11/10/2021
Some John Alvin art news:
Heritage Auctions and Dan Herman of Hermes Press Named in Lawsuit Filed by Andrea Alvin, Administrator of the John Alvin Art Estate
Dallas, TX (November 10, 2021) - Andrea Alvin of the John Alvin Art Estate has filed a lawsuit against Heritage Auctions and Dan Herman of the American comic and art book publishing company Hermes Press seeking the return of an original painting created for the production of the 1982 film Blade Runner. The plaintiffs allege the art was illegally removed by an undetermined employee at Warner Brothers and sold without permission, authority, or approval from John Alvin, the rightful owner, to illustration art dealer Mitch Itkowitz, who then sold it to Dan Herman. Mr. Herman then consigned it for sale to Heritage Auctions. Plaintiff Andrea Alvin further asserts that without the confirmation of the Alvin Estate of legal sale or transfer, there is no official provenance, and none of these parties should have continued with the sale of the art.
In the lawsuit, it is explained that Warner Brothers was supposed to return all artwork to Intralink, the company that had hired John Alvin for the campaign, and Intralink in turn was to return all art to John Alvin. According to Ms. Alvin, Warner Brothers did not return the Blade Runner art after repeated requests to do so, and indeed said they could not find it. Ms. Alvin says she and her husband had been searching for Blade Runner art ever since. In a statement issued by the Alvin Estate, Ms. Alvin said, “We’ve been looking for this artwork for years. When I looked at Heritage Auction, I saw it was originally obtained from a WB employee. I knew then that there was no Warner Bros. employee that had the right to sell it, because it should have been returned to John in 1982 when he did it. John is not with us anymore, and it’s so important to the family that this art, which is such a major milestone in John’s career and so important to his legacy, be back where it belongs, in his estate. We also want this practice to stop, not just in John’s name, but in the name of all the artists and creatives out there who seem to have to fight just to get what is rightfully theirs.”
The art has been pulled from an upcoming Heritage auction. Heritage has agreed to keep custody of the art until the resolution of the lawsuit. Andrea Alvin and the Alvin Estate seek return of the art, payment of legal fees, and $100,000 in damages from the defendants.
You can read the attached petition. The original lawsuit was filed in Texas state court. Herman last week moved the case to the federal court located in Dallas. For questions regarding the lawsuit, contact Ariadne Mo***re, Mo***re Law LLC, at 845-218-8080 or Patrick Yarborough, Ahmad Zavitsanos Anaipakos Messing and Alavi at 713-655-1101.
ABOUT JOHN ALVIN:
“Creating the promise of a great experience” is how John Alvin described his career as the preeminent designer and illustrator of cinema art in the entertainment industry. In a business where you are only as good as your last job, Alvin was prolific. He designed and illustrated some of the world’s most widely recognizable movie art.
Of the more than 200 film campaigns he created, ‘E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial’ was one of the most satisfying to Alvin, and appropriately so, as the movie is one of the most successful in cinema history. In addition to receiving the Hollywood Reporter Key Art Awards’ grand prize, Alvin’s E.T. was the only movie art ever to be honored with the Saturn Award from The Academy of Science Fiction, Horror and Fantasy Films. An image from his campaign for E.T. sold at auction for the record price of nearly $400,000, and other of his full color originals have sold privately for upwards of a million dollars.
He is also responsible for the key art for Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner, an iconic poster that represents a film named by many as the best sci fi film of all time, including in Empire Magazine, and by a Guardian poll of scientists. Alvin produced many special works for Lucasfilm Ltd.’s Star Wars phenomenon. Additionally, The Smithsonian Museum in Washington D.C., exhibited Alvin’s ‘The Phantom of the Paradise’ as one of the best posters of the 20th Century.
The ability to infuse art with feeling was one reason Disney wanted Alvin for The Lion King and the “adult campaigns” for many Disney animated classics. “His work inspires us,” said the Disney marketing execs. “Alvin brought emotion into his artwork that can only be captured in an illustration. We call it ‘Alvin-izing’.” The artist acquired a full array of artist’s skills and techniques as a student of the distinguished Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles. Soon thereafter, in 1974, he got his chance to put his love of entertainment art and his artist training to work by creating the campaign art for Mel Brook’s ‘Blazing Saddles’. Alvin passed away at the top of his game, and too young, but left behind an increasing number of admirers and collectors who look back on his substantial body of work and celebrate the many indelible classics of cinema art he created in his lifetime.
For inquiries regarding John Alvin’s work, contact:
Leslie Combemale
ArtInsights Gallery of Film and Contemporary Art
11921 Freedom Drive
Reston VA 20190
703-478-0778