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 ads 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," says Charles Epting, the director of pop culture and historical consignments at Heritage Auctions, per the AP.
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 Heritage's Dallas headquarters, where bidding started at $1 million. The sale set records as the 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.
One side of the painting shows Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker holding up a lightsaber behind Princess Leia, with Darth Vader looming over them in the background. On the other side, a team of X-wing starfighters is launching an attack. Han Solo (played by Harrison Ford) and Skywalker are depicted receiving medals, and Obi-Wan Kenobi (Alec Guinness) is also shown. In the lower right 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.
"You can watch the evolution of this piece and how they were figuring out what was important to include," Epting said. The painting isn't just film memorabilia—it's also a cultural artifact and part of American history, he said. The emotional connection that people form with Star Wars movies also helps explain the sales price, Epting added. "Anyone who's seen these movies or the marketing materials around it—you see this piece, your heart starts racing," Epting said. Star Wars is one of the highest-grossing movie franchises of all time. The original was followed by sequels and prequels and spawned offshoot books, movies, and other series.
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