"Camelot" movie poster

Program

BFA 51 Illustration

Robert M. Peak made a significant mark on the canon of 20th-century illustration. Beginning with a commission from United Artists in 1961 to promote the release of “West Side Story,” Peak transformed film industry advertising, incorporating grandiose montages and flamboyant illustrations. He is often called “the father of the modern movie poster.” Among his notable works are posters for “My Fair Lady,” “Camelot” and “Apocalypse Now.” Outside film, his illustrations graced the covers of numerous publications, including “Time” magazine 45 times. In 1984, the U.S. Postal Service commissioned him to design 30 stamps to mark the Winter and Summer Olympic Games. He was elected to the Society of Illustrators Hall of Fame in 1977, and “The Hollywood Reporter” presented him with the Key Lifetime Achievement award in 1992. Three of his most famous portraits—Anwar Sadat, Mother Teresa and Marlon Brando—hang in the Smithsonian.