Jacques Yves Cousteau - Original Poster Mockup By Will Williams

Rare Original Work by Will Williams Original Poster Design By Will Williams representing Jacques Yves Cousteau

Will Williams is a famous poster designer who worked for the biggest films of 20th Century Fox, RKO, Paramount, MGM and United Artists during the 1950s -60

Watercolour and gouache
Dimensions : 75 x 60 cm


Marilyn Monroe, John Wayne, Ingrid Bergman, Humphrey Bogart, Elvis Presley – just a few of those countless Hollywood legends, whose visual characteristics Will Williams knows better than they do. Because this internationally renowned artist had put his images with vivid brushstrokes on famous movie posters. It's no surprise to find the portfolio of 'The Painter Of The Hollywood Court', as Williams is known, filled with nostalgic memories of the 'good old world of cinema'. Movie posters of cinematic masterpieces like “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes”, “Mutiny on the Bounty” or “River of No Return”. “Over the last 50 years, I have made about a thousand film keyarts,” the artist recalls during a visit to Germany. And on the occasion of the inauguration of “Cultura Documenta” at Kassel Central Station, Williams was invited to create a special key art, depicting Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. “Film buffs were sensitive to works of art painted in the 50s and 60s,” the artist recalls. During this period, he had produced, under constant pressure, one after another, these colorful works of art for 20th Century Fox, RKO, Paramount, MGM and United Artists. »Before the public screening of the film, I viewed the film in the screening room of the relevant cinema company and had to immediately sketch out the basic composition of the poster. Moreover, each feature film only required a few thousand posters which were transferred from one cinema to another. Those that are still available have today become sought-after rarities and fetch high prices at auction! “There is no doubt that Will Williams' adventurous life story lends itself to an exciting movie storyline. Born in 1922 in Germany, he grew up in Wuppertal and attended the Düsseldorf Academy of Fine Arts. Was enlisted in 1942 by the Navy; – got into trouble for disobedience and ended up with a group of top comic actors to entertain German soldiers in occupied Denmark. There he made contact with the Danish resistance and, with their help, fled to Sweden, from where, via England and North Africa, he finally arrived in Caserta/Italy. There, Williams became a member of the 5th US Army, OSS-Office Of Strategic Services, to work for the propaganda section. He thus arrived in Rome and was demobilized two years later, in 1946, from the OSS/SSU. Presented by directors Rosselini and Fellini, he meets the “elite” of Italian cinema poster illustrators. “For two years, I learned their color techniques.” And in 1948, Will Williams created his first film poster for the John Ford western “Three Goodfathers” (In Nome Di Dio). » I walked around Rome, from one street to another to look at my poster. All of a sudden, it was everywhere,” Williams said. It was the start of his career. In 1950, he returned to Germany and quickly established himself as a specialist in action posters, resulting in key illustrations for cinema classics like "Quo Vadis", "Prince Valiant" and "The Robe". In a short time, the artist became famous and received orders from all major film companies. His great chances saw Williams in the United States and encouraged by Spyros Scouras, then head of the 20th Century-Fox studio, he immigrated to the United States in 1959. 1960, Hollywood, California! He works freelance for Disney, Fox, MGM and Columbia studios. Created personal portraits for stars like Barbara Stanwyck, Clint Eastwood and John Wayne. He met western director John Ford and became Ford's exclusive illustrator to create the famous portfolio entitled "The John Ford's Cowboy Kings Series", featuring the great western stars of American cinema. And Williams is currently negotiating with international distributors the reissue of some of his posters. He is also trying to create a documentary based on his rather adventurous life and concludes the interview by saying: “He who rests – will definitely rust!” » WILL WILLIAMS has been named artistic director of the next “Secret Service Museum” in Washington. DC. An initiative for which the American government had given the green light. Source: http://will-williams.com/new_windows/about.html Dimensions at sight: 75 x 60.5 cm Sending without frame.