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RICHARD AMSEL (1947–1985) is considered one of the most prominent illustrators of the 20th century. During his short but prolific career, Amsel created more than forty posters for major films, thirty-seven TV Guide covers, and album art for best-selling recording artists including Bette Midler, Kenny Rogers, and The Who. His first movie poster—for Hello, Dolly!—was created while Amsel was in his senior year at college. His most famous posters are his creations for the original release and summer re-release of the film Raiders of the Lost Ark, for which he created multicolor lettering that has since become an iconic font for action-oriented subjects.
Amsel’s artwork captured the essence of his subjects and the tone and message of projects so distinctively that they have come to permanently represent the projects in audiences’ memories. Other worldwide hit films for which Amsel created the poster art include Death on the Nile, Julia, Lucky Lady, and Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome.
Richard was also a student of art history, aware of his predecessors and their influence
on his own work. His poster for The Sting paid homage to J.C.Leyendecker, the early 20th-century illustrator of over 300 Saturday Evening Post magazine covers, who was best known for his work for Arrow shirts. The figure of Paul Newman in Richard’s poster is a direct reference to one of Leyendecker’s ads featuring the Arrow Collar Man. Some of Richard’s early magazine illustrations recall Alfons Mucha or Maxfield Parrish. When Bette Midler asked him to design a set for her first television special, Ol’ Red Hair Is Back, Richard did a wall-size portrait of her in the manner of Gustav Klimt.”
MAGAZINE COVERS
RICHARD CREATED COVERS FOR TIME MAGAZINE AND TV GUIDE THAT WERE DELIVERED TO MILLIONS OF HOMES EVERY WEEK.
