Bidding for this lot will end on Wednesday, March 25th. The auction will begin at 9:30 AM (PDT) / 12:30 PM (EDT) / 4:30 PM (GMT) 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 26th or Friday, March 27th.
A matte painting hand-painted by Matthew Yuricich from the production of Robert Wise's Star Trek: The Motion Picture. Matte painting is one of cinema's oldest visual-effects techniques that extends sets and creates scenery for films by means of a painted image rather than a physical set. This matte painting depicts the hangar where Admiral James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and Montgomery "Scotty" Scott (James Doohan) landed when they boarded the USS Enterprise at the beginning of the film.
Yuricich worked with his brother Richard, who served as director of photography for photographic effects on the film, under Douglas Trumbull and his Future General effects house. The film's special photographic effects, as seen in such landmark sequences as the arrival to San Francisco and the final encounter with V'Ger, earned the effects team a nomination for an Academy Award®.
The film's optical compositing process generated a color-shift that meant the mattes did not read in the final film as they did when painted. Yuricich had to anticipate this shift and select colors accordingly, which is the reason the painting features heavy brown and green tones. The color shifted significantly toward blue in the final composite.
This painting features a restrained palette with its perspective and loose brushwork designed to guide the viewer's eye from the peripheral painting to the central live-action. It is hand-painted on masonite with "V = 6 0 / H = 3/4 EA -1" painted in the top left corner for shot reference. The board is secured to a wooden frame. The painting exhibits minor staining, chipping, and scratches from production use and age. Dimensions: 80.25" x 38.5" x 1.25" (204 cm x 98 cm x 3 cm)
Special shipping required; see notice in the Buyer's Guide.
Sold without copyright; see notice in the Buyer's Guide.
Estimate: $8,000 - 16,000
Matthew "Matt" Yuricich was an American artist regarded among the foremost matte painters in the history of world cinema. Born in Ohio on January 19, 1923 to Croatian emigres, Yuricich studied Fine Arts at Miami University after serving in the US Navy during World War II. Upon completing his education, he quickly found work in the effects departments of Hollywood studios, excelling quickly as a painter on the productions of post-war classics like Call Me Madam, Forbidden Planet, and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. Soon, Yuricich developed a personal specialty in color-matching background paintings to color-shifting film stock, essential for integrating mattes seamlessly into live-action photography. Indeed, the techniques he applied towards this task, including his signature so-called "glass shots" - in which he painted plates of glass to set in front of the camera - put him in demand with some of the most powerful directors of the era.
In 1959, Yuricich worked as a matte artist on two films that would permanently secure his place in the pantheon: For Alfred Hitchcock's North by Northwest, he created the illusion of a modernist Frank Lloyd Wright-style home built atop Mount Rushmore for the rip-roaring climax; then in William Wyler's equally seminal Ben-Hur, he painted mattes simulating the presence of tens of thousands of ancient audience members for the popular chase scenes. Both films were immediately hailed as visual masterpieces for their groundbreaking photographic effects.
Over the next three decades, Yuricich contributed mattes to many of the best-known and most acclaimed movies ever made, among them Mutiny on the Bounty, The Poseidon Adventure, Westworld, The Towering Inferno, Young Frankenstein, Ghostbusters, Die Hard, and Field of Dreams. In 1976, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences awarded Yuricich, L.B. Abbott, and Glen Robinson a Special Achievement Award for their work on Logan's Run. The following year, Matt, his brother Richard, and several other effects visionaries, including Douglas Trumbull, received a competitive nomination for Best Visual Effects for Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
Yuricich also emerged as a committed teacher and advocate for the field of matte painting at large while working as the chief matte artist for companies including Entertainment Effects Group (EEG), its follow-up Boss Film Corporation, and Video Image throughout the 1980s and 90s. In 2006, Miami University bequeathed its Distinguished Achievement Award to Yuricich for his accomplishments as an educator and visual effects artist. He died six years later having completed matte paintings for more than 70 film and television projects.
More than 30 years since his last produced work in film, The Matthew Yuricich Collection now looks to honor the visionary creativity of its namesake. Assembled by Propstore in direct collaboration with the Yuricich family, it features paintings from several classics of American cinema. From Logan's Run to Star Trek: The Motion Picture to Dances with Wolves, this rare set of artworks is designed to offer both legacy collectors of fine art and casual movie fans alike rare access to one of Hollywood's great masters. The Matthew Yuricich Collection is a tribute not only to the eternal magnificence of this captivating form, but to the Silver Screen on a global scale.