The Man with the Golden Gun 1974

Here's Robert McGinnis's take on the 1974 Bond movie, ‘The Man with the Golden Gun’. It's a riot of colour and figures, all vying for our attention, like some kind of fever dream! I can almost feel the artist, brush in hand, juggling the demands of the brief with their own playful instincts. What's it like to have to paint James Bond? Does one feel the need to be restrained? I bet there's a struggle to find a balance between the commercial and the creative. McGinnis handles this balance with style. The details are amazing – the way he captures the glint of the golden gun, the drama of the explosions, the bold colours. It's all so evocative. The poster is connected to a tradition of pulp fiction illustration and has a lot in common with other artists working in the field of commercial illustration, such as Frank Frazetta or Gil Elvgren. In the end, artists feed off each other – constantly riffing, remixing, and responding to what's come before. Each painting contributes to an ongoing conversation across time.