struzan, Tom Jung and Roger Kastel amongst them.
In 1977, following the US release of Star Wars, producer Gary Kurtz and 20th Century Fox took the opportunity to commission a new poster for the UK and international release. This would replace the atmospheric Hildebrandt artwork, and the design brief was for ‘action’ and to put more emphasis on the human characters.
The commission came to fellow artists Tom Beauvais and Tom Chantrell both of whom created alternative artwork for the client. For his design Beauvais used wonderfully vibrant day-glo paint to make the title and lightsaber ‘pop’ with bright colour.
Beauvais’ bold composition is dominated by an over-sized Luke and Leia. Particular attention has been paid to capturing actor Mark Hamill’s likeness, and uniquely this remains the only theatrical Star Wars poster in which Luke is depicted in his Stormtrooper disguise.
Icons of Star Wars – R2D2, C3PO, the Death Star, X-Wings, and lightsabers – also feature, as does an indication of the written credits along the bottom of the poster.
Despite the eye-catching boldness of Beauvais’ design, it was his friend Tom Chantrell’s version that won over 20th Century Fox. They used it extensively for the film’s international campaign, and it has gone on to be celebrated not just as Chantrell’s masterwork but as one of the most iconic movie posters of all time.
Although he missed out on Star Wars, Tom Beauvais’ body of work would include many other high profile movies, including: Fantastic Voyage, Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid, Zombie Flesh Eaters, Blade Runner and Mad Max. He also worked closely with Stanley Kubrick on many of his films including The Shining.
Beauvais’ Star Wars artwork has remained one of the great unseen treasures of movie poster art for over 35 years, but is now being exhibited as part of ‘May The Toys Be With You’ – an exhibition of vintage Star Wars toys and movie posters.
To accompany this exhibition, the Beauvais family has created a limited edition run of 295 fine art Giclee Prints. Created to the highest archival standard using pigmented inks on prestige paper to truly reproduce the stunning original artwork.
‘Star Wars’ by Tom Beauvais retails at just £275. The prints are hand signed and numbered by artist Tom Beauvais and come complete with a certificate of authenticity also signed and numbered by the artist. They are sized at 30×40” inches (quad size) exactly as they would have been on cinema walls in 1977.
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