Auction Name: 2025 December 9 - 10 Hollywood/Entertainment Signature® Auction

Lot Number: 38360

Shortcut to Lot: HA.com/7433*38360

Young Sherlock Holmes (Paramount, 1985), "Stained-Glass Knight" Master Painting Used to Create the First Computer-Generated Character in a Feature Film. The early 1980s saw a revolution in computer graphics, with George Lucas' ILM leading the charge. Recruits including Edwin Catmull, Alvy Ray Smith, and John Lasseter formed ILM's Graphics Group-soon renamed Pixar-whose work on Star Trek II paved the way for a greater challenge: an entirely CGI sequence for Young Sherlock Holmes. Funded by Steve Jobs, the team combined cutting-edge computing with traditional matte work to create the groundbreaking Stained-Glass Knight, forever altering the trajectory of animation. Created by matte artist Chris Evans in acrylic on 14.5" x 16.75" board, the work depicts a knight with a bloody sword above a fallen priest. Scanned into Pixar's system, the painting became the foundation for Lasseter's animation, who, using ILM Model Shop employee Jeff Mann for movement reference, rendered the Knight's dimensions, textures, and fluid motion. The result: cinema's first fully integrated CGI character, leaping from a church window to pursue Reverend Nesbitt (Donald Eccles). The painting exhibits minor edgewear and scuffs to the black border with verso pencil notation, "Young Sherlock Holmes". Provenance: From the collection of Jeff Mann, who stewarded the work since ILM's Matte Department transitioned to a digital process and moved to new offices at the San Francisco Presidio. Included are a May 1986 Cinefex issue detailing the process and a June 1986 Time magazine noting the revolutionary technique that earned the film an Academy Award nomination for Best Visual Effects. Both show signs of handling. Comes with a COA from Heritage Auctions.

Include Thumbnail(s)