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John Berkey

California Gold Rush (1999)
Candidate for Elvis stamp

As a staff artist at the Brown & Bigelow advertising firm for eight years, John Berkey produced more than 500 calendar images, featuring everything from pastoral scenes to historic tableaus, before turning to freelance illustration in 1963. Renowned for his robust and impressionistic style, he has created paintings for book covers, movie posters, advertisements, and such periodicals as National Geographic, Life, Time, and TV Guide. Among those attracted to his masterful science-fiction illustrations was the young George Lucas, who commissioned him to work on the pre-production designs for Star Wars. His images appear on 16 U.S. stamps.

 

 

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