Mid-century American Illustration: Bob Peak

Bob Peak was an American commercial illustrator, whose work is known for revolutionary developments in the design of movie posters. Peak worked at the Alexander E. Chaite Studios, one of two illustration firms that served the publishing industry and provided many of America's great illustrators of the time employment on large advertising campaigns. Having doubts about the style of his work, which he felt was too safe and imitative of his artistic influences, Peak reinvented his style to that of a more expressive one consisting of saturated colour. Within the advertising world, Bob Peak won acclaim and awards for his recognisable work, as well as an abundance of commissions from brands such as Pepsi, Chrysler and Cosmopolitan magazine. Peak's style, which often included flat saturated colour work made him a trendsetter and brought him to the attention of Hollywood, allowing him to revolutionise the film poster. Films that Peak illustrated posters for include Excalibur, Superman, and the original Star Trek films. Throughout his decades long career, Peak has over 130 film posters to his name, and collectively, this body of work earned him the name 'The Father of the Modern Hollywood Movie Poster'. Thanks to his contributions to the film industry, Peak was presented with the Key Art Lifetime Achievement Award by the Hollywood Reporter in 1992.