Bidding for this lot will end on Tuesday, March 12th. The auction will begin at 9:00AM 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 Wednesday, March 13th or Thursday, March 14th.




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A matte painting of a Terror Dog gargoyle hand-painted by chief matte painter Matthew Yuricich for Ivan Reitman's Ghostbusters. Gozer the Gozerian (Slavitza Jovan) transformed the gargoyles overlooking Dana Barrett's (Sigourney Weaver) apartment building into Terror Dogs. The shot of one of the gargoyles looming over Dana's New York City street was achieved by optically blending a live-action plate with Yuricich's final "invisible" matte painting, so called for its use in trick photography.

Yuricich created over two dozen matte-painted shots for the film, with the assistance of Michele Moen and Disney veteran Deno Ganakes under Richard Edlund's BOSS Film Studios. The film's visual effects were ultimately nominated for an Academy Award®.

This ornately detailed matte painting is rendered in mixed media on masonite by Yuricich and applied with black tape around its borders. It is hand-marked "DA-2" on the side, indicating that it was used for that precise shot. Yuricich expended an exceptional amount of care into the texture of the gargoyle's stone carapace, such that when photographed by EEG's matte cinematographer Neil Krepela in 65mm, the brushwork took on an almost three-dimensional quality. It is speculated that Yuricich utilized a razor blade to add tactility to the stonework, an effects trick gathered from his time at MGM. Also included is a modern-printed "working composite" photo print that illustrates the final composition of the lot, showing how the live action composited into the final artwork.

The painting exhibits hanging holes in the corners of the masonite, paint scuffs throughout, and visible cracks in the top center and along the edges from handling. Dimensions: 76.25" x 38" x 0.25" (193.5 cm x 96.5 cm x 0.75 cm)

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

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See PDF below for a comprehensive study of this and other lots in the Matthew Yuricich matte painting collection.

Estimate: $12,000 - 24,000







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