Bidding for this lot will end on Wednesday, March 26th. The auction will begin at 10:30AM PDT and lots are sold sequentially via live auctioneer; tune in to the live streaming broadcast on auction day to follow the pace. Note other lots in the auction may close on Thursday, March 27th or Friday, March 28th.

A matte painting of Devil's Tower hand-painted by matte artist Matthew Yuricich for Steven Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Roy Neary (Richard Dreyfuss) and Jillian Guiler (Melinda Dillon) scaled Devil's Tower to reach the alien Mothership responsible for kidnapping Jillian's son Barry (Cary Guffey).

Initially, Steven Spielberg did not see the need for a matte painter. However, Richard Yuricich secretly brought his brother Matt onto the payroll, knowing that matte paintings would help resolve many of the technical problems that would inevitably arise. As Richard predicted, many complicated shots were achieved thanks to Matt's matte paintings. Steven and Matt came to hold each other in great mutual respect and became longtime friends.

The film was nominated for eight Academy Awards®, including one for Yuricich, his brother Richard, Roy Arbogast, Douglas Trumbull, and Gregory Jein for Best Visual Effects. In 2007, it was selected by the US Library of Congress for permanent preservation in the National Film Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" to national culture.

This painting was rendered with acrylic paints on masonite with a black wash for live-action photography overlap. The top corner is hand-marked "RI-2 H=6° V=6°" to reference the shots it was used for and applied with a strip of tape hand-labeled "CE3K." The painting features an additional loose strip of tape on its side and exhibits some paint flaking around its edges, exposing the masonite in its corners. Dimensions: 81" x 35" x 1" (204 cm x 88 cm x 2.5 cm)

Special shipping required; see special shipping notice in the Buyer's Guide.

Sold without copyright; see notice in the Buyer's Guide.

This lot ships directly from Propstore's UK office. Shipping should be arranged prior to bidding.

Yuricich was the captain of the Twentieth-Century Fox baseball team and was presented with a Yankees team-signed ball by Marilyn Monroe, who was married to Yankee star Joe DiMaggio at the time.


Estimate: $6,000 - 12,000