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Lucky
Lady (2)
1975
Watercolor, pencil, acrylic, pen and ink on board
30 x 30 in.
Amsel's artwork for Stanley Donen's big-budgeted crime
caper was reproduced on a billboard in Times Square, covering
two city blocks. |
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Lucky
Lady
1975
The finished poster. |
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Nashville
(2)
1975
Watercolor, colored pencil, acrylic, gouache, pen and
ink on board
40 x 30 in. |
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The
Late Show (2)
1976
Watercolor, acrylic, airbrush, colored pencils on board
21 x 19 in.
Amsel often incorporated a film's title design into his
illustrations, making them a part of the art itself. The
Late Show is a good example. |
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The
Late Show
1976
The final poster. |
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The
Last Tycoon (2)
1976
Watercolor, acrylic, airbrush, colored pencils and ink
on board
32 x 23 in.
B&W photo of Amsel's unused design for Elia Kazan's
classic Hollywood satire.
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The
Last Tycoon (10)
1976
Watercolor, acrylic, airbrush, colored pencils and ink on
board
32 x 23 in. (smaller detail of image shown)
What a difference color makes! This recently discovered
image reveals much more to Amsel's illustration. |
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The
Last Tycoon
1976
Size & media unknown.
Image courtesy of Scot Ryersson. |
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The
Shootist (3)
1976
Conte pencil on glassine
11.5 x 18 in.
This comprehensive sketch for John Wayne's final film
gives us a rare glimpse into Amsel's artistic process.
For every polished, final one-sheet there are many, many
studies and sketches; yet regrettably, most are not yet
available to the public. I saw this original sketch back
in 2000 when it was put up for auction; whether or not
the ghostly "shadow" of the horserider at the
bottom was something erased, or deliberately faded, I
could not tell. |
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The
Shootist (2)
1976
Watercolor, acrylic, charcoal, colored pencils, gouache
and gold paint on board
(Size of art unknown.)
What I'd give to see this original with my own eyes! Amsel,
I've been told, sometimes used gold paint with his illustrations
for dramatic effect, even though it couldn't be accurately
reproduced on the final poster due to printing limitations.
This portrait must have made The Duke himself proud. |
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The
Shootist
1976
The final poster. |
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Voyage
of the Damned (2)
1976
Watercolor, acrylic, colored pastels and pencils on board
34 1/2 x 26 1/2 in. |
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Voyage
of the Damned
1976
The final poster. |
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The
Seven Percent Solution (2)
1976
Watercolor, acrylic, colored pencils, pen and ink on board
22 x 18 in.
Based on Nicholas Meyer's famous story, Herbert Ross' film
has Sherlock Holmes meeting Sigmund Freund. Amsel beautifully
captures the decorative Art Nouveau style of Alfons Mucha
in this painting that, unfortunately, was allegedly plagarized
by another artist in the
final poster illustration. |
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Between
the Lines
1977
(Size and medium unknown.) |
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Julia
(2)
1977
Watercolor, acrylic, colored pencils, gouache with applied
lettering on board
40 x 30 in. |
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|
New
York, New York (2)
1977
Pen and ink, gouache and pencil on tissue paper laid down
on board
13 1/2 x 11 1/4 in.
Unusued comprehensive art for Martin Scorsese's controversial,
ambitious musical. |
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New
York, New York (2)
1977
Pen and ink, gouache and pencil on tissue paper laid down
on board
13 1/2 x 11 1/4 in.
Another unused concept piece. |
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The
Big Sleep (3)
1978
Watercolor, acrylic, gouache, colored pencils, airbrush
on board
22 1/2 x 16 in.
Amsel's preliminary design for the final one-sheet. (Below.) |
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The
Big Sleep (3)
1978
Watercolor, acrylic, colored pencils, airbrush on board
22 7/8 x 16 in.
Finished art as it appears in the final poster.
You
can see a modified version of the poster on the paperback
book rerelease, which omits the lion doorknocker,
and has a slightly different depiction of actress Candy
Clark. (Notice the difference in her face and hair.)
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Paradise
Alley (2)
1978
Watercolor, acrylic, colored pencils, pen and ink on board
26 x 20 in.
Unused finished art for Sylvester Stallone's directorial
debut. (More people might have seen the film had Amsel's
poster been used!) |
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Death
on the Nile (2)
1978
Watercolor, acrylic, colored pencils, pen and ink on board
40 x 30 in.
Here Amsel continued the visual motif he employed with his
design for Murder on the Orient Express. |
|
Death
on the Nile
1978
Preliminary sketches.
Images courtesy of David Edward Byrd. |
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Death
on the Nile
1978
The final poster. |
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Old
Boyfriends (2)
1979
Watercolor, acrylic, pencil, pen & ink on board.
24 x 20 in. |
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Cuba
(2)
1979
Watercolor, acrylic, colored pencils, and airbrush on board
40 x 40 in.
Unused poster design. |
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The
Muppet Movie (2)
1979
Watercolor, acrylic, colored pencils, pen and ink on board
40 x 30 in.
Unused finished art for the classic family film. |
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The
Champ (3)
1979
Watercolor, colored pastels and pencils on board
29 3/4 x 21 1/4 in.
Notice the dramatic difference between the original art
and the colors in the reproduced image below. |
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The
Champ
1979
The finished poster, used here for the film's release in
Germany. |
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The
Champ (2)
1979
Watercolor, colored pastels and pencils on board
29 1/4 x 20 1/4 in.
Amsel's art was used for the film's European release. |
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The
Rose (2)
1979
Watercolor, acrylic, and colored pencils on board
30 x 23 1/4 in.
Unused concept logo. |
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Norma
Rae (10)
1979
Acrylic, airbrush, colored pastels and pencils on board
26 x 24.25 in. |
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