Bob Peak
Peak (May 30, 1927 – August 1, 1992) was an American commercial illustrator. He is best known for his developments in the design of the modern film poster. His artwork has been on the cover of Time magazine, TV Guide, and Sports Illustrated.
Also recorded as Robert Peak · Robert M. Peak
Bob Peak
- Name
- Bob Peak
- Born
- 30 May 1927
- Birthplace
- Denver, Colorado, United States
- Died
- 1 August 1992
- Place of death
- United States
- Education
- Wichita State University
- Occupation
- Illustrator
- Spouse
- Lucille Peak
- Nationality
- United States.
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Documentary summary
Peak (May 30, 1927 – August 1, 1992) was an American commercial illustrator. He is best known for his developments in the design of the modern film poster. His artwork has been on the cover of Time magazine, TV Guide, and Sports Illustrated.
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Note VALÉORINE
Bob Peak (1927–1992) was an American graphic artist, graphic designer and illustrator, among other activities. Born in Denver, the graphic artist died in United States. Bob Peak was also known as Peak, Bob. Bob Peak studied at Wichita State University. Works by the graphic artist are held at National Portrait Gallery.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 01 October 2026
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Documentary evidence
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Authority files
wikidata · Q323334 · wikipedia · Bob Peak
In this article
Biography
Biography
He also illustrated advertisements and U.S. postage stamps.
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Bob Peak • Born — 30 May 1927 • Birthplace — Denver, Colorado, United States • Died — 1 August 1992 • Place of death — United States • Education — Wichita State University • Occupation — Illustrator • Spouse — Lucille Peak
Early life
Early life
Bob Peak was born in Denver, Colorado, and grew up in Wichita, Kansas. He knew from an early age that he wanted to be a commercial illustrator. He majored in geology at the University of Wichita (nka Wichita State University) and got a part-time job in the art department of McCormick-Armstrong. After serving in the military during the Korean War, Peak transferred to the Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles, California, graduating in 1951. In 1953, Peak moved to New York City and landed an Old Hickory Whiskey advertising campaign. His work went on to appear in major advertising and national magazines. He was the father of Matthew Peak, who is best known for illustrating posters for the Nightmare on Elm Street film series.
Career
Career
United Artists studio hired Peak in 1961 to design the poster images for the film West Side Story. The success of Peak's work on that film led to work on posters for designer Bill Gold, including the big-budget musicals My Fair Lady and Camelot. In the mid-1970s, Peak's style would become familiar to fans of science fiction films when he created the poster art for the futuristic film Rollerball (1975), which was followed by the first five Star Trek films, Superman (1978), Excalibur (1981), both Derek Flint films spy films (Our Man Flint in 1966, and In Like Flint in 1967), Apocalypse Now (1979), The Spy Who Loved Me and other James Bond concepts. By the 1980s, only the film poster artist Drew Struzan was in as much demand by film directors. Peak received a commission from the U.S. Postal Service to design 30 stamps for the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles and the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia. From January 20 through April 17, 2011, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences presented the "Bob Peak: Creating the Modern Movie Poster" exhibit at its headquarters building in Beverly Hills. Peak taught in his own college and later at Art Students League of New York, Pratt Institute and Famous Artists School.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1927
Bob Peak born at Denver.
1992
Bob Peak died at United States.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Denver.
Birth place
United States.
Death place
Illustrations
• Fate of a Man, movie poster illustration (U.S. release), 1959 • West Side Story, movie poster illustration, 1961 • The Leopard, movie poster illustration (U.S. release), 1963 • My Fair Lady, movie poster illustration, 1964 • The Cincinnati Kid, movie poster illustration, 1965 • The Liquidator, movie poster illustration, 1965 • Lord Jim, movie poster illustration, 1965 • Kaleidoscope, movie poster illustration, 1966 • Modesty Blaise, movie poster illustration, 1966 • Our Man Flint, movie poster illustration, 1966 • Camelot, movie poster illustration, 1967 • In Like Flint, movie poster illustration, 1967 • Thoroughly Modern Millie, movie poster illustration, 1967 • The Wanderer, movie poster illustration (U.S. release), 1967 • For Love of Ivy, movie poster illustration, 1968 • A Dream of Kings, movie poster illustration, 1969 • Funny Girl, movie poster illustration, 1969 • Lions Love (... and Lies), movie poster illustration (alternate poster), 1969 • The Secret of Santa Vittoria, movie poster illustration, 1969 • There Was a Crooked Man..., movie poster illustration, 1970 • Cesar & Rosalie, movie poster illustration (U.S. release), 1972 • The Great Waltz, movie poster illustration, 1972 • Mame, movie poster illustration, 1974 • The Voyage, movie poster illustration (U.S. release), 1974 • The Yakuza, movie poster illustration, 1974 • Rollerball, movie poster illustration, 1975 • That's Entertainment, Part II, movie poster illustration, 1975 • The Missouri Breaks, movie poster illustration, 1976 • Equus, movie poster illustration, 1977 • Islands in the Stream, movie poster illustration, 1977 • The Spy Who Loved Me, movie poster illustration, 1977 • Every Which Way But Loose, movie poster illustration, 1978 • Superman, movie poster illustration, 1978 • The Wiz, movie poster illustration (alternate poster), 1978 • Hair, movie poster illustration (alternate poster), 1979 • Apocalypse Now, movie poster illustration, 1979 • Star Trek: The Motion Picture, movie poster illustration, 1979 • Excalibur, movie poster illustration, 1981 • Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, movie poster illustration, 1982 • Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, movie poster illustration, 1984 • Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, movie poster illustration, 1986 • Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, movie poster illustration, 1989
Primary material
Documents and archives
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q323334: Bob Peak
General reference · Wikidata
reference work
- “Bob Peak”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
Awards
In 1961, Peak was named Artist of the Year by the Graphic Artists Guild New York chapter. He won eight Awards of Excellence and four gold medals from Society of Illustrators. In 1977, the Society of Illustrators inducted him to its Hall of Fame. The Hollywood Reporter presented him the 1992 Key Art Award, now known as the Clio Entertainment Awards.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Lambert, Bruce. Robert Peak, Designer of Stamps And Film Posters, Is Dead at 64. The New York Times. August 6, 1992.
- 2.Robert Peak. Society of Illustrators.
- 3.About. February 10, 2010.
- 4.Illustrated 007 - the Art of James Bond.
- 5.Robert Peak - Illustration History. www.illustrationhistory.org.
- 6.Bob Peak: Creating the Modern Movie Poster , Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, February 2011
- 7.Kennedy, Adam. The Artists - The Movie Posters of Bob Peak. Art of the Movies. May 8, 2019.
- 8.Lambert, Bruce. Robert Peak, Designer of Stamps And Film Posters, Is Dead at 64. The New York Times. August 6, 1992.
- 9.Movies - Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times. June 29, 1992.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
authority record
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 17 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Illustration
5,224 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- Bob EggletonIllustrator
- Bob GillIllustrator
- Bob GrahamIllustrator
- Bob LaytonIllustrator
- Bob PepperIllustrator
- Bob RakušanIllustrator
- Bodil CappelenIllustrator
- Boetius à BolswertIllustrator
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