Ron Cobb - Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)

A hand-painted Ron Cobb mothership interior concept illustration from the production of Steven Spielberg’s science-fiction film Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Roy Neary (Richard Dreyfuss) experienced visions of the alien mothership’s landing site at Devil’s Tower, and after travelling there he ultimately left Earth with its inhabitants. The ship’s interior was not seen in the film’s original theatrical version, but did appear in the in 1979 Special Edition. The deleted scene is available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmD-e3QSQ1k

This hand-drawn concept painting depicts the interior of the mothership with a humanoid figure near the entrance, and is the work of concept artist Ron Cobb. The painting is rendered in mixed media, including graphite, ink, and watercolours, on Strathmore illustration board taped to a sheet of lightweight vellum. It exhibits some wear along the edges and a folded corner to the vellum. Dimensions: 77.5 cm x 72.5 cm x 1.5 cm (30 ½” x 28 ½” x ½”).