Drew Struzan, the legendary poster artist known for his work on major film franchises like Star Wars and Harry Potter, has died at the age of 78.
His death was confirmed via a post on his official Instagram profile, along with a piece of artwork depicting the artist, which read, "It is with a heavy heart that I must tell you that Drew Struzan has moved on from this world as of yesterday, October 13th. I feel it is important that you all know how many times he expressed to me the joy he felt knowing how much you appreciated his art.”
Struzan had previously been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, as confirmed by his wife on Facebook, though there has been no confirmed cause of death from official sources at the time of writing.
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The artist's body of work came to define a generation of movies and major franchises, set apart thanks to the highly detailed and vivid illustrations he would become known for.
Over a career spanning more than 40 years, he would work on many of the most successful films of the 20th and 21st centuries, including Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Harry Potter, ET, Back to the Future, The Shawshank Redemption and Blade Runner.
Star Wars creator George Lucas shared a statement of his own praising the artist's immense talent, saying, "Drew was an artist of the highest order. His illustrations fully captured the excitement, tone and spirit of each of my films his artwork represented.
"His creativity, through a single illustrated image, opened up a world full of life in vivid colour… even at a glance. I was lucky to have worked with him time and time again."
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ET director Steven Spielberg also shared his own tribute with Variety, saying, "Drew made event art. His posters made many of our movies into destinations.
"And the memory of those movies and the age we were when we saw them always comes flashing back just by glancing at his iconic photorealistic imagery. In his own invented style, nobody drew like Drew."
Struzan began his professional career as a commercial illustrator, where he would produce album covers for well known musical artists including Alice Cooper and the Beach Boys.
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He would then go on to join design studio Pacific Eye & Ear, where he would start his career in film on low budget movie posters.
From there, fellow illustrator Charles White III would invite him to design a poster for the 1978 re-release of Star Wars, and he would quickly earn his reputation as the best in the industry from there.
RIP to a legend of the industry.
Topics: Harry Potter, Star Wars, TV And Film, Lucasfilm, Warner Bros