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68. Matthew Yuricich Collection:Hand-Painted Matthew Yuricich Mayan Pyramid Procession Matte Paintin

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles Start Price:2,500.00 USD Estimated At:5,000.00 - 10,000.00 USD
68. Matthew Yuricich Collection:Hand-Painted Matthew Yuricich Mayan Pyramid Procession Matte Paintin
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KINGS OF THE SUN (1963) - Hand-Painted Matthew Yuricich Mayan Pyramid Procession Matte Painting - A matte painting of the Mayan pyramid procession hand-painted by chief matte painter Matthew Yuricich for the production of J. Lee Thompson's Kings of the Sun. Balam (George Chakiris) was carried to the bottom of the pyramid to climb it and succeed his late father as the new leader of the Mayan city-state.

Yuricich received a special Academy Award& reg; for his groundbreaking visual effects work, earning him a reputation amongst science-fiction fans and cinephiles alike as a master film artist.

Created for the production but ultimately unseen in the final cut, this detailed and ornate matte was created by painting onto a bristol board-backed photograph adhered to steel-framed glass, an old Hollywood trade practice that allowed artists to scrape the glass clean and reuse it between shots or productions. Rendered in mixed media by Yuricich, it depicts the base of a Mayan pyramid with rows of Mayans standing at attention with a pathway created to the bottom of the steps. Additionally, it shows trees and clouds in the background done in an impressionistic style to give them a spontaneous and natural appearance rather than something overly stylized or unrealistic looking.

The frame is hand-marked "Sc-2b" on an adhered tape label, as well as "TOP" written directly onto the frame. The steel frame is mounted within a black wooden frame. This painting exhibits some discoloration and tearing to the bristol board, scuffing on the steel frame, and remnants of tape adhesive. Dimensions: 47" x 26" x 1.5" (119.5 cm x 66 cm x 4 cm)

Sold without copyright; see notice in the Buyer's Guide.Matthew Yuricich, better known (and appropriately so, given his life's work) as Matt, was an American artist regarded as one of - if not the - foremost matte painters in the history of world cinema.
Born in Ohio to Croatian immigrants on January 19, 1923, Yuricich studied Fine Arts at Miami University after serving in the US Navy during World War II. Upon the completion of his education, he sought and found work in the effects departments of Hollywood studios, excelling quickly as a painter on the productions of post-war classics like Ethel Merman's Call Me Madam, Fred M. Wilcox's Forbidden Planet, and Stanley Donen's Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.
Soon, Yuricich developed a specialty in color-matching background paintings to color-shifting film stock, an essential skill required to integrate mattes seamlessly into live-action photography. At the time, matte artists were expected to keep their artistry "invisible" to the naked eye in order to help audiences suspend their disbelief at certain images that were otherwise impossible to achieve. Yuricich's technical precision in executing invisible glass matte shots - in which painted plates of glass set in front of the camera simulated extensions to a set or environment - put him in demand with some of the most successful directors of his time.
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 film's 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 in the unrivaled chase scenes. Both films were immediately hailed as visual masterpieces for their groundbreaking photographic effects, securing Yuricich 30 more years of work as well as unparalleled renown amongst several generations of Golden Age filmmakers.
Over the next three decades, Yuricich contributed matte paintings to many of the most renowned movies ever made, among them Mutiny on the Bounty, The Greatest Story Ever Told, The Poseidon Adventure, Westworld, The Towering Inferno, Young Frankenstein, Ghostbusters, Die Hard, Dances with Wolves, and Field of Dreams. Recognition for effects artists was always slow-in-coming from film studios and it was not until 1976 that his contributions to cinema were formally acknowledged. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences awarded Yuricich (along with L.B. Abbott and Glen Robinson) a Special Achievement Award for his work on Logan's Run. The following year, Yuricich - along with his brother Richard and a team of other effects visionaries including Douglas Trumbull - received a competitive nomination for Best Visual Effects for Steven Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Yuricich also emerged in this period as a committed teacher and advocate for the field of matte painting at large, which was soon to be threatened by the advent of computer-generated effects. 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, he took on a series of studio apprentices who learned to emulate both his notorious early-to-rise work ethic and impeccable artistic form. Several of these apprentices went on to create film art nearly as acclaimed as his own, with a raft of awards and blockbuster hits earned by work inspired by their mentor.In 2006, Miami University bequeathed Yuricich with its Distinguished Achievement Award for his accomplishments as an educator and artist in the visual effects realm. He died six years later leaving a legacy that included effects contributions to over 70 film and television titles. And in 2017, he was posthumously inducted into the Visual Effects Society's Hall of Fame, where his legacy as both artist and advocate continues to be preserved into perpetuity. Propstore is pleased to present these never-before-offered mattes from some of Yuricich's most beloved films. From Logan's Run to Blade Runner to Ghostbusters to Star Trek: The Motion Picture, this selection of extraordinary hand-painted artworks offers veteran collectors and casual movie fans alike unique access to one of cinema's great masters. The matte paintings offered speak to the rich history of cinema and the grand tradition of innovation that was necessary to bring so many of the world's favorite stories to life. The physical matte shot is now a lost art that will never return again; all matte shots for modern filmmaking are accomplished digitally. Matte paintings were always simply a step in the process on the way to capturing a VFX shot in celluloid, rather than an end-product in themselves, but these hand-painted original artworks existed as evidence of how the shot was achieved. That is no longer the case-the matte shots of today, like nearly all visual effects shots, do not exist in any physical form. It is most likely that no new matte paintings will ever be created again, and the paintings from yesteryear that still exist are exceedingly rare. Indeed, these offered works are among the scarce few original paintings still known to exist from Yuricich's career. The paintings are some of the last of their kind and in the years ahead will be the sole link to this great lost art form. Aside from their aesthetic qualities and inherent beauty, seeing them in person offers a rare peek behind the magician's curtain and insight into a once-prevalent art form that is now extinct and will not return again. These paintings are a moment in time -- a tribute not only to the eternal magnificence of this captivating form, but to the Silver Screen on a global scale.

Estimate: $5,000 - 10,000

Bidding for this lot will end on Thursday, August 15th. The auction will begin at 9:30AM 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 Friday, August 16th, Saturday, August 17th or Sunday, August 18th.