Lot 19
Olympic-Themed Original TV Guide Cover Art
Original acrylic artwork by illustrator Jim Sharp, created for and reproduced on the cover of TV Guide, July 17, 1976. Framed. Height: 34"x 25"
For millions of American homes from the 1950s through the 1990s, the most popular weekly magazine was TV Guide. Long before television scheduling regularly appeared in daily newspapers, TV Guide was what one looked to to plan an evening of viewing. Of course, TV Guide was far more than simply a series of lists, but rather a book that gave hints of what the increasing array of television programming had in store for the family that viewed together.
In the world of illustration, nothing is more prestigious to an illustrator than a “cover” story. Readers may skim through a magazine, missing half of the articles, photographs and illustrations, but they never miss the cover. Indeed, a large percentage of the public that may never purchase a given publication still is aware of its cover art by virtue of seeing the publication at a newstand, check-out counter or any of the many other places such magazines are sold.
By combining the unprecedented popularity of TV Guide with the importance of the cover illustration, the significance of the following offering begins to surface. Add to the mix the fact that TV Guide’s art directors, knowning the importance of the covers, opted for the very finest illustrators suited to each respective assignment. Accordingly, the following original artwork for TV Guide covers is “the best of the best of the best!”
“Jim Sharpe has been a professional artist and illustrator for nearly thirty years. He started his professional career as a designer and art director working on the Chevrolet account. In the automobile industry he become known for the use of montage art, which at the time was a fairly new concept in editorial art.
Montage art and collections of images blended together to convey a special message, to capture the viewers attention and direct them through a maze of images, colors, and shapes, and in the end, sell product or an idea with clarity and not confusion. Montages should be dynamic, intriguing from close up to distance viewing of the painting. There should always be a first reading, second, third reading and so on....
Jim Sharpe designed original montage art for magazine covers such as Time, TV Guide, and Golf Digest, television poster art for ABC and NBC television. His works also encompassed movie posters, sports posters and all types of advertisement campaigns.
This extensive review of Jim Sharpe's background is to demonstrate Jim Sharpe's professional experience at designing and painting large montage. He as done annual paintings for the United States Air Force for nearly twenty years. These paintings now hang, in the Pentagon and USAF bases around the world. “
From “Jim Sharps’s Collection”
Estimate: $2,000 - $3,000