By
no means complete, this gallery represents only a select portion
of Amsel's remarkable work, including several unused designs that have, to my knowledge,
only been featured within rare auction catalogs. (I'd
greatly welcome any new contributions people could provide!) Credit is noted for all known sources.
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Hello
Dolly (2)
1969
Lace, colored paper collage with pencil, pen and ink and
watercolor
18 x 18 in.
Here is Amsel's original design, only slightly modified
for the final poster. |
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Hello
Dolly
1969
The finished poster. Notice the slight differences in color. |
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Woodstock
(2)
1970
Acrylic, colored paper, and photostat print on board
32 1/4 x 21 3/4 in.
Finished art for movie campaign.
You can also see a cleaner B&W scan of this image here. |
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Woodstock
1970
Acrylic and watercolor on board
22.5 x 25.5 in.
Amsel used this image as the mailer in his portfolio, sent
to ad agencies and studios in the early 70's.
I recently obtained an image of Amsel's original, which had different colors from the final, modified version.
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Tell
Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon (2)
1970
20 x 14 in.
Ink and colored paper on board. |
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McCabe
& Mrs. Miller
1971
Oils and acrylics on wood
(Size unknown.)
Amsel wasn't just a talented illustrator but an ingenious
designer. Here, for Robert Altman's period western, Amsel's
"canvas" was an actual piece of wood! Notice,
too, his mastery of lettering, long before computers made
such elaborate typestyle commonplace. |
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McCabe
& Mrs. Miller
Modified art for the film's DVD release; higher rez image. |
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Fuzz
(aka Here Come the Fuzz)
1972
(Size and medium unknown.) |
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The
Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean
1972
(Size and medium unknown.) |
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Up
the Sandbox
1972
(Size and medium unknown.) |
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Up
the Sandbox
Modified art for the film's DVD release; higher rez image. |
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What's
Up Doc? (2)
1972
Watercolor, gouache, colored pencils, pen & ink on board.
13 x 20.5 in.
Top: Black and white image of the full illustration.
Bottom: Color detail image, with slight digital fixes to erase text. |
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What's
Up Doc? (2)
1972
Color photographic stats w/ watercolor, gouache, pen &
ink on board.
21.5 x 19.25 in. |
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The
Thief Who Came to Dinner
1973
(Size and medium unknown.) |
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The
Long Goodbye
1973
(Size and medium unknown.) |
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The
Long Goodbye
1973
(Size and medium unknown.)
Variant artwork. |
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The
Sting
1973
Oil on board
46 x 46 in.
Amsel's design paid homage to the painting syle of J.C.
Leyendecker, and evoked both Leyendecker's "Arrow
Collar Man" and beloved Saturday Evening Post
covers. Leyendecker's technique is extremely difficult
for even skilled painters to emulate; Amsel was in his
mid twenties when he did it. |
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Papillon
(2)
1973
Gouache, watercolor, acrylic, colored pencils, pen and
ink on board
30 x 22 in.
Another example of one of my favorite films and a favorite
poster, with a striking use of color and texture. |
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Chinatown
1974
Gouache, airbrush
23
x 16 1/2 in.
Presented here are two variations of Amsel's poster:
The German poster and the American half sheet. I'm not
sure whether Amsel's original artwork featured a black
or blue background.
Note:
Amsel is often mistakenly credited for designing Jim
Pearsall's alternate poster for CHINATOWN.
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The
Little Prince
1974
(Size and medium unknown.) |
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Murder
on the Orient Express (3)
1974
Gouache, colored pencils, acrylic on board
28.5 x 15.75 in.
A big creative challenge for any illustrator: meeting
the demand of the "Likeness Clause" in the contracts
of a film's many stars, where the size of a given actor's
likeness must be equal to all the others in the advertising
campaign. Such was the case for this lavish emsemble adaptation
of the Agatha Christie story. Amsel keenly incorporated
the shape of a knife, while using the Orient Express as
the blade's "handle". |
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Murder
on the Orient Express (3)
1974
Gouache, colored pencils, acrylic on board
28.5 x 15.75 in.
Scot
Ryersson kindly provided me with this alternate image
of the ORIENT EXPRESS artwork, taken from a CD cover for
"Poirot Goes to the Movies." Ryersson stated that
Amsel was asked to modify Lauren Bacall's portrait for
the final poster (above). At left is the illustration
in its original form. |
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Murder
on the Orient Express (12)
1974
Pencils
Backtracking
even further, here's a preliminary sketch Amsel did for
the film. |
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Murder
on the Orient Express
1974
The final poster. |
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