The painting that introduced 'Star Wars' to the world fetches $3.9M at
auction
[December 11, 2025]
By AUDREY McAVOY
The painting that introduced "Star Wars” to the world nearly 50 years
ago — and was reproduced in an iconic movie poster — sold at auction on
Wednesday for $3.875 million.
The acrylic and airbrush painting by the artist and movie poster
designer Tom Jung first appeared in newspaper advertisements on May 13,
1977, a little less than two weeks before the space epic created by
George Lucas opened. It also adorned billboards, magazine ads and
theater programs.
“For most of America, this was the first time they got a glimpse of the
galaxy far, far away,” said Charles Epting, the director of pop culture
and historical consignments at Heritage Auctions.
“Star Wars” producer Gary Kurtz kept the original painting and hung it
on his office wall before passing it down to his daughter. The Kurtz
family later put the work up for sale at the Dallas headquarters of
Heritage Auctions, where bidding started at $1 million.
The sale set records for highest selling piece of memorabilia from the
film franchise, and in general, for any movie poster artwork, Epting
said. The buyer, whose winning bid came in through the website, has
chosen to keep his identity private.
Prior to this, the highest price for franchise memorabilia was Darth
Vader’s lightsaber which sold at auction for $3.6 million.
“Star Wars” is one of the highest-grossing movie franchises of all time
since its 1977 debut, starring Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker. The
original was followed by sequels and prequels, and spawned offshoot
books, movies and other series. Its fans span the globe.
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This image provided by Heritage Auctions shows artwork by Tom Jung
created for the 1977 movie "Star Wars." (Heritage Auctions via AP)
 One side of the painting shows
Skywalker holding up a lightsaber behind Princess Leia. Darth Vader
looms over them in the background. On the other, a team of X-wing
starfighters is launching an attack. Han Solo and Skywalker are
depicted receiving medals.
In the lower right hand corner are R2-D2 and C-3PO, which were added
at the last minute, Epting said. The droids are absent from the
early reproductions of the painting and later appeared when the
movie poster and the billboard were produced. The exact date of the
latter is unknown but it was around June or July 1977, Epting said.
“You can watch the evolution of this piece and how they were
figuring out what was important to include, what are we going to
represent, what’s going to draw people in,” Epting said.
The painting is not just film memorabilia but is also a cultural
artifact and part of American history, Epting said. The emotional
connection that people form with “Star Wars” movies also helps
explain the sales price, he said.
“Anyone who’s seen these movies or the marketing materials around it
— you see this piece, your heart starts racing,” Epting said.
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