The painting that introduced 'Star Wars' to the world fetches $3.9M at auction

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The painting that introduced "Star Wars” to the world nearly 50 years ago — and was reproduced in an iconic movie poster — sold at auction on Wednesday for $3.875 million.

The acrylic and airbrush painting by the artist and movie poster designer Tom Jung first appeared in newspaper advertisements on May 13, 1977, a little less than two weeks before the space epic created by George Lucas opened. It also adorned billboards, magazine ads and theater programs.

“For most of America, this was the first time they got a glimpse of the galaxy far, far away,” said Charles Epting, the director of pop culture and historical consignments at Heritage Auctions.

“Star Wars” producer Gary Kurtz kept the original painting and hung it on his office wall before passing it down to his daughter. The Kurtz family later put the work up for sale at the Dallas headquarters of Heritage Auctions, where bidding started at $1 million.

The sale set records for highest selling piece of memorabilia from the film franchise, and in general, for any movie poster artwork, Epting said. The buyer, whose winning bid came in through the website, has chosen to keep his identity private.

Prior to this, the highest price for franchise memorabilia was Darth Vader’s lightsaber which sold at auction for $3.6 million.

“Star Wars” is one of the highest-grossing movie franchises of all time since its 1977 debut, starring Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker. The original was followed by sequels and prequels, and spawned offshoot books, movies and other series. Its fans span the globe.

One side of the painting shows Skywalker holding up a lightsaber behind Princess Leia. Darth Vader looms over them in the background. On the other, a team of X-wing starfighters is launching an attack. Han Solo and Skywalker are depicted receiving medals.

In the lower right hand corner are R2-D2 and C-3PO, which were added at the last minute, Epting said. The droids are absent from the early reproductions of the painting and later appeared when the movie poster and the billboard were produced. The exact date of the latter is unknown but it was around June or July 1977, Epting said.

“You can watch the evolution of this piece and how they were figuring out what was important to include, what are we going to represent, what’s going to draw people in,” Epting said.

The painting is not just film memorabilia but is also a cultural artifact and part of American history, Epting said. The emotional connection that people form with “Star Wars” movies also helps explain the sales price, he said.

“Anyone who’s seen these movies or the marketing materials around it — you see this piece, your heart starts racing,” Epting said.