Gielgud Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy Magazine Artwork

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A superb Chantrell illustration of Alec Guinness in his role as "Smiley" from the hugely successful BBC TV series of "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" (1979). It is likely that this detailed portrait was produced for the 1982 magazine adaptation of Le Carre's novel (1974) which followed, as part of the "Complete Bestsellers" series by Viaduct Publishing (1982). Chantrell did several illustrations for them & we have reproduced the cover of the magazine here. Though the overall imagery is very different to the artwork, the b/w facial of Alec Guinness at the top, clearly shows him holding his chin in exactly the same way as Chantrell has depicted. It is likely that Chantrell's artwork was an early piece & that the publishers wanted something more "Pulp Fiction" like, hence the radical re-working of the design. The artwork is laid to art board (15 1/2"x 20"). A copy of the original magazine will be sold with the artwork here.

Please note this lot is sold without copyright, reproduction rights, licensing agreements or any other type of legal release.