Richard Amsel (1947 - 1985) American. Charcoal on Paper. Mesaure 12 1/2"in H x 8 1/2"in W and 16"in H x 12"in W with frame. Known for: Illustrator-cinema, celebrity portrait. Richard Amsel began his career by winning the "Hello Dolly" movie campaign from 20th Century Fox while still an art student at the Philadelphia College of Art. His illustrations and celebrity portraits have been seen by literally millions of people around the world in ads, on movie posters, TV Guide, record and magazine covers. The New York and Los Angeles Society of Illustrators honored Amsel with numerous awards, as have many other art and major advertising societies on three continents. He also received a Grammy Award, a Golden Key Award from The Hollywood Reporter and citations from the Philadelphia Art Director's Club. His work has been reproduced in most books and publications on Movie Poster Art, TV Guide Art and Illustrations, such as Fame 1 and Fame 2. In 1987, a posthumous retrospective of Amsel's works was held at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Los Angeles. Though he often worked in glazes of acrylic, pastel and colored pencils or oil paints on board or canvas, he approached each assignment as a challenge to execute the design in the technique and medium most appropriate to iti.e., McCabe and Mrs. Miller was painted as a sign on wood for Old West flavor. His powerful logo-art images such as Bette Midler at The Palace and The Divine Miss M have become icons of American pop culture. Strong early influences show through his entire body of work from Mucha and Art Nouveau (The Seven Per-Cent Solution), J. C. Leyendecker (The Sting), Walt Disney backgrounds and animated cels evident in the dungeon like wall in Papillon to Sci Fi and fanciful (Flash Gordon and The Dark Crystal).