2014 Saul Bass Award Recipient: Drew Struzan

In his long career, Drew has created many of the most iconic movie posters seen since the seventies.  He has enjoyed creative relationships with many of the world’s greatest directors:  George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, Bob Zemeckis, Frank Darabont, Guillermo Del Toro.

Drew’s journey began obscurely in Oregon City, Oregon, in 1947.  Born the second of three children, the struggle for survival was never far off from this low-income family.  After high school, Drew applied to Art Center College of Design to enhance his artistic skill and was accepted.  Aided by a scholarship awarded during his third semester to foster his exceptional talent, Drew graduated Art Center with Great Distinction.

Life after graduation was a slow struggle up the ladder of commercial success.  Small jobs gradually led to the highly visible work of album covers.  Perhaps the most famous of these are Black Sabbath’s “Sabbath Bloody Sabbath” and Alice Cooper’s “Welcome to My Nightmare.”  When the billboard featuring the artwork from “Welcome to My Nightmare” hit Sunset Boulevard, it caught the eye of a Hollywood advertising agent.  The golden age of Hollywood poster art came calling and Drew’s work began to glimmer at movie theaters everywhere.  

Drew’s key art for films such as STAR WARS, INDIANA JONES, BACK TO THE FUTURE, E. T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL, HOOK, THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION, HELLBOY, HARRY POTTER, THE GREAT MUPPET CAPER, POLICE ACADEMY, BLADE RUNNER, THE THING, FIRST BLOOD, BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA, in all over 200 movie titles, became world renowned. 

Michael J. Fox noted in the documentary “Drew: The Man Behind the Poster,” that the poster is “the first notes of the piece … the beginning of the story.”  Harrison Ford observed that Drew’s posters are “grand, but don’t lose the human scale.”  For Drew, bringing his “magic,” as executives referred to his taste and style, was an opportunity to make art out of advertising.  It proved successful worldwide.

Drew’s artwork for the movies has been exhibited throughout the world, including a one-man show, “Drew: Art of the Cinema,” at the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. 

The recent documentary film “Drew:  The Man Behind the Poster” features interviews with many of the people with whom Drew has worked over his long and illustrious career.  The documentary provides the backdrop of place Drew’s work hold’s in the cultural context of Hollywood.

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