The picture that presented “Star wars” world nearly 50 years ago – and was reproduced on the iconic film poster – sold at auction on Wednesday for $3.875 million.
The acrylic and airbrush painting by artist and film poster designer Tom Young first appeared in a newspaper advertisement on May 13, 1977, just under two weeks before the space epic created by George Lucas opened. He has also graced billboards, magazine advertisements and theater programs.
“For most of America, this was the first time they had seen the galaxy far, far away,” said Charles Epting, director of pop culture and historical consignments for Heritage Auctions.
Star Wars producer Gary Kurtz saved the original painting and hung it on his office wall before passing it on to his daughter. The Kurtz family later offered the work for sale at Heritage Auctions' headquarters in Dallas, where bidding started at $1 million.
According to Epting, the sale set records for the best-selling memorabilia from a movie franchise and for any movie poster in general. The buyer whose winning offer came through the website decided to keep his identity secret.
Prior to this, the highest price for franchise memorabilia was Darth Vader's lightsaber which was sold at auction for $3.6 million.
Star Wars has been one of the highest-grossing film franchises of all time since its debut in 1977 with Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker. The original was followed by sequels and prequels, as well as spin-offs to books, films and other works. row. His fans cover globe.
One side of the painting shows Skywalker holding a lightsaber behind Princess Leia. Darth Vader looms over them in the background. On the other side, a group of X-wing fighters begin to attack. Han Solo and Skywalker receive medals.
According to Epting, in the lower right corner are R2-D2 and C-3PO, who were added at the last minute. The droids are absent from early prints of the film and later appeared when the film's poster and billboard were created. The exact date of the latter is unknown, but it was sometime in June or July 1977, Epting said.
“You can watch the piece evolve and how they figured out what was important to include, what we were going to represent, what would attract people,” Epting said.
According to Epting, the painting is not just a piece of movie memorabilia, but also a cultural artifact and a piece of American history. The emotional connection people form with the Star Wars films also helps explain the selling price, he said.
“Anyone who has seen these films or the promotional material around them sees this clip and their heart starts racing,” Epting said.
