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88

The Conversation Hand Painted John Lomasney Poster

Currency:USD Category:Memorabilia / Movie - Memorabilia Start Price:500.00 USD Estimated At:3,500.00 - 4,500.00 USD
The Conversation Hand Painted John Lomasney Poster
This is a super rare John Lomasney hand painted poster from John McEnroe's private collection! For Sale is a hand painted poster from 1974's The Conversation. Directed by Francis Ford Coppola and starring Gene Hackman. The Lomasney Collection consists of over 800 hand-painted film posters originally displayed in the The Royal Hawaiian Theater in Honolulu. Lomasney painted over 56 years of film (1925- 1981) including 387 Oscar nominated and 83 Oscar winning films. These posters were originally painted for display at the Royal Hawaiian Kuhio Theater in Honolulu.Painted in gouache on 22 by 44-inch artboard. The Collection was called a "treasure trove of art" by the New York Post!! He only painted 4 of each poster!! That means there may only be one or two that have survived!! This collection was previously purchased by tennis legend John McEnroe and featured in his SoHo gallery. About John J. Lomasney, the Artist...John Lomasney, an only child, was born In Ireland around the turn of the Century. He came to the United States and spent some time in California where he worked briefly as a set painter at Warner Brothers and Paramount. Almost nothing is known of this reclusive "loner" who moved to Hawaii in 1936 with his mother, Mary Lomasney. He went to work for the Royal Hawaiian Theater chain as a staff artist. At that time theater chains competed for customers and relied on the - "one sheets" - that were placed in the glass display cases in the front of the theater to attract customers. Royal Hawaiian hired Lomasney to create their own "One Sheets" as opposed to the "One Sheets" supplied by the Studios. Eliminating the myriad of credits on the studio posters, Lomasney was able to create more colorful, graphic posters that accented highlights of the action or the character portrayal of the stars. Using the studio supplied stills as inspiration; Lomasney painstakingly fashioned his original posters, painting in gouache on 28 by 44 inch art board. He seldom did more than four posters for a movie and each one is unique, a one of a kind creation. For forty years Lomasney spent everyday of his working life creating this treasure of movie nostalgia. His only interests were movies and painting. He rarely talked with anyone and if he did it was only about movies. When he was working in his studio he was quick to "shush" anyone whose conversation rose above a whisper. Dick Howard, Royal Hawaiians' director of advertising in 1970, describes Lomasney this way - "He was slow, meticulous and very detailed. His entire life was focused on movies... practically the only subject capable of moving him to speak " He smoked "White Owl" cigars and was always well dressed in a sport coat, shirt and trademark bow tie. When he left the employ of Royal Hawaiian he took only one paint brush and never kept any of his own work. In those days, studio-trained painters were schooled to be anonymous and there are only two of his original signatures known to exist. One of the most astonishing aspects of Lomasney's versatility and inventiveness is the skill with which he dramatically integrates billing requirements with huge luminescent portraits of such idols as Errol Flynn, Sophia Loren, Natalie Wood, Fred Astaire, Gregory Peck, John Wayne, etc., etc..Lomasney died at the age of 90 in 1989 and was buried beside his mother in Diamond Head Memorial Park. From Rudolph Valentino to Elvis Presley, Lomasney's contribution to this exciting art form will be treasured forever.
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