Artist Dean Ellis (b.1920) died last week in Saratoga Springs, NY. Ellis was trained at the Cleveland Art Institute, but interrupted his studies in 1941, serving in the Pacific Theatre until 1945. After finishing his BFA, he was named one of the country’s most promising artists by Life in 1950. He had a successful career when he was asked to create covers for Ray Bradbury novels in the 1960s, a job that led to him working for most of the major science fiction publishers of the period.
Artist Don Ivan Punchatz (b.1936) died on October 22 after suffering cardiac arrest. Punchatz began exhibiting his work in 1962 and in 1963 he began providing cover art for science fiction and fantasy books. In 1970, he established SketchPad Studio, which became a launchpad for many other artists and taught at Texas Christian University from 1970. Perhaps his most famous work in the field graced the covers of the Avon editions of Isaac Asimov’s “Foundation” novels and Philip José Farmer’s “Riverworld” books in the 1970s.
Artist Ed Valigursky (b.1926) died on September 7 of heart failure. In addition to a large amount of work for magazines including Amazing, IF, and Fantastic Adventures, as well as book covers, Valigursky’s artwork was commissioned by NASA. Valigursky studied at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago following World War II.
The Louvre has announced plans to repatriot fragments of five ancient frescoes to Egypt within the next several weeks. The Pharaonic steles were purchased by the Louvre in 2000, even though the museum was aware they had been stoled in the 1980s. The frescoes are believed to have been taken from the tomb of the cleric Tetaki, in the Valley of the Kings. Two days before the Louvre’s announcement, Head of Antiquties Zahi Hawass announced that Egypt would not support the Louvre in any way until the frescoes were returned.
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Richard Corben has been named the newest Spectrum Grand Master. Spectrum runs an annual series of art contest and exhibits for speculative fiction. Corben’s first professional SF art sales was for the September 1967 cover of F&SF. he went on to illustrate for numerous fanzines. He illustrated R. Crumb’s Underground Comix and has had a successful career in comics, animation, and book cover design.
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The Society of Illustrators at 128 East 63rd Street will host an exhibit in conjunction with the Spectrum art contest from September 1 through October 17. Spectrum was founded in 1993 and presents excellence in science fiction and fantasy art through a series of Hugo-nominated collections each year. A ticketed Opening reception will take place on September 11. The following day, the Society will host Art Out Loud 6 from 1pm to 5 pm featuring artists James Gurney, Sam Weber, Charles Vess, Donato Giancola, and Gregory Manchess. A portion of the proceeds from the Spectrum Exhibition will be donated to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Light the Night Walk in Dave Stevens’s memory.
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Anticipation presented several awards for art featured in the art show.
- Best in Show: Sybiline, “Le sablier du temps”
- Judges Choice
- Jain Faries, “Waiting for Sam”
- Janet Heatherington, “The Witch’s Witchblade”
- K.M. Kotulak, “The Tortured Heart”
- Patricia McCracken, “Water Dragon”
- Jean-Pierre Normand for his body of work
- Dan O’Driscoll, “The Canals of Mars”
- Taral Wayne, “Body Werk”
- Donna Young, “Night Train”
- Certificate of Merit: Christian Theberge, “Sudica”
The Chesley Awards were presented at Anticipation by ASFA. The Chesleys honor excellence in all forms of art.
- Best Hardback Book Cover: Donato Giancola for A Book of Wizards,
- Best Paperback Book Cover: John Picacio for Fast Forward 2
- Best Magazine Cover: Matts Minnhagen for Clarkesworld, April 2008
- Best Interior Illustration: Donato Giancola for “The Wraith”
- Best Unpublished Color Illustration: Simon Dominic for The Gift
- Best Unpublished Monochrome Work: Simon Dominic for Kraken
- Best Three-Dimensional Artwork: Vincent Villafranca for The Celestial Itinerant
- Best Product Illustration: Dan Dos Santos for Hellboy II promotional art
- Best Gaming Related Illustration: Volkan Baga for Stoic Angel
- Best Art Director: Lou Anders
- Artistic Achievement: Julie Bell
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Graphic designer Heinz Edelmann (b.1934) died on July 21. Edelmann is best known in the English-speaking world for his work as art director on the 1968 animated film Yellow Submarine. Edelmann’s other high profile work included the design of the mascot for the 1992 World’s Fair in Seville, Spain. Edelmann was also instrumental in book cover designs for the publishing house Klett-Cotta and had a lengthy career in poster design. He also taught art design at the Academy in Stuttgart.
Eleanor “Ellie” Frazetta (b.1919) died on July 17 following a year long battle with cancer. Frazetta, married SF artist Frank Frazetta in 1956. Ellie was a partner with Frank, handling many of the business aspects of his career.
