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A painting of the Death Star's trench endcap hand-painted by effects designer Joe Johnston for the production of George Lucas' Star Wars: A New Hope. TIE fighters chased Rebels through the dangerous trenches lining the surface of the Death Star.

This painting comes from the collection of miniature and optical effects unit model builder Lorne Peterson. It was created and cut by Johnston to be staged at the end of the massive Death Star model miniature set's trench in order to make the trench appear to extend into infinity through forced perspective.

To accomplish that, the painting was flat-painted in mixed media on particle board. A behind-the-scenes photo (not included) from supplemental materials for the film shows Johnston painting this exact endcap painting.

The painting is hand-marked "No. 2" in black marker on the reverse, and is believed to be only one of three endcaps made. It exhibits flaking paint, two punctures through its top corners, and edge wear throughout from production use. Dimensions: 40" x 30" (101.75 cm x 76.25 cm)

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

Renowned visual effects artist Lorne Peterson was born in 1944 in Vancouver, Canada. While designing whimsical playground equipment for McDonald's, Peterson was invited by fellow model maker John Dykstra to work in the miniature and optical effects department of George Lucas' Star Wars: A New Hope, where he helped design and build the Star Destroyers, Imperial TIE fighters, and other classic vehicles. During pre-production on the film, Peterson, Dykstra, and their cohort of fellow artists working under Lucas co-founded effects company Industrial Light & Magic. In later years, ILM would provide groundbreaking visual effects for many of the most successful franchises in the history of American cinema, including Star Wars, Back to the Future, and Ghostbusters, among many others.

As ILM's chief model maker, Peterson's models were instrumental to the successes of the first six Star Wars films, as well as a variety of other blockbuster hits, including Jurassic Park, Hulk, and his former ILM colleague Joe Johnston's own Jumanji. In 1985, Peterson and fellow ILM artists Dennis Muren, Michael J. McAlister, and George Gibbs received an Academy Award® for Best Visual Effects for their work on Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, one of several projects for director Steven Spielberg. In celebration of this pioneering 40-plus-year career, Propstore is proud to present a selection of key memorabilia from the personal collection of Lorne Peterson to the public for the first time.

Estimate: $25,000 - 50,000

View all lots from STAR WARS: EPISODE IV - A NEW HOPE (1977)

View all lots from STAR WARS - ALL ITEMS