The Shield Doors Must Be Closed

The Shield Doors Must Be ClosedReleased in 1980, as the follow up sequel to Star Wars (1977), Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back is the second film in the series based on George Lucas story. Considered an impactful movie on the filmmaking industry and pop culture, The Empire Strikes Back was the highest anticipated film in 1980, earning approximately $401. 5 million worldwide. The Empire Strikes Back: Part One collection is build up of 89 pieces part of The Empire Strikes

Released in 1980, as the follow up sequel to Star Wars (1977), Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back is the second film in the series based on George Lucas story. Considered an impactful movie on the filmmaking industry and pop culture, The Empire Strikes Back was the highest anticipated film in 1980, earning approximately $401.5 million worldwide.

The Empire Strikes Back: Part One collection is build-up of 89 pieces part of The Empire Strikes Back rare script, originally belonging to Michael Ford. Known for his Oscar-winning work on the Titanic (1997) and Raiders of the lost Ark (1981), Ford was the Art director for The Empire Strikes Back with which he received an Academy Award nomination.

Alongside a script page, Bailey captures the essence of the iconic scene and allows collectors to own a real piece of Star Wars history. “The Shield Doors Must Be Closed” features an unforgettable drawing with page number 16B of the script.

The script has 5 different coloured pages throughout the pages, which shows the changes between each edit that would have happened through the process of creating the film – in this case the pink pages are from a revision on 19th March 1979. This piece is in museum glass. Alongside Robert Bailey’s signature, every piece has two different coloured stamps: a red stamp for the copyrights of Lucasfilm and a blue stamp for mark Bailey as a Lucasfilm endorsed artist.

George Lucas, Star Wars creator, first noticed Bailey’s incredible talent for using pencil on paper and invited the artist to work on Star Wars Visions – which saw 30 artists create their own interpretations of characters and scenes. As a licensed Marvel artist and Lucasfilm endorsed artist, Robert captures the iconic scenes through different tones of delicate graphite and states that “Only by the practice can the dexterity of fine pencil work be kept up”. Robert Bailey brings this historic medium into the contemporary consciousness; harnessing its innate monochromatic quality to create dark, focused, and detailed artworks.

“For me, this meant more electrifying than I can describe, creating another series of work to be matched with script pages. To combine such pages with pencil drawings is surely a third dimension to bringing the dialogue and images to life! I'm sure that this collection, like the movie, will stand the test of time.” From unforgettable characters and scenes, to sets and moments that have changed cinematic history, Robert's captivating drawings stretch across the galaxy.

Read more about this collection here or, alternatively, shop more Robert Bailey's artwork here.