Iconic film illustrations by Ray Harryhausen and Ralph McQuarrie to be sold at auction

Date
18 August 2017
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Norman Reynolds: sketch for Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark

A collection of original illustrated artwork for iconic films such as Jason and the Argonauts, Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope and Episode VI – Return of the Jedi and Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark will be sold at auction. The illustrations by pioneering artists including Ray Harryhausen, Ralph McQuarrie, Joe Johnston and Norman Reynolds will also be displayed in a free exhibition ahead of the live auction by Prop Store, at London’s BFI Imax in September.

The 600 lots are expected to raise £2-3m at auction. They include Harryhausen’s hand-drawn concept of Phineas and the Harpies from 1963’s Jason and the Argonauts and McQuarrie’s original illustration of a Tatooine Skiff from Return of the Jedi, each expected to sell for £3,000 –£5,000 each.

Other works include a production drawing from Conan the Barbarian by Ron Cobb, Joe Johnston’s storyboard for Luke Skywalker in an X-wing from A New Hope, and Norman Reynolds’ concept for the chamber in Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981).

The exhibition will take place from 7 – 26 September at BFI Imax in Waterloo, London, with the auction taking place on the 26th, and live streamed online. Registration and bidding is open now.

A large collection of Harryhausen’s work is also currently on display at the Barbican’s Into the Unknown exhibition on science fiction.

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Ray Harryhausen: concept for Jason and the Argonauts

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Joe Johnston: storyboard sketch for Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope

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Ron Cobb: drawing for Conan the Barbarian

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Matt Jeffries: USS Enterprise Bridge illustration from Star Trek (TV 1966-1969)

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Ralph McQuarrie: illustration of a Tatooine Skiff for Return of the Jedi

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Jenny Brewer

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