The Movie Poster Artists Every Collector Should Know

Great movie posters are often remembered by film title rather than artist. For collectors, learning the names behind the images opens up a much richer history of illustration and design.

Richard Amsel

Amsel combined portraiture with elegant composition and an extraordinary ability to suggest a film's atmosphere. His work for The Sting is one of his defining cinema images.

Drew Struzan

Struzan became synonymous with the illustrated blockbuster, bringing multiple characters and narrative elements together without losing a clear focal point. His work spans some of the most recognisable film campaigns of the late twentieth century.

Saul Bass

Bass approached cinema advertising from a different direction: reduced shapes, symbols and typography rather than conventional star portraiture. His posters demonstrate how little information a powerful film campaign sometimes needs.

Tom Jung and the blockbuster era

Jung's work is another important part of late-twentieth-century cinema advertising, particularly in large-scale adventure and science-fiction campaigns.

International artists matter too

One film can have completely different artwork in France, Italy, Poland or Japan. A serious history of movie posters cannot stop with American one-sheets.

Check attribution carefully

Popular designs are frequently misattributed online. Look for reliable cataloguing, signatures where appropriate and established campaign records rather than repeating a marketplace description.

Read our dedicated Richard Amsel guide or browse our original movie posters.

Explore the posters featured above: The Last Picture Show · Raiders of the Lost Ark · The Shining · Vertigo. You can also explore our collecting guide, authenticity guide, condition guide and framing guide.