ANNOUNCING Star Wars Celebration Japan Exclusive Art Prints

The Art of Ralph McQuarrie is pleased to announce their exclusive releases for Star Wars Celebration Japan which will be held at the Makuhari-Messe in Chiba, near Tokyo, July 19-21, 2008.

Following in their line of 30th Anniversary concept art prints created for Star Wars Celebration IV and Star Wars Celebration Europe, two new prints, each limited to 125 individually numbered copies showcase two more of Ralph McQuarrie's original Star Wars production painting concepts from original pencil drawing to finished painting.

These pieces will be available in the Art of Ralph McQuarrie booth in the artist area for $40 US (each) while supplies last.

Check back tomorrow for more Celebration Japan announcements!

The Art of Ralph McQuarrie is responsible for the official website of noted illustrator Ralph McQuarrie, and handles licensing of all Ralph McQuarrie properties.

Star Wars is ™ and © Lucasfilm Ltd. All rights reserved. Used Under Authorization.

ANNOUNCING Star Wars Celebration Japan Exclusive Tribute Poster

In addition to the limited art prints, The Art of Ralph McQuarrie is excited to announce the Star Wars Ralph McQuarrie Tribute Poster, created to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Star Wars in Japan.

In 1976, visionary artist Ralph McQuarrie created a concept for a Star Wars one-sheet poster that would inspire artists around the globe; Darth Vader standing before the Death Star, towering over our young heroes.

Ralph retired in the late 90s, never having completed a painting of his original poster concept. This piece of Star Wars history has been missing until now.

As a tribute to McQuarrie, noted artist and sculptor Lawrence Noble picked up a paintbrush for the first time in years to complete a painting based on Ralph's original concept art.


"We wanted to do this in the style of a poster from 1977. It was a wonderful project to work on - I enjoyed picking up a paint brush after so long. The poster was even produced in the same size (27" x 41") as the original Star Wars 1977 Theatrical U.S. one-sheet," notes Noble.


This Star Wars Celebration Japan store exclusive is limited to 2000 copies and has a retail price of $25 US.

Lawrence Noble first met Ralph McQuarrie at a Northern California art show (Space: Fantasy & Reality) organized by noted art collector William Plumb. Both artists worked on exclusive show posters for the event. Noble will be attending Star Wars Celebration Japan, and as with Star Wars Celebration IV and Celebration Europe, he will be sculpting a Star Wars character bust throughout the weekend at the show - this time of Luke Skywalker.

The Art of Ralph McQuarrie is responsible for the official website of noted illustrator Ralph McQuarrie, and handles licensing of all Ralph McQuarrie properties.

Lawrence Noble is the designer of many motion picture advertising campaigns including Time After Time; Flash Gordon; Sharky's Machine; The Empire Strikes Back (10th Anniversary Poster) and more recently, he produced sculptures for Searching for Bobby Fischer and The Rock. Samples of his work can be seen on his official website.

Star Wars is ™ and © Lucasfilm Ltd. All rights reserved. Used Under Authorization.