High Plains Drifter

Although Clint Eastwood had made Dirty Harry by the time High Plains Drifter came along in 1973, he was most definitely known to the general public as a Hollywood cowboy. He redefined the genre with Sergio Leone in 1964 with A Fistful of Dollars and has always tried to reinvent the western each time ever since. High Plains Drifter was the first western that Eastwood directed and it is one of his finest. It is the story of a ghost-like character seeking revenge in the isolated prairie town of Lago, a theme he revisited in Pale Rider (1985)

The town of Lago was built on the shores of Mono Lake in California for the filming which, in typical Eastwood style lasted only six weeks. He has a long standing reputation for bringing his productions in on time and under budget. The whole town was ultimately painted red and renamed “Hell” for the movie’s most memorable final scenes as the townsfolk finally begin to understand it is their own fault that the stranger is wreaking havoc.

One of the least appreciated aspects of a movie release is its advertising campaign. Great thought, effort and expense goes into the way a movie is ultimately presented to the general public. Gold Promotions took care of many of Clint’s projects and High Plains Drifter was one of their most memorable. They commissioned renowned western and civil war illustrator Ron Lesser to paint the iconic image of Eastwood standing in front of the burning town and then lettering specialist and wood carver Al Pisano took care of the signpost and beam which were attached later. Some of the advertising for the film features the artwork without the sign and beam.

Original poster artwork is rarely found in the market place. It tends to find homes within the senior staff of a production and there are countless examples of directors, actors and producers keeping the paintings that go to make their movie’s posters. This stunning painting was given to Clint Eastwood personally on completion of High Plains Drifter and it hung in the Malpaso Production offices for many years before being gifted to a member of his staff on her retirement. It measures approximately 16 x 24 inches and is executed in acrylics.