Raiders of the Lost Ark
1981
In this painting Drew signed the picture two ways: with his name and
with the logo representing an 'S' (for Struzan) in a rectangle.
By
using both he linked the mysterious logo he had been using to his
name.
By doing so Drew finally solved a mystery for many admirers and
collectors
that had baffled us for years. It was one of the last times he
used
that logo. The reason for the logo in the first place turns out to be
interesting
in itself. Drew had always signed his pictures with the simple
'Drew'.
The movie industry would remove his signature from the painting when it
was being printed. The inane explanation was that the word was
distracting
from the message.
So Drew designed a logo which was simple en inexplicable enough to
get lost within the picture. That's why so often he would
actually
hide it. As his reputation and popularity grew he found they
actually
wanted his signature on the work. Seems now that his name gives
credibility
to a movie and they want to be able to see it, even sending art back to
be signed when he forgets to sign it.
By the way, this isn't the original '81 one
sheet,
it's the tenth anniversary reprint.