Bob Peak
Bob Peak
Born May 30, 1927
Denver,
Colorado, United States
Died August 1, 1992 (aged 65)
United States
Alma mater Wichita State University
Occupation Illustrator
Robert "Bob" M. Peak (May 30, 1927 – August 1, 1992) was an
American commercial illustrator best known for innovative design in the development of the modern
movie poster.
[1]
His
artwork has been on the cover of
Time magazine,
TV Guide, and
Sports Illustrated. He also illustrated advertisements and U.S.
postage stamps.
Early life
Bob Peak was born in
Denver, Colorado and grew up in
Wichita, Kansas. He knew from an early age that he wanted to be a commercial illustrator. He majored in
geology at the University of Wichita (nka
Wichita State University) and got a part-time job in the art department of
McCormick-Armstrong. After serving in the military during the
Korean War, Peak transferred to the
Art Center College of Design in
Los Angeles,
California, graduating in 1951.
In 1953, Peak moved to
New York City and landed an Old Hickory Whiskey advertising campaign. His work went on to appear in major advertising and national magazines.[
citation needed]
Career
United Artists studio hired Peak in 1961 to design the poster images for the film
West Side Story. The success of Peak's work on that film led to work on posters for designer
Bill Gold, including the big-budget musicals
My Fair Lady and
Camelot. In the mid-1970s Peak's style would become familiar to fans of science fiction films when he created the poster art for the futuristic film
Rollerball (1975), which was followed by the first five
Star Trek films,
Superman (1978),
Excalibur (1981), both
Derek Flint films,
Apocalypse Now (1979),
The Spy Who Loved Me and other
James Bond concepts.
[2] By the 1980s only the movie poster artist
Drew Struzan was in as much demand by film directors[
citation needed].
Peak received a commission from the
U.S. Postal Service to design 30 stamps for the
1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles and the
1984 Winter Olympics in
Sarajevo,
Yugoslavia.
From January 20 through April 17, 2011, the
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences presented the "Bob Peak: Creating the Modern Movie Poster" exhibit at its headquarters building in Beverly Hills.
[3]
Peak taught in his own college and later at
Art Students League of New York,
Pratt Institute and
Famous Artists School.[
citation needed]
Awards
In 1961, Peak was named Artist of the Year by the
Artists Guild of New York. He won eight Awards of Excellence and four gold medals from
Society of Illustrators, which in 1977
Society of Illustrators inducted him to its Hall of Fame.
The Hollywood Reporter presented him the 1992
Key Art Lifetime Achievement Award.[
citation needed]
See also
He's one of my favorite artists. A ton of great movie posters and magazine covers as well.
