AMSEL'S PUBLISHED COVERS
Here are the 37 published covers Amsel did for TV GUIDE.
1) 16-Dec-72 Duke & Duchess of Windsor
2) 19-May-73 Mary Tyler Moore
3) 16-Mar-74 Carole Burnett & Vicki Lawrence
4) 6-Jul-74 Lucille Ball
5) 2-Aug-75 Mike Douglas
6) 17-Jan-76 Angie Dickinson & Earl Holliman
7) 6-Nov-76 Clark Gable & Vivien Leigh
8) 11-Dec-76 Valerie Harper
9) 8-Oct-77 Donny Osmond & Marie Osmond
10) 19-Nov-77 Frank Sinatra
11) 8-Apr-78 Alice
12) 20-May-78 Three's Company
13) 4-Nov-78 John Travolta
14) 27-Jan-79 Katharine Hepburn
15) 19-May-79 Cindy Williams & Penny Marshall
16) 1-Sep-79 Miss America
17) 10-May-80 One Day at a Time
18) 21-Jun-80 Robert Wagner & Stephanie Powers
19) 6-Sep-80 Richard Chamberlain / Shogun
20) 28-Mar-81 Johnny Carson
21) 25-Jul-81 Prince Charles & Lady Diana
22) 19-Sep-81 Kate Mulgrew
23) 24-Apr-82 Ingrid Bergman
24) 3-Jul-82 Ted Knight/Too Close for Comfort
25) 5-Feb-83 Cheryl Ladd
26) 9-Apr-83 Elvis Presley
27) 30-Apr-83 Tom Selleck
28) 21-May-83 Bob Hope
29) 3-Sep-83 All in the Family
30) 24-Sep-83 Three's Company
31) 12-Nov-83 The Kennedys
32) 21-Apr-84 The Far Pavillions
33) 29-Sep-84 Mary Tyler Moore & James Garner
34) 2-Feb-85 Sharon Gless & Tyne Daly
35) 22-Jun-85 Nancy Reagan
36) 27-Jul-85 Miami Vice
37) 26-Oct-85 Brokaw, Jennings & Rather
UNPUBLISHED COVERS
Amsel did at least 3 covers that were either not published, or relegated to feature stories.
Below is one of the unpublished covers: Lindsay Wagner, THE BIONIC WOMAN
BEHIND THE COVERS
Behind the scenes of concept sketches, final illustrations, and triva regarding Amsel's TV GUIDE work.
They're listed here in chronological order.
Amsel's original illustration.
The Jan. 23-Feb. 5, 2012 issue of TV GUIDE includes an interview with Mary Tyler Moore, and looks back at a number of covers that featured her. Amsel's portrait of the actress (for May 19, 1973) is among her very favorites. "What I like about this is that I look absolutely gorgeous," Moore says. "Not that I'm a prima donna; it's just that this was a nice change of pace."
The Jan. 23-Feb. 5, 2012 issue of TV GUIDE includes an interview with Mary Tyler Moore, and looks back at a number of covers that featured her. Amsel's portrait of the actress (for May 19, 1973) is among her very favorites. "What I like about this is that I look absolutely gorgeous," Moore says. "Not that I'm a prima donna; it's just that this was a nice change of pace."
The Jan. 23-Feb. 5, 2012 issue of TV GUIDE includes an interview with Mary Tyler Moore, and looks back at a number of covers that featured her. Amsel's portrait of the actress (for May 19, 1973) is among her very favorites. "What I like about this is that I look absolutely gorgeous," Moore says. "Not that I'm a prima donna; it's just that this was a nice change of pace."
TV Guide: July 6, 1974 Perhaps the most beloved of all his TV Guide covers, Amsel's portrait of Lucille Ball heralded an article about the comedienne's retirement from series television, and a retrospective of her 23-year career on the small screen.
Amsel's original illustration. Note the different placement of the signature. "I did not want the portrait to be of Lucy Ricardo," Amsel explained, "but I didn't want a modern-day Lucy Carter either. I wanted it to have the same timeless sense of glamour that Lucy herself has. She is, after all, a former Goldwyn Girl. I hoped to capture the essence of all this."
Amsel's preliminary color study for Lucille Ball. Note how she looks older in this sketch, while in the second sketch she looks younger. The final piece is the perfect timeless fusion between the two. 1974 Pencils on glassine Size unknown.
Amsel's preliminary color study for Lucille Ball. Note how she looks younger in this sketch, while in the previous sketch she looks older. The final piece is the perfect timeless fusion between the two. 1974 Pencils on glassine Size unknown.
Mike Douglas apparently sent out autographs with this image to fans; obviously, he must have been a fan himself of Amsel's artwork.
The first broadcast of GONE WITH THE WIND in 1976 was a major television event.
Pic of Amsel's original illustration. Note the more subtle use of color here, as opposed to the rather garish reproduction in the printed issue.
One of the fertility idols Indiana Jones hunted in RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, Sam's legendary piano from CASABLANCA, and Richard Amsel's original TV Guide cover illustration featuring GONE WITH THE WIND were among the treasures featured in Bonhams' auction, "There's No Place Like Hollywood," held in NYC in 2014. I managed to get a sneak peek at the preview within their Hollywood. (Special thanks to Richard Atkins for the heads up!)
I must have taken over a hundred photos of the various items, but I obtained special permission to feature just the Amsel artwork photos here. Due to the location and lighting of the framed piece, it was hard to get a great snapshot without glare.
While the piece did not sell, I think in time it will be in high demand, both due to the popularity of Amsel's work and especially the film.
More photos from the Bonhams' preview can be found within the news archive.
More photos from the Bonhams' preview can be found within the news archive.
More photos from the Bonhams' preview can be found within the news archive.
More photos from the Bonhams' preview can be found within the news archive.
Amsel's preliminary sketch.
Preliminary alternate sketch of Frank Sinatra.
Preliminary sketch.
The final illustration.
Amsel's original art.
Amsel's original art. Colored pencil, airbrush on paper 26.5 x 21 in. This is one of my favorites of all Amsel's work -- and seeing the original in person (as opposed to TV GUIDE's reproduction) made me better appreciate the softer, more delicate colors Amsel used.
For this opulent cover featuing the TV series Shogun, Amsel combined his illustration style with Japanese-inspired bold lines and colors. For the original painting, Dorian Hannaway said that Amsel employed actual gold leaf on the clouds in the background.
Detail of the original, from THE ART OF TV GUIDE.
Amsel's original portrait of Ingrid Bergman as Golda Meir.
Amsel's cover of Cheryl Ladd, playing a young Grace Kelly in a TVM. Thanks to Bill Nelson for sharing this photo of the original portrait.
Amsel's cover of Cheryl Ladd, playing a young Grace Kelly in a TVM. Thanks to Bill Nelson for sharing this photo of the original portrait.
Special thanks to Jordy Berman of the Illustrated Gallery for this recent image.
Amsel's preliminary sketch.
Amsel's original.
Amsel's original.
Detail of Amsel's original.
Photo of the original, from the 2009 show.
TV Guide cover featuring Mary Tyler Moore and James Garner.
Preliminary sketch.
Original illustration. Watercolor, gouache, and colored pencils on board 27 x 21 1/2 in.
This cover demonstrates something I've always loved about Amsel's style: the artist could draw his portraits with photorealistic accuracy, while at the same time give them a more personal, illustrative quality.
Detail image taken from THE ART OF TV GUIDE. I don't care what you say, it's still one of the coolest shows ever made.
Framegrab from an interview I did with David Byrd, who owned the original for many years.
David put this up for auction in August 2015.
Signature detail.
