Amsel: Illustrator of the Lost Art presents the first in-depth profile of legendary illustrator Richard Amsel (1947-1985), detailing the artist’s remarkable body of work while chronicling an enigmatic life marked with family heartbreak, celebrity friendships, financial hardships, creative genius, and a tragic end at the age of thirty-seven from AIDS.
Amsel remains a titanic figure within the realm of entertainment art, with work ranging from celebrated movie posters (Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Sting, The Dark Crystal, and Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome), to iconic album and concert posters (including famous portraits of Bette Midler and Barbra Streisand), to magazine covers – including 37 covers for TV Guide. Yet while the Amsel’s illustrations remain extremely popular, little has ever been revealed about the man himself.