Richard Amsel

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Richard Amsel (1948-1985) was an American illustrator and graphic designer.

Amsel’s career started while he was a student at the Philadelphia College of Art. Though barely in his twenties, his proposed poster art for the Barbra Streisand musical Hello Dolly was selected by 20th Century Fox for the film’s campaign after a nationwide artists’ talent search.

Amsel quickly emerged as one of the leading movie poster artists of the 1970’s, contributing to such films as McCabe & Mrs. Miller, The Sting, Chinatown, The Shootist, Lucky Lady, Julia, The Big Sleep, and The Muppet Movie. Even more prolific were his illustrated cover designs for magazines such as TV Guide; his portrait of comedian Lucille Ball for their July 6, 1974 issue, along with illustrations promoting Gone With the Wind’s television premiere, were especially popular. Amsel also designed numerous record covers, including Bette Midler’s debut album.

By the 1980s, Amsel’s work grew in both popularity and demand. He continued illustrating movie posters for such films as Flash Gordon, The Dark Crystal, and Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, and his portrait of Lily Tomlin graced the cover of TIME Magazine. Yet perhaps his work for the adventure film Raiders of the Lost Ark remains the artist’s most famous; Amsel did two separate posters, one for the film’s initial 1981 release and another for its re-release a year later. (Amsel’s original art for the latter was bought by none other than Michael Eisner.)

Amsel received numerous accolades and awards throughout his career, including the prestigious New York and Los Angeles Society of Illustrators awards. His TIME Magazine cover illustration is currently featured at the Smithsonian.

Richard Amsel succumbed to complications from AIDS in 1985.

[edit] External links

• Article, with sample works
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