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Greg Hildebrandt, the fantasy artist whose work helped define the look of early Star Wars promotion and brought J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth to generations of calendar readers, died on October 31, 2024, at 85. He worked for decades with his twin brother, Tim, as the Brothers Hildebrandt, then continued creating art for Star Wars and other licensed worlds.
Who was Greg Hildebrandt?
Gregory “Greg” Hildebrandt was born in Detroit, Michigan, on January 23, 1939. He became known for richly colored fantasy and science-fiction illustration, often made in partnership with his twin brother Tim. The two artists were widely known as the Brothers Hildebrandt; Tim died in 2006.
His wife and longtime collaborator, Jean Scrocco, described him in a contemporaneous tribute as her best friend and soulmate and said they had worked together for 45 years. Hildebrandt’s own description of his vocation, quoted in his funeral-home obituary, was: “I didn’t choose art, art chose me!”
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What Star Wars artwork did Greg Hildebrandt paint?
In the late 1970s, Greg and Tim Hildebrandt painted the brilliant-blue promotional artwork for the original Star Wars film. Lucasfilm says the brothers completed the poster artwork in just 36 hours. The image appeared across a broad marketing campaign, including T-shirts, buttons, pin-up posters, newspaper ads, and other promotional materials. Its repeated circulation made the artwork one of the memorable visual signatures of the film’s early promotion. Lucasfilm’s retrospective recounts the poster and the brothers’ later franchise work.
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Their connection to the franchise continued beyond the original film. The brothers created 100 pieces for the 1996 Shadows of the Empire multimedia campaign and illustrated the Star Wars Great Big Flap Book, associated with The Phantom Menace. Greg later made Star Wars-themed Oreo packaging art.
How did the Brothers Hildebrandt illustrate The Lord of the Rings?
The brothers gained international prominence with their 1976, 1977, and 1978 calendars depicting J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Those images also appeared in art books, posters, and merchandise, helping bring their distinctive fantasy illustration to a wide audience. Their Tolkien work was collaborative Brothers Hildebrandt art, rather than solely Greg’s individual contribution.
What else did Greg Hildebrandt create?
Hildebrandt’s career reached well beyond two major fantasy franchises. He and Tim worked across fantasy and science-fiction illustration, comics-related projects, trading cards, and licensed properties. Rehs Galleries describes the brothers as influential twentieth-century fantasy and science-fiction artists and notes work connected with DC and Marvel as well as their Tolkien and Star Wars imagery. Rehs Galleries’ obituary discusses the breadth of their work.
Books collecting the brothers’ art include The Art of the Brothers Hildebrandt and Star Wars: The Art of the Brothers Hildebrandt, titles listed in a December 2024 reference compilation. Editions and availability can vary, so check the specific publication details when looking for a copy.
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Greg Hildebrandt’s artistic legacy
Hildebrandt’s legacy spans two kinds of popular imagery: the bold promotional art that helped introduce the original Star Wars to audiences, and the calendar paintings that gave Tolkien’s fantasy world a lasting visual presence. His work with Tim was central to both. Greg’s later franchise projects and broader illustration career show how his practice continued after the brothers’ best-known campaigns.
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