In the Renaissance era we had Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael and Michaelangelo who are famous for their masterpieces Mona Lisa and the Sistine Chapel ceiling. In the modern world, the painter may not be very popular but I am sure many have seen the work produced by Drew Struzan. He produced posters for Star Wars, Back to The Future, Jurassic Park, Blade Runner, The Thing, Harry Potter, Indiana Jones and E.T the Extra Terrestrial, earning him the nickname of the father of science fiction and fantasy posters.
It is with great sadness that we inform you that Struzan passed away at the age of 78, on October 13th, with his death announced by his family yesterday. The death was due to Alzheimer's disease which he had been suffering from for the past few years. He was only revealed to have this incurable disease in March after it caused Struzan to no longer be able to work.
Throughout his five-decade career, Struzan produced over 150 movie posters, with his last work being for the How to Train Your Dragon trilogy in 2019.
His realistic, dynamic and cinematic poster design style has been followed not only by other movie poster designers but also by hundreds of comic book artists who say the posters he created inspired them growing up. Jim Lee, J Scott Campbell and Alex Ross are among the three big names in the comic world who say Struzan inspired them growing up.
He produced posters using painting and airbrushing techniques until the end of his life, even though the world had moved to the digital world. Although better known as Hollywood's number one movie poster artist, the late artist began his career as a music album artist for artists such as the Bee Gees, Black Sabbath, Earth, Wind & Fire and Alice Cooper.