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David Edward Byrd
1970 Broadway 'Soon' Drawing, Art Deco Style, Framed Pencil on Vellum

1970

$4,200
£3,166.53
€3,703
CA$5,944.69
A$6,051.70
CHF 3,485.09
MX$72,928.67
NOK 40,452.10
SEK 40,813.67
DKK 27,677.21

About the Item

This is the original rare concept drawing created 56 years ago in 1970 by the legendary artist David Edward Byrd. This final "Soon" poster for this drawing is featured on pages 61 and 95 in the new large format coffee table book "Poster Child, The Psychedelic Art & Technicolor Life of David Edward Byrd". It is also featured on the page with the Foreword to the book. This is the very rare original concept drawing of the poster for the 1970 play "Soon" which featured a very young Richard Gere. The play only ran for a very short time. This is the very first time that David used his classic design in his concept for the art. David used this basic concept years later for a Jimi Hendrix poster and a Prince poster but this was the first time he created this design. We have included in this listing for reference those two posters. The art which is featured in the new book is a great addition to a Rock and Roll or Broadway art collection. David Byrd created some of the most memorable Classic Theatre and Rock and Roll images from the 1960s and 70s. David created ALL of the Art for Bill Graham’s Fillmore East, including their Program covers and Rock posters, the art for Jimi Hendrix’s first Fillmore East appearance, The Rolling Stones 1969 World Tour art, The Who’s Performance of Tommy at the New York Metropolitan Opera House and The Fillmore, and The Grateful Dead Swell Dance Concert to name only a few. He also created the poster art for the original location of the 1969 Woodstock music festival . His memorable images were also used for classic Broadway shows like Godspell, Follies and Jesus Christ Superstar to mention only a few. These museum quality drawings are rarely made available for sale, they are not only wonderful rare works of art, but are truly historically important works in the field of Theatre and Rock and Roll collecting. All drawings have been framed with archival double matting. Again, this is the first time that you can actually purchase one of the original sketches that were created for these historical images. David's art is in many museum collections, including : The Louvre, in Paris, Victoria & Albert in London, The Museum of Modern Art in New York and The Smithsonian in Washington, DC. The artwork is beautifully framed and double matted.
  • Creator:
    David Edward Byrd (1941 - 2025, American)
  • Creation Year:
    1970
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 23 in (58.42 cm)Width: 17 in (43.18 cm)Depth: 2 in (5.08 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
  • Gallery Location:
    Southampton, NY
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU208218388432

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Original 1971 Fillmore East Art program cover pencil drawing Rock and Roll

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For Rock and Roll art collectors this is one incredible work of art. It is the original 1971 drawing for Bill Graham's Fillmore East program cover art created by Rock and Roll and Broadway superstar artist David Byrd. framed size 22x17". I have included in this listing an image of an actual program cover for reference purposes, it is not part of the sale. David Byrd created some of the most memorable Classic Theatre and Rock and Roll images from the 1960s and 70s. This is the first time that this rare original one of a kind drawing has been available for sale since it was first created over 40 years ago. This is the actual drawing that was presented for approval of the final artwork. David created ALL of the Art for Bill Graham’s Fillmore East, including their Program covers and Rock posters, the art for Jimi Hendrix’s first Fillmore East appearance, The Rolling Stones 1969 World Tour art, The Who’s Performance of Tommy at the New York Metropolitan Opera House and The Fillmore, and The Grateful Dead Swell Dance Concert to name only a few. He also created the poster art for the original location of the 1969 Woodstock music festival . His memorable images were also used for classic Broadway shows like Godspell, Follies and Jesus Christ Superstar to mention only a few. These museum quality drawings are rarely made available for sale, they are not only wonderful rare works of art, but are truly historically important works in the field of Theatre and Rock and Roll collecting. It has been framed with archival double matting. David Byrd's poster art is in many museum collections, including : The Louvre, in Paris, Victoria & Albert in London, The Museum of Modern Art in New York and The Smithsonian in Washington, DC. We have included an image featuring some of the memorable art David Byrd has created for the Rock and Roll industry and classic Broadway shows. A large coffee table book is in the final edit and getting ready to go to press of the art of David Byrd titled "Poster Child...

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Located in Southampton, NY

In 1975, The New York Times commissioned Superstar artist David Byrd to create the "Manhattan Coloring Book" It was to be a coloring book for adults (That they really weren't going to color in as the drawings were very detailed.) I have included a photo in this listing of the cover of the original 1975 coloring book just as a reference it is not included in the sale. The book was to be a collectors item and a tribute to the city of New York. It sold out rather quickly and the 1975 first edition did indeed become a collectors item. It featured the most important architectural structures in New York City. We are please to offer for sale one of the original 1975 drawings by Mr. Byrd that was used in that collectible book. This drawing is of the McGraw-Hill building on West 42Street.. If you were producing a Broadway play or top Rock and Roll concert in the 1970's, David Byrd was the artist you wanted to create the imagery. He created for Broadway the art for, Godspell, Follies and Jesus Christ Superstar to mention only a few. For the Rock and Roll industry David created all of the iconic artwork for the Fillmore East including their classic and highly valued posters and programs. The Who's "Tommy" art was David's as was The Rolling Stones 1969 World tour artwork, and the 1969 Jimi Hendrix American concert tour, the very first version of the art for the original 1969 Woodstock Music Festival poster...

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