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 ERAN TED
A tis TORY OF
FANTASY
[ILLUSTRATION
EDITED BY
JESSE KOWALSKI

or hundreds of years, artists have been inspired

fkby the imaginative potential of fantasy. Unlike
science fiction, which is based on fact, fantasy
presents an alternate reality—a universe where drag-
ons breathe fire, angels battle demons, and magi-
cians weave spells. Published to coincide with a
major exhibition organized by the Norman Rockwell
Museum, this handsome volume reveals how artists
have brought to life mythology, fables, and fairy tales,
as well as modern epics like The Lord of the Rings and
Game of Thrones.
The main text of Enchanted, by exhibition curator
Jesse Kowalski, traces the emergence of the themes of
fantasy in the world’s civilizations, and the develop-
ment of fantasy illustration from the Old Masters to
the Victorian fairy painters, to Golden Age illustra-
tors like Howard Pyle and Arthur Rackham, to clas-
sic cover artists like Frank Frazetta and Boris Vallejo,
to emerging talents like Anna Dittmann and Victo
Ngai. Kowalski shows how fantasy art is truly time-
less, evolving with the tastes of each generation and
expanding from book and magazine illustration to
comics, animation, cinema, role-playing games,
video games, and more.
Additional essays by distinguished contributors
highlight specific aspects of fantasy illustration,
including the connections between science and fan-
tasy in the Victorian age, the legacy of Robert E.
Howard, the role of archetypes in fantasy, and Nor-
man Rockwell's unique brand of American fantasy.
Renowned painter Gregory Manchess offers an art-
ist’s perspective on contemporary fantasy illustration.
Enchanted features more than 180 illustrations—
including many stunning full-page reproductions—
and a valuable bibliography encompassing both
fiction and nonfiction. It will be a must-have refer-
- ence for artists and illustrators, and a delight for all
lovers of fantasy.
ad
>

ENCHANTED
 NORMAN ROCKWELL MUSEU

me CHANTED
A HISTORY OF
FANTASY
ILLUSTRATION
EDITED BY
JESSE KOWALSKI

ADBBEVITEE PRESS PUBLISHERS

NEW YORK LONDON
This book is published in conjunction with the exhibition
Enchanted: A History of Fantasy Illustration
Norman Rockwell Museum, Stockbridge, Massachusetts

ABOUT THE COVER ARTIST

Donato Giancola, considered one ofthe finest fantasy artists working today, was named Best
Artist at the World Fantasy Awards in 2004 and at the Hugo Awards in 2006, 2007, and 2009.
His admiration for the writings of J. R. R. Tolkien is made apparent in the numerous paintings
he has created depicting the Lord of the Rings saga. He has compiled some ofthese works in the
books Middle-Earth: Visions of aModern Myth (2010) and Middle-Earth: Journeys in Myth and
Legend (2019), which features more than two hundred artworks.

Front cover and page 210: Donato Giancola (American, b. 1967), St. George and the Dragon,
2010, oil on panel, 30 x 20 in. (76.2 x 50.8 cm); R. Cat Conrad and Roxanne Conrad.
Back cover: Arthur Rackham (1867-1939), Storyteller, ca. 1905, watercolor, brown ink, and pen
on paper, 1014 x 6% in. (26 x 17.1 cm), illustration for Washington Irving, Rip Van Winkle
(London: William Heinemann, 1905); Fred and Sherry Ross; see plate 37.
Page 2: Jeff Easley (b. 1954), The Big Red Dragon, 1991 (detail); see plate 92.
Page 14: Nico Delort (b. 1981), The Blessing of Athena, 2015 (detail); see plate 122.
Page 26: Paul Césaire Gariot (1811-1880), Pandora’s Box, ca. 1877 (detail); see plate 10.
Page 54: Anthony Palumbo (b. 1980), Angel Token, 2011 (detail); see plate 89.
Page 122: Julie Bell (b. 1958), Pegasus Befriends the Muses, 2018 (detail); see plate 109.
Page 152: Abbott Handerson Thayer (1849-1921), Winged Figure, 1889 (detail); see plate 142.
Page 180: Michael Whelan (b. 1950), The Way ofKings, 2010 (detail); see plate 154.
Page 192: Norman Rockwell (1894-1978), Lunch Break with a Knight, 1962 (detail); see plate 178.

Editors: Amy K. Hughes and Lauren Bucca

Production manager: Louise Kurtz
Designer: Misha Beletsky

This book is published by Norman Rockwell Museum, Stockbridge, MA, and Abbeville Press,
New York, NY. It is distributed to the trade by Abbeville Press.

Compilation copyright © 2020 Norman Rockwell Museum. Texts copyright © 2020 their
respective authors. All rights reserved under international copyright conventions. No part
of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or
mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information retrieval system,
without permission in writing from the publisher. Inquiries should be addressed to Abbeville
Press, 655 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017. The text of this book was set in Minion 3.
Printed in Turkey.

First edition
LOWOS Ba Oe setae

ISBN 978-0-7892-1370-9

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data available upon request

For bulk and premium sales and for text adoption procedures, write to Customer Service
Manager, Abbeville Press, 655 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017, or call 1-800-Artbook.

Visit Abbeville Press online at www.abbeville.com.

 CS OURTEINSIES
Acknowledgments 6
Director’s Note 8
BY LAURIE NORTON MOFFATT
Foreword 10
BY SARA FRAZETTA
Preface 12
BY ARNIE FENNER

POL lS TORY OP
PANDAS Y TUE USTRALLON
AN INTRODUCTION
BY JESSE KOWALSKI
The Importance of Fantasy 17
The Birth of Fantasy and Its Depiction in
Early Illustration 27
The History ofModern Fantasy Illustration 55
The Future of Fantasy Illustration 123

ONPTHE SIDE OP THE ANGELS:

FANTASY INAN AGE OF DISCOVERY 153
BY ALICE A. CARTER
AN ARTIST S PERSPECTIVE ON
CONTEMPORARY FANTASY PAINTING 167
BY GREGORY MANCHESS
ROBERT E. HOWARD:
EROSE POETRY INACTION 473
BY RUSTY BURKE
OF RE-ENCHANTMENT AND RENEWAL:
WHERE ART, ARCHETYPE, AND FANTASY MEET 181
BY CRAIG CHALQUIST

REAL AND IMAGINED: FANTASTICAL ROCKWELL 193

BY STEPHANIE HABOUSH PLUNKETT

Notes 211
Further Reading 214
Exhibition Checklist 218
About the Authors 225
Image Credits 228
Index 229
 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

his exhibition would not have been possible without the generous support of
the lenders to the exhibition: Dean Abraham; Ackland Art Museum, Chapel
Hill, North Carolina; American Folk Art Museum, New York; Morgan and
Jean Bantly; The Bennett Collection of Women Realists; Alice A. Carter and
J. Courtney Granner; Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, Williamstown,
Massachusetts; Aram Compeau; R. Cat Conrad and Roxanne Conrad; Dahesh Museum
of Art, New York; Paul DeDomenico; Delaware Art Museum, Wilmingon; Tony and
Angela DiTerlizzi; Dragonsteel Fine Art Collection; Douglas Ellis and Deborah Fulton;
Arnie and Cathy Fenner; Peter and Elaine Guiffreda; C. K. Gyllerstrom; Jim Halperin;
Robert and Lynne Horvath; Benny Hsieh; Leslie Jordan; The Kelly Collection of Amer-
ican Illustration; D. Eric Lewis; The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, Los Angeles, Cali-
fornia; Galerie Daniel Maghen, Paris; Matt McKeeby; The Morgan Library and Museum,
New York; The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Ingrid Neilson; The New Rochelle Public
Library, New Rochelle, New York; Greg Obaugh; The Ohio State University Billy Ireland
Cartoon Library and Museum, Columbus; Jason and Tina Rak; Fred and Sherry Ross;
Robert K. Wiener; Patrick and Jean Wilshire; Wizards of the Coast; and Justin Zhao.
Artists contributing their own work include Wayne Barlowe, Thomas Blackshear, Scott
Brundage, Wesley Burt, Daniel Chudzinski, Bastien Lecouffe Deharme, Tony DiTerlizzi,
Anna Dittmann, Terry Dodson and Rachel Dodson, Bob Eggleton, Larry Elmore, Justin
Gerard, Donato Giancola, Gary Gianni, Cory Godbey, James Gurney, Scott Gustafson,
Greg Hildebrandt, Piotr Jablonski, Tyler Jacobson, Lindsey Look, Gregory Manchess,
Miranda Meeks, Mike Mignola, Lauren A. Mills, Jean-Baptiste Monge, Scott Murphy,
Victo Ngai, Dennis Nolan, Karla Ortiz, Anthony Palumbo, Adam Rex, Peter de Seve,
William Stout, Charles Vess, James Warhola, and David Wiesner.
 Iam grateful for the assistance of Arkane Studios; Blizzard Entertainment; Columbia
Pictures; Conan Properties International, LLC; DC Comics; Dynamite Comics; Frazetta
Girls, LLC; Heritage Auctions; Robert E. Howard Properties, LLC; King Features Syndi-
cate, Inc.; Paizo Publishing; Sideshow Inc.; Sony Pictures; Arthur Tress; Universal Pic-
tures Corp.; and Wizards of the Coast.
Tony DiTerlizzi, Arnie Fenner, James Gurney, Gregory Manchess, and Patrick Wilshire
supplied me with unbridled enthusiasm and wisdom from the beginning.
For their dedication in organizing the exhibition catalogue, I thank David Fabricant,
Lauren Bucca, Misha Beletsky, and Louise Kurtz, from Abbeville Press; editor Amy K.
Hughes; and Magdalen Livesey. I am grateful to Laurie Norton Moffatt, Sara Frazetta,
and Arnie Fenner for their introductory comments; and Rusty Burke, Alice A. Carter, Dr.
Craig Chalquist, Gregory Manchess, and Stephanie Plunkett for their thoughtful essays.
In my research for the exhibition, I have found occasional inconsistencies among his-
torians in time lines relating to religions, civilizations, and mythologies and other beliefs.
From all the sources consulted for this exhibit, whether outdated texts, newly uncovered
research, or authors offering conflicting information, I have utilized what I believe to be
the most accurate dates, or best approximations, in referencing the chronology of events
involving pertinent subjects.
In compiling a history of fantasy illustration, I acknowledge that this is one interpre-
tation of an extremely complex history, in which I focused on the evolution offantasy art
and its impact on American illustration. There are other areas to be explored—album
cover art, poster design, graphic novels, and such international comic art as manga from
Japan and bandes dessinées from France, among others. Finally, I have compiled a cross
section of artists working throughout history in various fantasy genres, though in a field
as wide as fantasy illustration, there are countless artists who deserve recognition for their
work. For all who have furthered the field of fantasy illustration, I express my admiration.

Jesse M. Kowalski
Curator of Exhibitions
Norman Rockwell Museum

Acknowledgments 7
 DIRECHOR SIN@iss

rtists have always illustrated visual stories representing both the real and
the vividly imagined. Dedicated to the art of illustration in all its variety,
Norman Rockwell Museum is honored to present Enchanted: A History of
Fantasy Illustration, the most comprehensive examination ofthe art offan-
tasy illustration to date—from the beginnings of human culture and the
archetypes of the Middle Ages to the fantastical imaginings of artists today.
The portrayal of mythical and folkloric subjects has been an integral aspect of art
for centuries, evidenced in such movements and styles as diverse as Renaissance and
Baroque allegory, Mannerism and Magic Realism, Romanticism, Surrealism, and vision-
ary art. This exhibition, organized by the museum’s curator of exhibitions, Jesse Kowal-
ski, and its accompanying catalogue, published by Abbeville Press, trace time-honored
themes of mythology, fairy tales, and the dramatic conflicts that emerge in tales of heroes
and villains, good versus evil.
An expansive array ofpaintings, drawings, etchings, and digital artworks, made avail-
able through the generosity ofpublic institutions and private lenders, were selected from
many cultures and eras, spanning the years from 600 BCE to the twenty-first century.
These images bring to life the adventures of mythological legends Apollo, Perseus, and
Isis; they engage us with the wonder ofelves, fairies, and mermaids; and they invite us to
witness the exploits of knights, sorcerers and witches, angels and demons.
This exhibition and the work of the Norman Rockwell Museum are an outgrowth ofits
mission to preserve, present, and study the art ofillustration, creating a gathering place
for reflection, involvement, and discovery, inspired by Norman Rockwell and the power
of visual images to shape and reflect society. The museum holds the largest and most
significant collection of art and archival materials relating to Rockwell’s life and career,
and it preserves, interprets, and exhibits a growing encyclopedic collection of original
illustration art by noted historical and contemporary practitioners. A vibrant year-round
exhibition program, national and international traveling exhibitions, arts and human-
ities programs, and fellowship opportunities made available by the Rockwell Center for
American Visual Studies, invite audiences to enjoy and experience the ongoing relevance
to society of this public art form that lives all around us.

Laurie Norton Moffatt

Director/CEO
Norman Rockwell Museum

Director’s Note 9
 FOREWORD

rank Frazetta was a dreamer, and his artwork was the conduit to his soul. He
allowed his emotions to flow through his palette and projected his own person-
ality onto his canvas. To him, painting was something like composing music—
music that could make his viewers’ eyes dance. Frank Frazetta’s fantasy art
radiated beauty, strength, and bravery into the world.
Iam still learning about Frank Frazetta’s career as the founding father of modern fan-
tasy art, the artist who defined sword-and-sorcery illustration. For so long, I knew him
simply as “Grandpa, which was quite amazing in itself. He turned sixty years old in 1988,
the year I was born. I spent the majority of my formative years living with my grand-
parents. My mom, Holly Frazetta, recalls my reluctance to spend any time outside of
Grandma and Grandpa's world—seventy acres tucked away in Marshall’s Creek, Pennsyl-
vania. The property, which they purchased in 1970, offered solitude and expanse, provid-
ing my grandpa and me the opportunity to spend time together and form a strong bond.
We foraged for wild fruit, danced to ELO on the record player, competed in video games
on the original Nintendo 64, and sang along to Disney songs. It was quite possibly the best
childhood one could experience, and Frank Frazetta may have been the greatest grandfa-
ther (never mind the greatest fantasy artist) to have ever lived.
Some time ago, I was contacted by Jesse Kowalski, the curator of exhibitions for the
Norman Rockwell Museum. At the time, he was curating an exhibition on the field ofillus-
tration in 1969 and felt it was deeply important to show Frank Frazetta’s artwork. Recently,
Jesse and I reconnected regarding the Norman Rockwell Museum's summer 2020 exhibi-
tion, Enchanted: A History of Fantasy Illustration, which will include two Frank Frazetta
original oil paintings.
With over one hundred works of art created by more than fifty artists, whose work
spans the centuries, the Enchanted exhibition at the Norman Rockwell Museum will

10
provide fantasy art the same formal recognition and legitimacy afforded other art genres.
The exhibit will allow museum visitors to reconnect with what is truly important—the
imagination.
From time to time, my grandfather made a point to flip through his Norman Rockwell
book and show me the artwork titled Before the Shot. He would stare at the art for a while
and remark, “This guy... he’s a master.’ It is truly spectacular that his paintings will be on
view at the Norman Rockwell Museum among the work of some of the greatest illustrators
ofall time. Frank Frazetta admired Howard Pyle, N. C. Wyeth, Roy Krenkel, Joseph Clem-
ent Coll, and, of course, the grandfather of American illustration, Norman Rockwell. All
these artists inspired my grandfather throughout his lengthy career.
I want to thank the Norman Rockwell Museum for organizing this exhibition. This is
an extraordinary turning point for fantasy illustration.

Sara Frazetta
February 2020

HOLLY FRAZETTA (b. 1963)

Frank and Sara Frazetta in his studio, 1989
Gelatin silver print, 8 x 10 in.
(20.3 X 25.4 cm)
Sara Frazetta

Foreword 11
 PejsCep eva,Je

ay Bradbury once said, “I define science fiction as the art ofthe possible. Fan-
tasy is the art of the impossible.” Perhaps the latter is a perfect description for
what viewers will encounter in this landmark exhibition: the art of the impos-
sible. And then some.
Fantasy illustration—even more than illustration in general—has long
been considered something ofthe redheaded stepchild ofthe art world. Dragons, Sirens,
larger-than-life heroes, black-hearted villains, and supernatural happenings were “kids’
stuff,” subjects to be ignored by anyone aspiring to create “high art” (no matter that muse-
ums around the world showcase and celebrate works featuring such mythic characters
and scenes). And yet, those subjects lead to precisely the types of artworks that influence
other creators, impact popular culture, challenge our perceptions, and ultimately stick in
our memories. Why?
Because illustration—fantasy illustration—is, quite simply, storytelling. And it is story-
telling that can be timeless.
Though often bringing visual life to the works of writers and game creators, or other
products or projects (including the artist’s own ideas), fantasy illustrations can and often
do transcend their original intent and become unique stories unto themselves. As expres-
sion ofthe artist’s intellect and skill, art can be expansive and epic in scope or gently and
quietly intimate; it can be symbolic or metaphorical, yielding subtle allegories or straight-
forward adventures. Art can make us think, muse, or consider; it can provide us with reaf-
firming comfort or cathartic release.
The best art asks questions that always suggest a multitude of answers; the reactions
of the audience can be as important as the work itself. And just as often, those paintings
and drawings, regardless of the media used to create them, tacitly invite viewers to add
their own voice, their own unique stories to them. A subconscious collaboration ofsorts,

12
a personal link with the artist, can occur. Two-dimensional art, despite being little more
than pigment on a flat surface, can be surprisingly interactive (as can sculptures and other
three-dimensional constructions).
Storytelling, particularly through art, is a way for people to connect through a shared
interest and experience. Iconic artworks created by masterful storytellers get people
talking, sharing, and feeling, as they witness childhood’s imagination on display in
Norman Rockwell’s The Land of Enchantment; the charm and whimsy of Rose O’Neill’s
Kewpies; the lush flesh and impressive chiaroscuro in Frank Frazetta’s Escape on Venus;
the majestic procession in Ruth Sanderson's The Princesses Hurried down a Lamp-Lit
Path; the unsettling sense of foreboding in Brom’s The Night Mare; the determination and
urgency of the protagonist of Gregory Manchess’s The Creek. These and so many other
works in this exhibition demand our attention through the power of their narrative. They
not only excite our sense of wonder but also reflect our struggles, our hopes, our dreams,
and our fears; they celebrate our humanity.
This is Enchanted: A History of Fantasy Illustration. As Rod Stewart sang, every
picture—every wonderful, magical artwork—tells a story.

Arnie Fenner
Director, Spectrum Fantastic Art

Preface 13
ali SORRY OF
PAIN) Tae
ee SPRATT LON
AN INTRODUCTION
BY JESSE KOWALSKI
 PE ViPORTANG@E OF FANTASY

nchanted: A History of Fantasy Illustration is the first full-scale exhibition to 1. THOMAS BLACKSHEAR (b. 1955)
Beauty and the Beast, 1994
explore the breadth of the history of fantasy art from its stirrings in early civi-
Oil and gold leaf on canvas, 35 x 26% in.
lization to its expression by burgeoning artists today. The exhibit explores the (88.9 X 67.3 cm)
myths and archetypes that originated before the written word, in stories passed Collection of the artist

on through oral tradition, to the latest Hollywood blockbusters. Sifting through

the rich histories relayed by the storytellers, writers, artists, historians, and philosophers
who have created and defined fantasy characters from Gilgamesh to the dynastic rivals of
The Game of Thrones, we explore the reasons, necessity, and importance offantasy in our
daily lives. This exhibition continues the Norman Rockwell Museum's mission to explore
visual storytelling in its many forms. In a field of art often given short shrift by the gen-
eral public and museum professionals alike, a serious look into the rich history of fantasy
illustration is long overdue.

DEFINING FANTASY

antasy is built on the foundation of humanity’s emotional and social evolution over
several thousand years. Across time and cultures, it embraces mythology, folklore,
and fairy tales (plate 1)—stories of creation, gods, heroes, villains, monsters, talking
animals, and strange worlds. It is a human need; it helps us explain who we are and our
place in the world.
Defining “fantasy” requires considering what fantasy is not. Unlike science fiction,
which is based on fact, fantasy presents an alternate reality. Fantasy must be something
that cannot exist in our world. Among the ground rules for this exhibition: no gunpow-
der, no technology, and no spaceships. Flash Gordon is not included since he ventured
into outer space via spaceship, while John Carter traveled to Mars via a form of astral

17
projection. Although the Star Wars films include elements of science fiction, such as
armadas of spaceships, holographic recordings and communication, and all manner of
androids, the mystical elements of “the Force” and the archetypes central to the plot—the
virgin’s birth of a savior, the hero's journey, and the struggle between the Dark Side and
the Jedi—are based in the world offantasy.
The inclusion ofreligious imagery in this exhibition is a reflection ofthe relationships
between religion, fantasy, and mythology and their connections to various civilizations
from long ago to today (plate 2). This is not meant to imply that the religions associ-
ated with the artworks in the exhibition and in this book are to be construed as fantasy
but rather to show how fantastic images have been used to reinforce religious beliefs

18 JESSE KOWALSKI
 2. HIERONYMUS BOSCH (1450-1516)
The Garden of Earthly Delights, 1504
Oil on oak panels, 81 x 152 in. (205.7 x 386.1 cm)
Museo del Prado, Madrid

The most famous work by Netherlandish painter

Hieronymus Bosch, The Garden of Earthly
Delights depicts a fantastic vision of Eden, earth,
and hell. Eve is a focus of asomewhat sinister
composition in the left panel, as she is placed
just above a black pond filled with horrifying
creatures, while other dark figures lurk beneath
the fountain above her. The background shows
distant gray mountains, to which, one may
suspect, she and Adam will soon be banished.
The central panel presents a bizarre meeting of
mythology, Christianity, and sexuality. Nude
lovers stand in erotic poses, engage in groups,
cavort with birds and beasts, and hide inside
enormous fruits. Exotic real and imaginary
animals roam—a unicorn drinks from a pool—
while mermaids swim and winged humans
flutter above. The right panel, perhaps a
condemnation ofthe licentiousness ofthe central
panel, gives way to torment and ruin. A gambler
is crucified on a table. Rabbits, beetles, and
lizards devour men and women. A large bird sits
with a half-eaten man in its beak, defecating
others he has eaten into an open pit in which a
man is vomiting. Eve, seemingly unconscious, is
in the grasp of demons. In the background, a city
burns while scores of people attempt to flee.
The painting is engrossing, and each panel
requires much study. It is unclear whether Bosch
was religious or whether he was a satirist. To this
day viewers ask: Is there a message here, or is it
all a surreal fantasy?

by constructing narratives that give hope to humankind and delineate what is just and
unjust. Furthermore, the inclusion offantastic religious imagery underscores the impor-
tance offantasy in our daily lives, in that it affects our most heartfelt beliefs.

THE POWER OF IMAGINATION

At this point, realism is perhaps the least adequate means of understanding or por-
traying the incredible realities of our existence. A scientist who creates a monster in
the laboratory; a librarian in the library of Babel; a wizard unable to cast a spell; a
spaceship having trouble in getting to Alpha Centauri: all these may be precise and

The Importance of Fantasy 19

h1 Museum
Muse of i

ojaf heh oad

beneaa

ahead in
1ead in hance
4. MICHEL DoRIGNY (1616-1665) In the Greco-Roman legend of Heracles (Greek, Herakles; Roman, Hercules), the strongman
Hercules and the Hydra, 1651 is a son of the god Zeus and a mortal woman. His half-brother, King Eurystheus, gave
Etching, 10%4 x 8% in. (27.3 x 21cm) Heracles twelve labors to perform as penance, after Heracles murdered his own wife and
The Metropolitan Museum ofArt, sons in a spell of madness cast on him by the goddess Hera, Eurystheus’s mother. Knowing
New York; Bequest of Grace M. Pugh, 1985 his rival to possess superhuman strength and bravery, the king designed each task to be
more difficult than the last. For his second labor, Heracles was directed to kill the Hydra, a
beast with nine heads, the central one immortal. Each time Heracles used his club to remove
one of the heads, two new ones arose in its place. Frustrated with the increasing number of
heads, Heracles called upon the assistance ofhis nephew Iolaus. When Heracles resumed
the beheadings, Iolaus followed behind, cauterizing each neck before any heads could grow
back. After removing thefirst eight heads, Heracles was able to subdue the Hydra and burn
its flesh. With a final beheading, Heracles completed his labor and placed the immortal head
under a large stone.
 profound metaphors of the human condition. The fantasist, whether he uses the
ancient archetypes of myth and legend or the younger ones of science and technol-
ogy, may be talking as seriously as any sociologist—and a good deal more directly—
about human life as it is lived, and as it might be lived, and as it ought to be lived. For
after all, as great scientists have said and as all children know, it is above all by the
imagination that we achieve perception, and compassion, and hope.
—Ursula K. Le Guin’

hat is so important about fantasy? Anyone with an interest in the genre prob-
ably knows it is often dismissed as a child’s fancy—associated with fairies and
unicorns—or as the obsession of boys playing Dungeons & Dragons in their
basements. Is fantasy a waste of time for mature adults—an unhealthy focus on nonsen-
sical subjects they should have grown out of by now—or is there something more to it?
While the struggles of the real world surround us, should we be imagining people in unbe-
lievable situations fighting made-up creatures in make-believe worlds?
Sigmund Freud considered a belief in fantasy is as natural as falling in love with your
mother (or father). Until the 1800s fantasy and mythology were regarded as normal parts
of daily life. Fantasy and reason worked hand in hand and were not considered contra-
dictory. Mythological tales were not intended to be historical, but they did contain vital
information on morality that helped to inform and structure society by defining what was
right and just (plate 3). Tales of dragons, demons, and gods were related over and over in
many societies, evolving over the years with each new telling.
In the early 1900s Carl Jung (1875-1961), the Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst,
began to give credence to fantasy—explaining that it is not just something we think about
or read but rather is as much a part of us as our kidneys or arms. The writings of Jung,
and later, of the comparative mythologist Joseph Campbell (1904-1987), propose that
everyone is born with a shared “collective unconscious,” containing knowledge of basic
archetypal figures and an innate sense of right and wrong, which has been passed down
genetically through countless generations of human development. ;
Fantasy, derived from the Latin phantasia, meaning “imagination, has been a defin-
ing characteristic of our species for over five thousand years of recorded history. Cultures
around the world have created, adapted, and transformed fantastic images, often simi-
lar in form, to contemplate the reasons for our existence. These imagined realities have
addressed eternal, universal themes of heroism (plate 4), tragedy, love (plate 5), creation,
and destruction. In carefully crafted tales of the imagination, we have been given instruc-
tions for navigating the human condition. Jung, in fact, believed we are born with the
basic structure of these tales within us:

The preconscious psyche—for example, that of anew-born infant—is not an empty

vessel into which, under favourable conditions, practically anything can be poured.
On the contrary, it is a tremendously complicated, sharply defined individual entity
which appears indeterminate to us only because we cannot see it directly. But the

22 JESSE KOWALSKI
5. WILLIAM-ADOLPHE
BOUGUEREAU (1825-1905)
Amour a laffut (Love on the
Look Out), 1890
Oil on canvas, 46 x 3014 in.
(116.8 x 76.8 cm)
Fred and Sherry Ross

A figure painter, William-

Adolphe Bouguereau focused
largely on the female form. Many
ofhis works feature feminine
angels, the nude female figure,
or mythological figures—such
as this Amour, the god oflove,
called Cupid by the Romans and
Eros by the Greeks. Bouguereau’s
gorgeously rendered, realistic
portrayals were in the French
academic tradition, against
which the Impressionists, who
placed more emphasis on color
and movement, had begun to
rebel some years earlier.
6. HOWARD PYLE (1853-1911)
Why Seek Ye the Living, 1905
Oil on canvas, 23 x 18 in. (58.4 x 45.7 cm)
Illustration for John Finley, “Why Seek Ye the Living among the Dead?,”
Collier’s, April 15, 1905
The Kelly Collection of American Illustration
 moment the first visible manifestations of psychic life begin to appear, one would
have to be blind not to recognize their individual character, that is, the unique per-
sonality behind them. It is hardly possible to suppose that all these details come into
being only at the moment in which they appear. ... We explain by heredity the gifts
and talents which can be traced back through whole generations.”

Returning to our initial question: What is so important about fantasy? Fantasy inter-
prets the imagination of the undiscovered self and gives visual reference to the paths we
must take, and the lessons we must learn, in order to better ourselves. Representations of
dreams and nightmares, fictional creatures, and gods and monsters are made real through
visual portrayals in fantasy art (plate 6).
“Imagination is more important than knowledge,” Albert Einstein commented, in a
1929 interview with the Saturday Evening Post. “Knowledge is limited. Imagination encir-
cles the world.”?

The Importance of Fantasy 25

 ee b Rin OF FANTASY AND ITS
DE PIGEON LIN
Pane bw ST RATION

The collective unconscious, as we understand it today, was never a matter of “psy-

chology,’ for before the Christian Church existed there were the antique mysteries,
and these reach back into the grey mists of neolithic prehistory. Mankind has never
lacked powerful images to lend magical aid against all the uncanny things that live
in the depths of the psyche. Always the figures of the unconscious were expressed in
protecting and healing images and in this way were expelled from the psyche into
cosmic space.
—Carl Jung’

n order to learn about the development of fantasy, in illustration as well as other

sources, one must first understand its origins in religion. Systems of sacred belief
have guided much of the philosophy of understanding fantasy and mythology. A
creation myth, for instance, is common throughout human cultures, as are other
expressions of beliefs, observances, and social practices (plates 7 and 8). Carl Jung
felt that religion was not only vital to humankind’s well-being, it was born from a set of
innate archetypes present in the collective unconscious. Conversely, Joseph Campbell
held that religion was as necessary as any mythology and preferred to call himself “spir-
itual.” However, Campbell does acknowledge the essential role that rituals inherent in
organized religion play in a civilized society. Oddly, this contrast of faith is evident in the
composition of the epitaphs on these thinkers’ tombstones.
Whereas Campbell's headstone simply notes the locations and dates of birth and death,
Jung's is chiseled with two Latin inscriptions: Primus homo de terra terrenus. Secundus
homo de caelo caelestis. (The first man is of the earth. The second man is of heaven.) Voca-
tus atque non vocatus deus aderit. (Called or not called, God will be present.)
Jung's connection to the second of these is explained in a letter he wrote, on November
19, 1960, to author Eugene M. E. Rolfe, regarding the content of Rolfe’s book The Intelli-
gent Agnostic’s Introduction to Christianity (1959):

By the way, you seek the enigmatic oracle Vocatus atque non vocatus deus aderit in
vain in Delphi: it is cut in stone over the door of my house in Kisnacht near Zurich
and otherwise found in Erasmus’s collection of Adagia (XVIth cent.). It is a Delphic
oracle, though. It says, “Yes, the god will be on the spot, but in what form and to
what purpose?” I have put the inscription there to remind my patients and myself:
Timor dei initium sapientiae [The fear ofthe Lord is the beginning of wisdom]. Here

27
>
another not less important road begins, not the approach to “Christianity,” but to
7. HENDRICK GOLTZIUS (1558-1617)
God himself, and this seems to be the ultimate question.”
Creation of the Four Elements, 1589
Engraving, 8% x 11'/ in. (21.3 x 29.2 cm)
Plate 1 from Ovid, Metamorphoses Although Campbell considered himself “spiritual,” he believed God was a construct of
Ackland Art Museum, University of
the human mind, albeit a necessary one, while Jung was confident a higher power existed.
North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Burton
Emmett Collection Regardless, both agreed that religion is essential to a society’s well-being.

Many ancient cultures believed that

four essential elements—earth, air, fire, THE EMERGENCE OF ARCHET YPESIN RELIGION
and water—composed everything in the
physical universe. From those elements,
he development of world religions over thousands of years is a complicated tale,
Earth and all its beings were born.
though an oddly congruent one. The oldest known religions were developed by
those tilling the land for food. The earliest examples can be found in ancient Mes-
aN
8. JOHN MARTIN (1789-1854)
opotamia (the land between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in what is now eastern Syria,
The Creation of Light, 1824 southeastern Turkey, and Iraq) and the land along the Nile in Egypt. Both were inhab-
Mezzotint
ited by agrarian societies. Naturally, by witnessing the earth giving life to plants, which
Plate from John Milton, Paradise Lost
(1667-74)
could be harvested and used to reseed the earth, early agrarians understood the cycle of
The Cleveland Museum ofArt; Mr. and birth, life, and death. In fact, the beliefs of many peoples have some reference to humans
Mrs. Charles G. Prasse Collection
being formed from earth, as historian Karen Armstrong notes: “Some of the earliest cre-
ation myths in Europe and North America imagined the first humans emerging from the
earth like plants.”®
Many cultures from the dawn of humankind may have worshipped a primary female
divinity, a great goddess or earth mother—a giver of life. But there was a shift, from great
goddess to pantheon of multiple gods. In The Power of Myth, Joseph Campbell explains
this development, which, he says, “has made a psychological difference in the character
of our culture.”

The basic birth of Western civilization occurred in the great river valleys—the Nile,
the Tigris-Euphrates, the Indus, and later the Ganges. That was the world of the God-
dess. And then there came the invasions. Now, they started seriously in the fourth
millennium B.c. and became more and more devastating. The Semite invaders were
herders of goats and sheep, the Indo-Europeans of cattle. Both were formerly hunt-
ers, and so the cultures are essentially animal-oriented. When you have hunters, you
have killers. And when you have herders, you have killers, because they’re always in
movement, nomadic, coming into conflict... and conquering the areas into which
they move. And these invasions bring in warrior gods, thunderbolt hurlers, like
Zeus, or Yahweh.’

The beliefs held by nearly every society contain remarkable similarities. There is often
a tale ofa lost paradise, in which humankind communicated with a higher power. Here,
humans were immortal and lived peacefully among animals in nature. At the center of
this world was a focal point—a tree, a mountain, a garden—that allowed humans access
to godlike power and wisdom. This paradise was ended by a catastrophic event—the tree

28 JESSE KOWALSKI
O5 a = q 4 rs S Lib. IT.

Astra Ag radiant uthus inminct

Fil quibr P of4 tits5,
4 WAN cuUs
1aa = fulit 4 Afi. . vallz
Tt
was cut down, the mountain crumbled, a flood destroyed civilization—and then came the
realization that a human was nota god.*
Many early European explorers of the Americas were surprised to discover that sep-
arate cultures, which developed across vast distances in location and time, had strik-
ingly comparable religious rituals and beliefs. Jung explained the similarities through the
concept of the collective unconscious: “From the unconscious there emanate determin-
ing influences which, independently of tradition, guarantee in every single individual a
similarity and even a sameness of experience, and also ofthe way it is represented imag-
inatively. One of the main proofs of this is the almost universal parallelism between myth-
ological motifs.”
In his book History of the Conquest of Mexico, historian William H. Prescott detailed
the first meetings between Spanish explorers and the Aztecs of Mexico. The Spaniards
noted the striking similarities between Roman Catholicism and established Aztec rituals.
In one such example, the rite of baptism, the Aztecs sprinkled water over an infant and
asked their Lord to wash away the sins, “so that the child might be born anew.’ Prescott
also notes the commonality between the Judeo-Christian commandment that forbids
adultery and the Aztec belief that “he who looks too curiously on a woman commits
adultery with his eyes.” Furthermore, Aztec clergy “administered the rites of confession
and absolution. The secrets of the confessional were held inviolable, and penances were
imposed of much the same kind as those enjoined in the Roman Catholic Church?”
Creation stories of the Norse of northern Europe and the Algonquins of North Amer-
ica also share a common theme. In the Elder Edda (or Poetic Edda) of the Norse, writ-
ten in the thirteenth century, the god Odin formed a man from an ash tree and a woman
from an elm, then created Midgard, or Middle Earth, in which humankind could thrive.
Similarly, from the Algonquins, the Earth Mother’s son Glooskap made a man from the
trunk of an ash tree and formed smaller human beings, such as fairies and dwarfs, from
the ash tree’s bark.
Other motifs among disassociated religions include the fall of humankind, a great
flood, a hero, journeys to the underworld, visions of apocalypse (plate 9), and tales based
around water, earth, trees, and a serpent.
Water is present in nearly all creation stories: in the Yoruba religion of West Africa the
world was spawned from a marshy chaos in about 1000 BCE; in ancient Greece earth began
with Euryonme, the great goddess of all things, rising from the sea; in Japan the Kojiki,
an early sacred text of the Shinto religion, teaches that the world begins with three spirits
watching over a sea of chaos. Water still plays a central role in the Christian rite of baptism.
Earth is important in the Sioux tradition, as the Great Spirit molded a stone into the
first human; in the Mayan beliefin four gods who created human beings from clay, wood,
gold, and flesh; and in the book of Genesis of Christianity and Judaism, in which man was
formed from earth. As the Greek myth about the Titan Prometheus forewarns, bringing
people into being could lead to terrible consequences (plate 10).
The first human emerged froma tree in Persian and southern African traditions, in addi-
tion to the aforementioned Norse and Algonquin, while Buddha attained enlightenment

30 JESSE KOWALSKI
9. RICHARD VAN ORLEY (1663-1732)
The Fall of the Rebellious Angels, ca. 1690
Etching, 33% x 24% in. (85.1 x 62.9 cm)
Ackland Art Museum, University of North Carolina at Chapel
Hill; Burton Emmett Collection

Orley’s etching is designed after a 1620 painting by Peter Paul

Rubens, The Fall of the Damned.

10. PAUL CESAIRE GARIOT (1811-1880)

Pandora’s Box, ca. 1877
Oil on panel, 18 x 14% in. (45.7 x 37.5 cm)
Dahesh Museum ofArt, New York

In Greco-Roman mythology, Prometheus belonged to the race of Titans, who

created the earth. Prometheus formed the first humans from clay and water,
making them in the image ofhis race. As a gift, Prometheus provided humankind
with fire, which he removed from the realm ofthe gods. In one version ofthe
legend, Jupiter (the Roman name for Zeus) was so enraged that he created thefirst
woman, Pandora, and sent her to earth with a jar containing gifts. Upon opening
the jar, Pandora released plague and misery onto the human race; Jupiter had
achieved his revenge. Though the vessel is commonly referred to as “Pandora’s
box,” the Greeks believed Pandora carried a pithos, orjar.
under a tree. In the New Testament of the Christian Bible, Saint Paul (Galatians 3:13)
referred to a crucified Christ being “hanged on a tree.” The Christmas tree erected during
the celebration of the birth of Christ is an evergreen, which remains lush throughout the
dark winter; the leaves of deciduous trees die but experience a rebirth in the spring.

EVOLVING THEMES WITHIN FANTASY ART AND LITERATURE

he tradition of creation stories helped humans explain whence they came, and
these and other tales also developed pathways to enable people to reconcile the
figures that populate the unconscious. These include gods, fantastic creatures,
heroes, and others. Additionally, these evolving mythologies came to embody a culture's
understanding ofwhat is just and what is unjust.

Gods: From Many to One

As ancient polytheistic cultures evolved, their religious beliefs also shifted. In the time line
of humankind, this change happened relatively quickly. Although many early societies
lived in a world created and populated by gods, both good and evil, revolutionary think-
ers in ancient Greece began to challenge core beliefs of the polytheistic worldview. Karen
Armstrong, a comparative-religion scholar, explains how this transition came about:

Urban life had changed mythology. The gods were beginning to seem remote.
Increasingly, the old rituals and stories failed to project men and women into the
divine realm, which had once seemed so close. ... There was a spiritual vacuum.
In some parts of the civilized world, the old spirituality declined and nothing new
appeared to take its place. ... By the eighth century Bc, the malaise was becoming
more widespread, and in four distinct regions an impressive array of prophets and
sages began to seek a new solution... . Confucianism and Taoism in China; Bud-
dhism and Hinduism in India; monotheism in the Middle East; and Greek rational-
ism in Europe.” |

Monotheistic Judaism had begun in about 500 BcE and gained followers in the Near
East around the same time the teachings of Buddha found devotees in India and eastern
Asia. One of the world’s oldest religions, Hinduism, whose followers worshipped a mul-
titude of gods, strengthened its reach throughout India and Southeast Asia ca. 400 BCE.
The development ofscience, philosophy, and mathematics in ancient Greece brought
forth many questions from thinkers such as the philosopher Aristotle (384-322 BCE), the
mathematician Euclid (flourished ca. 300 BCE), and the engineer Archimedes (287-212
BCE). Greek society began moving away from polytheism to a beliefin one powerful god
who was responsible for creating and overseeing the world.
The changing beliefs of Greek society had a strong impact on cultures in surrounding
regions. During the Hellenistic period (ca. 323-31 BCE), a shift away from polytheism was

32 JESSE KOWALSKI
11. ALBRECHT DURER
(1471-1528)
The Last Judgment, ca. 1510
Woodcut, 5 x 33% in.
(12.7 X 9.5 cm)
Plate from Albrecht Diirer,
The Small Passion (ca. 1510)
The Metropolitan Museum of
Art, New York; Gift ofJunius
Spencer Morgan, 1919

The Small Passion was a

small devotional book with
thirty-six woodcut plates
illustrating the narrative of
the Passion, the life, suffering,
death, and resurrection of
Jesus. The Last Judgment,
in which Christ returns to
pass judgment on humanity,
is the final plate. Displeased
with the quality of artwork
being produced by his fellow
countrymen, Durer was one
of the first German artists to
travel to Italy in order to study
the art of the Renaissance.
Achieving great success
during his lifetime, Diirer
emphasized the importance
of proportion and perspective
and came to be known as
the “Leonardo of the North.”
Diirer’s skillfulness with
engraving was unrivaled.
He was one of the first true
illustrators, as he produced
numerous engravings for
book illustrations and, as
described in Gardner’s Art
through the Ages (1976, p.
608), “circulated and sold
prints in single sheets, which
men of ordinary means could
buy and which made him a
‘people’s artist’ quite as much
as a model for professionals.”
gaining ground.in Mesopotamian culture. In nearby Egypt, the Greeks built the great
Library of Alexandria (ca. 300 BCE), which contained between forty thousand and four
hundred thousand scrolls and became a source for knowledge in the region.
The Romans took a different attitude toward worship than the Greeks. Beginning in
27 CE, when the first Roman emperor, Augustus, gained power, adoration was to be paid
to the rulers of Rome, while the gods lost favor. Though some still adored the ancient gods,
they were viewed as cultists. This period marked the beginning of the Roman Empire,
when the state took control over citizens of three continents.
‘Within a relatively short amount of time, the three Abrahamic religions (Judaism,
Christianity, and Islam) became the dominant religions of Europe, North Africa, and the
Middle East. Some five hundred years after Judaism's founding, Christianity was born
(first century CE). Islam followed in the seventh century, with the revelation of the sacred
scriptures of the Quran. The change in religious beliefs naturally required an alteration of
religious symbols. Winged horses and councils of gods were replaced by prophets, angels,
and one God (plate 11).
The Christian God had a message, passed down from Hebrew scriptures, that reso-
nated with the Greeks and Romans. The religions oftheir cultures evolved once the sym-
bols of the gods of mythology became irrelevant. The Roman Empire formally adopted
Christianity in about 320 CE, as Rome’s power in the world was diminishing. When the
polytheism that had prevailed in the Middle East disappeared, the message of Muham-
mad, the prophet of Islam, carried forth through the region and into North Africa. The
monotheistic faiths brought new meaning to the structure of human civilization, which
had worshipped a plurality of gods for millennia. Joseph Campbell wrote, “In the begin-
ning, God was simply the most powerful god among many. He is just a local tribal god.
And then... the notion of aworld savior came in, and the biblical divinity moves into a
new dimension.”
<>
The world’s ancient civilizations—those with their multitudes of gods as well as those
worshipping a single, omniscient God—show similarities not only in their belief systems
but in the iconography that developed. Artwork expressed belief, or it illustrated myths
and folklore. It could even serve as talisman, influencing the gods or their effects. Orig-
inating in about 1,000 BCE in the polytheist Mesopotamian civilizations of Assyria and
Babylonia, Pazuzu was a god associated with the demons ofthe underworld. The brother
of Humbaba, the forest giant killed by Gilgamesh (see plate 19), Pazuzu was often por-
trayed with the head of a lion or dog, a pair of wings on his back, and the tail ofa scor-
pion. However, during the Neo-Assyrian period (ca. 900-600 BCE), women in labor
would often wear a stone or metal head of Pazuzu around the neck to protect them from
the evil goddess Lamashtu, who would sneak into a pregnant woman's home in attempt
to bring about a miscarriage (plate 12). The sight of Pazuzu would send Lamashtu back
to the underworld.”
Greco-Roman sculptures of mythological figures carved thousands of years ago express
the power not only ofgods but of the myths themselves (plate 13). These ancient tales have

34 JESSE KOWALSKI
12. ASSYRIAN 13. ITALIAN In Greco-Roman legend, the strongman
Pendant with the head of Pazuzu, ca. eighth-seventh Hercules, ca. 30 BCE Heracles is ordered to perform twelve
century BCE Bronze with silver and copper inlays, labors by his half-brother, King Eurystheus
Bronze, 1% X 1X 1in. (4.3 X 2.65 X 2.65 cm) 55% X 3¥% in. (14.3 X 7.9 cm) (see plate 4). The first was to kill a deadly
The Metropolitan Museum ofArt, New York; Purchase, The Cleveland Museum ofArt; lion that the goddess Hera had sent to the
Norbert Schimmel and Robert Haber Gifts, and funds Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund Nemean valley. Realizing that his club and
from various donors, 1993 arrows could notpenetrate the beast’s flesh,
Heracles trapped the lion in a cave, where
he wrestled it to death. He then used the
lion’s own claws to skin the animal. Heracles
wore the hide during his return to King
been favorite subjects of poets, storytellers, sculptors, painters, and illustrators through- Eurystheus as proof of hisaccomplishment.
out history, into modern times. Many Westerners are familiar with the hierarchy of Gre- One can easily identify depictions of
Heracles, since he is typically shown with his
co-Roman gods, topped by Zeus (known to the Romans as Jupiter), the god of thunder,
club and the lion’s skin.
who ruled from the top of Mount Olympus alongside the goddess Hera (Roman Juno).
The stories told of their world in artistic and written works often involve capricious gods
interfering with humans, forcing them to perform impossible tasks, tormenting them,
tricking them, seducing them, and punishing them.
The Roman poet Ovid (43 BCE-17CE), inhis epic poem Metamorphoses (ca.8 CE), exten-
sively detailed the Greco-Roman and other mythological and historical tales in chrono-
logical order, from the beginning of time through the death of Julius Caesar, in 44 BCE.
The stories, filling fifteen volumes, established the literary structure for the accounts of
such figures of myth and legend as Perseus and Andromeda (plate 3), Heracles (plates 4

The Birth of Fantasy 35

14. JULES JOSEPH LEFEBVRE (1836-1911)
Diana, 1879
Oil on panel, 12 x 10% in. (30.5 x 26.7 cm)
Dahesh Museum of Art, New York

Diana the huntress (known to the Greeks

as Artemis) was among the most beloved
ofgoddesses. As described in Ovid’s
Metamorphoses, the young hunter Actaeon
glimpsed Diana and her nymphs as they
bathed after a hunt. When the nymphs
spotted Actaeon observing them, Diana
became so enraged she turned him into a
stag, and he was hunted down and eaten
by his own hounds. Lefebvre was a master
painter and a respected teacher in Paris.

and 13), Cupid (plate 5), Diana (plate 14), the nymphs (plates 32 and 139), Pyramus and
Thisbe (plate 51), Orpheus (plate 147), Narcissus, Venus, Theseus, the Minotaur, Icarus,
Pygmalion, and Bacchus.
The burgeoning Abrahamic religions developed a storytelling and artistic tradition
that wasn’t entirely separate from the old beliefs. Joseph Campbell explains that religious
symbolism was brought forth from previous cultures:

The virgin birth comes into Christianity by way of the Greek tradition. When you
read the four gospels, for example, the only one in which the virgin birth appears is
the Gospel according to Luke, and Luke was a Greek. [In the Greek tradition] there
were Leda and the swan, Persephone and the serpent, and this one and that one and
the other one. The virgin birth is represented throughout.

36 JESSE KOWALSKI
 Winged beings too are prevalent throughout world beliefs. The
Egyptian god Horus, the mythological winged horse Pegasus, the
Aztec god Huitzilopochtli, the Tengu of Japanese folklore, and the
winged bulls of Assyria are just a few examples. Winged female
spirits, analogous to the angels of Christianity, were first described
in the sacred Hindu text Rigveda, a collection of hymns to dei-
ties, composed ca. 1700-1100 BCE. Apsaras are often described
as sensual beings that entertain with music and dance, as in this
passage from an ancient Indian epic poem, The Mahabharata
of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa: “O monarch, | happily lived in
Sakra’s abode, well cared for, having all my desires gratified, learn-
ing weapons, listening to the notes of songs, and the clear sounds
of musical instruments, and beholding the foremost of Apsaras
dance.”
Angels became prevalent in monotheistic religions as servants
of God, often as messengers who interact with humans (plate 15).
The archangel Gabriel is a messenger figure in Judaism, Christi-
anity, and Islam. An archangel is prophesied, in both Jewish and
Christian texts, to warn ofa day of reckoning for all humans, God's
Last Judgment, a concept also found in Islam and Iranian Zoroas-
trianism. Joel 2:1 of the Hebrew Bible proclaims: “Blowye the horn
in Zion, / And sound an alarm in My holy mountain; / Let all the
inhabitants of the land tremble; / For the day of the Lord cometh,
/ For it is at hand.” Saint Paul’s letter of IThessalonians 4:16, from 15. FRENCH
the New Testament of the Christian Bible predicts: “For the Lord himself will come down Manuscript page with angels, 1250-75
Page from calendar with “drawing of seasonal
from heaven with a mighty shout and with the soul-stirring cry of the archangel and the
activity”
great trumpet-call of God.” The New York Public Library; Manuscripts
As there are angels in many traditions, there are demons. In Judaism and Christi- and Archives Division

anity, the spirit of evil is personified by Satan, a fallen angel (plate 16). The Christian Illuminated manuscripts, largely made before
Book of Revelation 12: 1-9 details the fall of Satan and the other “rebellious angels” from the printing press was developed in the 1400s,
often required years of dedication for their
heaven:
creation. The handmade books were typically
vellum pages filled with painted imagery and
A great pageant appeared in heaven, portraying things to come. I saw a woman hand-drawn text, highlighted with gold or
silver leaf. In one medieval tradition, monks
clothed with the sun, with the moon beneath her feet, and a crown of twelve stars spent years hand-inking, painting, and
on her head. She was pregnant and screamed in the pain of her labor, awaiting her applying metal leaf to highly valued books
delivery. depicting Christian scenes. Many manuscripts
were books of hours, which contained religious
Suddenly, a red Dragon appeared, with seven heads and ten horns, and seven imagery and text, including prayers to be said
crowns on his heads. His tail drew along behind him a third of the stars, which he at certain times of day.
plunged to the earth. He stood before the woman as she was about to give birth to her
child, ready to eat the baby as soon as it was born. She gave birth to a boy who was to
rule all nations with a heavy hand, and he was caught up to God and to his throne.
The woman fled into the wilderness, where God had prepared a place for her. ...

The Birth of Fantasy 37

16. JOHN MARTIN (1789-1854) Then there was war in heaven; Michael and the angels under his command fought
Satan in Council, 1827
Mezzotint on laid paper, 10% x 14% in.
the Dragon and his hosts of fallen angels. And the Dragon lost the battle and was
(26.7 X 36.9 cm) forced from heaven. This great Dragon—the ancient serpent called the devil, or
Plate from John Milton, Paradise Lost Satan, the one deceiving the whole world—was thrown down onto the earth with
(1667-74), book 2, line 1
Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute,
all his army.
Williamstown, Massachusetts

Naturally, the description of the red horned dragon and the epic battle has inspired
In the multivolume epic poem Paradise
Lost, British writer and historian John artists throughout the centuries (plate 17), just as the grace and beauty of winged horses,
Milton (1608-1674) writes ofthe Garden of gods, and benevolent angels have. The fall of the winged angels perhaps echoes the fall
Eden, the temptation of Adam and Eve by
the serpent, the fall of humankind, Satan’s
of Icarus, who flew too close to the sun, forgetting his place among the earthbound, in
battle with the archangel Michael, and Greco-Roman myth.
the fall of Satan and the rebellious angels.
Numerous artists have interpreted the
poem, including William Blake, Gustave
The Hero's Journey
Doré, and John Martin.

The appearance of heroes in literature marks a revolution in thought that occurred

when poets and their audiences turned their attention away from immortal gods to
mortal men, who suffer pain and death, but in defiance ofthis live gallantly and fully,
and create, through their own efforts, a moment's glory that survives in the memory
of their descendants. They are the first human beings in literature, and the novelty
oftheir experiences has a perennial freshness.
—“Hero, Encyclopedia Britannica’®

The first known writing was created on clay tablets in Mesopotamia in about 3200 BCE.
During the rapid development ofcivilization in the region, the Sumerians devised a new

greed bay
“ve he a ate pit DBDs,
ey
 17. PIETER BRUEGEL THE ELDER
way to communicate, disseminate, and preserve information with pictograms, which (1525-1569)
The Fall of the Rebel Angels, 1562
evolved into cuneiform (“wedge-shaped”) writing—made by pressing wedge-shaped
Oil on panel, 46 x 64 in. (116.8 x 162.6 cm)
marks into wet clay with a reed stylus. Through use, these markings developed into pat- Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium,
terns and conventions with which the people of the region could record mythological Brussels

tales, business dealings, and rules for civic governance (plate 18). Independently, the Though he produced a prodigious number
Egyptians began using hieroglyphs shortly after the Sumerians began writing. oflandscape paintings, Pieter Bruegel
The earliest known writings on religion are found in the Pyramid Texts from ancient was unmistakably influenced by the style
of Hieronymus Bosch (plate 2). Bruegel’s
Egypt, from about 2400 BCE, and in the Sumerian Epic of Gilgamesh, from about 2100 religious works too are often chaotic and
BCE. The latter is also the earliest example of the hero’s journey, a classic story struc- difficult to decipher. However, the title ofthe
work presented here makes clear the subject
ture seen in tales worldwide and through time, in which a hero sets out on an adventure,
of this painting, in which angels high in
encounters adversity, prevails, and returns home transformed. Homer’s Iliad and Odys- the heavens blow their horns to signal the
sey, J. R. R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, and George Lucas’s Star Wars all include the essen- pandemonium below, during the epic battle
between the angels and demons, many of
tial aspects of a hero's epic story—basic archetypes, human frailties, and a journey that
whom have assumed unearthly forms.
includes adventure, loss, and redemption.

The Birth of Fantasy 39

18. BABYLONIAN
Cylinder seal with the goddess Ishtar, ca.
eighteenth-seventeenth century BCE There are stories of heroines as well—those of Gudrun of Norse legend and Joan of Arc,
Hematite, 1 in. (2.5 cm)
for example—but the traditional depiction of the heroic figure is male. Joseph Campbell
The Metropolitan Museum ofArt, New
York; Gift of Martin and Sarah Cherkasky, asserted that this was because women had a powerful, innate purpose, while men had to
1987 go seek theirs: “[A] girl becomes a woman with her first menstruation. ... And what is a
In artifacts from Sumer (a part of ancient woman? A woman is a vehicle of life ... [with] the giving of birth and the giving of nour-
Babylonia), characters that represented ishment. She is identical with the earth goddess in her powers. ... The boy does not have
sounds and syllables were combined with
a happening of this kind, so he has to be turned into a man and voluntarily become a ser-
illustrations of real-life or symbolic events.
Cylinder seals such as this one (left) were vant of something greater than himself?”
devised as an early printing press, as the
images and characters could be reprinted
by rolling the cylinder on multiple pieces
GILGAMESH
of clay (right). Recorded in cuneiform, the The Epic of Gilgamesh, the oldest existing example of literature and one of the oldest reli-
Epic of Gilgamesh included reference to the gious texts, was written on cuneiform tablets in numerous versions beginning about 2100
goddess Ishtar, depicted here.
BCE and appeared in its most complete version by about 1200 BCE. It tells the tale of Gil-
gamesh, the ruler of the first major city, Uruk, in Sumer, ca. 2750 BCE.
In 1844, during an excavation of the ancient city of Nineveh, near what is now Mosul,
Iraq, British archaeologist Austen Henry Layard discovered a vast trove of previously
unknown ancient historical records. While excavating the site, he and his team located
chambers and libraries filled with more than twenty-five thousand cuneiform tablets,
which were then shipped to the British Museum. In 1872, curator George Smith began
translating the tablets, written in a syllabic script using the cuneiform method, and real-
ized there was a story similar to that of Noah and the flood; it turned out to be a section
of the much larger story of Gilgamesh.
The Gilgamesh epic contains numerous archetypes, motifs, and situations that have
been repeated throughout recorded history. The tale explains that Gilgamesh was two-
thirds divine and one-third human, since his mother was a goddess and his mortal

40 JESSE KOWALSKI
father became a god. Gilgamesh was an exemplary figure, the epic
reveals: “The goddess Aruru, mother of creation, had designed
his body, had made him the strongest of men—huge, handsome,
radiant, perfect.’ However, the citizens of Uruk were not pleased
with their ruler and prayed to Anu, “father of them all,” to kill Gil-
gamesh, complaining ofhis pride, greed, and arrogance.
Anu demanded Aruru “create a double for Gilgamesh,” who
would equal Gilgamesh’s might and subdue him. Aruru created
Enkidu, an animalistic, hirsute man with no knowledge of human-
ity. Atrapper discovered him in the wilderness, and brought Sham-
hat, Ishtar’s priestess, from Uruk to have sex with Enkidu, so that
he would become a man and the animals would be estranged from
him. The story notes the pair engaged in sexual relations for seven
days. Afterward, Enkidu found the animals would not come near
him, and “he knew that his mind had somehow grown larger, he
knew things now that an animal can’t know.’
Enkidu traveled to Uruk to battle Gilgamesh. However, after
a skirmish, they became close friends. Gilgamesh asked Enkidu
to join him in the Cedar Forest to kill a fierce dragon-like mon-
ster named Humbaba, to “drive out evil from the world” (plate 19).
Gilgamesh boasted to the citizens of Uruk, “I will journey to meet
the monster Humbaba, I will walk a road that no man has trav-
eled, I will face a combat that no man has known.’ After his success
in defeating Humbaba, the goddess Ishtar, seducer of men, asked
19. SYRIAN
Gilgamesh to marry her. He mocked her for the way she used men, and she asked Anu to Relief with Two Heroes, tenth-ninth
destroy Gilgamesh. Anu sent a bull to attack Gilgamesh, but it was Enkidu who suffered century BCE
Basalt, 24% x 16% x 6% in.
fatal injuries. Realizing his own mortality, Gilgamesh journeyed east, hoping to learn the (65.1 X 41.9 X 15.9 cm)
secret of eternal life from a man named Utnapishtim, rumored to have been made immor- The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore;
tal by the gods. To reach Utnapishtim, Gilgamesh had to travel “the hidden road through Museum purchase, 1944

the underworld.” After exiting the tunnel, Gilgamesh arrived at a tavern for a brief respite. This relief, excavated from a site in Syria,
He explained his plans to the tavern keeper, who reminded Gilgamesh, “Humans are displays what appears to be a scene from
the Epic of Gilgamesh, in which Gilgamesh
born, they live, then they die, this is the order that the gods have decreed.” Joseph Camp-
and Enkidu battle the monster Humbaba.
bell agrees, writing, “It is a basic theme—that which dies is born. You have to have death
in order to have life.”"*
Once Gilgamesh located him, the immortal Utnapishtim questioned Gilgamesh’s
desire to live forever, noting, “Though no one has seen death’s face or heard death's voice,
suddenly, savagely, death destroys us, all of us, old or young.” Utnapishtim told Gilgamesh
that he became immortal after he was warned that all the gods agreed they should punish
the sins of humankind with a great flood that would destroy all life. One of the gods told
him to “build a great ship” and “gather and take aboard the ship examples of every living
creature.” He explained he tested to see whether the waters had receded by sending out
birds, including a dove, as does Noah in a later iteration ofthe flood story.

The Birth of Fantasy 4l

 Utnapishtim suggested Gilgamesh could achieve eternal
life ifhe could recover a particular plant from the bottom of
the waters of the Great Deep. If he ate the plant, he would
gain eternal life. Wary of the task, Gilgamesh decided to
return home to have a subject test the plant first. On his
journey home, “He left the plant on the ground and bathed.
A snake smelled its fragrance, stealthily it crawled up and
carried the plant away. As it disappeared, it cast off its skin.”
Gilgamesh returned to Uruk with acceptance of the knowl-
edge that a man is meant to be born, live his life, and die.””
The impact of the Epic of Gilgamesh on world culture is
immeasurable. As the first text of its kind, the story presents
numerous archetypes—the hero, a battle with a dragon,
a great flood, a journey through the underworld, and the
symbolism of serpent, water, and tree—that have been
recycled in written legends and fairy tales, adapted by world
religions, and form the basis of fantasy.

4
7
Dy i —
Vip \ ture Fe
4“
=
HEROES AND DRAGONS
The dragon is a recurring theme in fantasy and mythology,
figuring prominently in epics of the hero's journey. In Greek
mythology, Jason must retrieve the Golden Fleece, which is
guarded by a dragon. Alexander the Great was said to have
encountered a dragon in India or Persia, where the Mace-
20. IRANIAN
Sikandar and the Dragon, ca. 1680 donian conqueror was known as Sikandar (plate 20). Some of the earliest texts about
Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper, men slaying dragons were written in Greek and Latin in 400-500 cE. The Louvre con-
13% X 8% in. (34.9 X 21.9 cm)
tains a sculpture, from a window created in the fourth century, depicting the Egyptian
Museum ofArt, Rhode Island School
of Design, Providence; Museum god Horus slaying a crocodile with a spear. The book of Revelation (the last book of the
Appropriation Fund New Testament, also called the Apocalypse of John) tells of Saint Michael the Archangel
The Shah-nameh, the Persian “Book
triumphing over Satan in the form of a dragon (plate 21). ,
of Kings,” completed by the epic poet Joseph Campbell explained the significance of dragon slaying in myth: “The hero,
Ferdowsi in about 1010, includes the story
on encountering the power of the dark, may overcome and kill it, as did Siegfried and
of Sikandar, or Alexander the Great, the
Macedonian king who conquered the St. George when they killed the dragon. But as Siegfried learned, he must then taste the
Persian empire in the fourth century BCE. dragon blood, in order to take to himself something of that dragon power. When Sieg-
fried has killed the dragon and tasted the blood, he hears the song of nature. He has tran-
scended his humanity and reassociated himself with the powers of nature, which are the
powers of our life, and from which our minds remove us.’”°
Written in 1200 CE, the Germanic epic Song of the Nibelungs includes the slaying ofthe
dragon Fafnir by the heroic Siegfried. The first part of the story, Das Rheingold, may strike
a familiar note with Lord of the Rings fans: it tells of the search for a stolen magic ring—
forged from Rhine river gold by the dwarf Alberich—that grants the wearer the power to
control the world. German Composer Richard Wagner used the tale as the basis of his

42 JESSE KOWALSKI
 <<
21. GERMAN
St. Michael and the Dragon, late
1100s-early 1200s
Ink and pigments on velvety
parchment of medium thickness,
9 X 5% in. (22.9 X 14.9 cm)
The Walters Art Museum,
Baltimore

Countless artworks have been

created over the last few thousand
years depicting men and sometimes
women slaying dragons. These
paintings, drawings, tapestries,
and etchings feature a number of
Christian saints, including Saint
George, Saint Michael, Saint
Margaret, Saint Samson, Saint
Philip, Saint Martha, and Saint
Florent dAnjou, to name just a few.

<S

22. BERNAT MARTORELL

(1390-1452)
Saint George and the Dragon,
1434/35
Tempera on panel, 614 x 38% in.
(155.6 X 98.1 cm)
The Art Institute of Chicago; Gift
of Mrs. Richard E. Danielson and
Mrs. Chauncey McCormick

Often shown riding a white horse,

the early Christian martyr Saint
1876 opera The Ring of the Nibelung, and German director Fritz Lang’s landmark silent George was named patron saint of
fantasy film Die Nibelungen (1924) is based directly on the original tale. England by King Edward III in 1350.
Since Saint George, said to be a Roman soldier, was beheaded in 303 CE for refusing to
renounce his Christian faith, many legends have evolved detailing his exploits. The most
famous is the tale in which the warrior saves a Libyan city from the ravages of a terrible
dragon, first described in the Legenda aurea (Golden Legend), a compendium of stories
of the saints’ lives compiled by Jacobus De Voragine around 1260-75 (plate 22). The king
had given his daughter in sacrifice to the monster, and George came upon her, and said,
“Tell to me what have ye and why weep ye, and doubt ye of nothing.”

She said to him how she was delivered to the dragon. Then said S. George: Fair
daughter, doubt ye no thing hereof for I shall help thee in the name of Jesu Christ. She
said: For God’s sake, good knight, go your way, and abide not with me, for ye may not
deliver me. Thus as they spake together the dragon appeared and came running to
them, and S. George was upon his horse, and drew out his sword and garnished him
with the sign of the cross, and rode hardily against the dragon which came towards
him, and smote him with his spear and hurt him sore and threw him to the ground.”

The Birth of Fantasy 43

 As the power.and reach of the Roman Empire began to diminish in the Middle Ages,
the nations of Europe were left to defend themselves. Knights, then men of low rank,
originated from the model of the Roman soldier and were often attached to a church. By
around 1200 CE, when European governments began to expand and prosper, knights held
a mark of nobility and were selected from families of the highest stature. They became,
in turn, the heroes of countless legends, and their attributes became synonymous with
the qualities that defined heroism. Campbell ascribed “five main virtues” of the medieval
knight: “One is temperance, another is courage, another is love, another is loyalty, and
another is courtesy. Courtesy is respect for the decorum of the society in which you are
living.”?”
Naturally, for a hero to rise, there must be a villain, foe, or shadow figure to stand in
his way. Jung named the darkness in human consciousness the “shadow, one of the most
basic archetypes we all carry within ourselves. He wrote, “The shadow is a living part of
the personality and therefore wants to live with it in some form. It cannot be argued out of
existence or rationalized into harmlessness. This problem is exceedingly difficult, because
it not only challenges the whole man, but reminds him at the same time of his helpless-
ness and ineffectuality.’”* The shadow, therefore, must be confronted and controlled by
the archetypal hero.
Throughout the history of humankind, villains have taken all forms. In Greek and
Roman mythology, there were many villains, including several of the gods. Christian-
ity’s primary villain is Satan. In heroic journeys, Gilgamesh faced the wrath of Ishtar,
and Beowulf beheaded Grendel and slew Grendel's mother. Gandalf and Frodo struggled
against Sauron’s forces in Tolkien’s more recent mythology. Even to this day, children are
entertained—and frightened—at bedtime with tales of young heroes and heroines going
up against the Big Bad Wolf, a wicked stepmother, and all manner ofwitches.

Fantastic Creatures

Powerful serpents were among the earliest creatures of mythology, figuring in the sto-
ries of cultures around the world. Joseph Campbell describes the animal’s compelling
symbolism:

The power oflife causes the snake to shed its skin just as the moon sheds its shadow.
The serpent sheds its skin to be born again, as the moon its shadow to be born again.
Sometimes the serpent is represented as a circle eating its own tail. That’s an image
of life. Life sheds one generation after another, to be born again. The serpent rep-
resents immortal energy and consciousness engaged in the field oftime, constantly
throwing off death and being born again. ... And so the serpent carries in itself the
sense ofboth the fascination and the terror oflife.”*

The serpent thus appears in the texts of many religions, with references to the slough-
ing of skin, rebirth, and the eternal circle of life. The Babylonian god of chaos, Tiamat,

44 JESSE KOWALSKI
 23. UTAGAWA KUNIYOSHI (1798-1861)
Recovering the Stolen Jewel from the Palace of
is described as a huge winged serpent or dragon. The serpent of the waters, Ophion, the Dragon King (Ryugu Tamatori Hime no
su), 1853
appears in ancient Greece, ca. 800 BCE. Serpents are wrapped around the caduceus car-
Three-paneled polychrome woodblock print,
ried by Hermes. In Christian dogma, God made “great sea-serpents” during creation, and each panel 14% x 10 in. (37.5 X 25.4 cm)
the serpent that lurks in the Garden of Eden plays an outsize role in the fate of humanity. Museum ofArt, Rhode Island School of
Design, Providence; Elizabeth T. and
Nagas, figures in Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism, are semidivine serpentine beings
Dorothy N. Casey Fund
often depicted as half human and half cobra; they can be dangerous or beneficial to
people. Several other sea serpents and sea dragons evolved from the Naga legend in the Japanese printmaker Utagawa Kuniyoshi
created a prodigious number ofprints
East (plate 23). Many early Japanese myths of a dragon sea-god evolved from Chinese depicting scenes of everyday Japanese life,
and Korean versions based on the older Indian Naga legend. Japanese scholar Marinus heroic warriors, and mythological events. This
work relates a variation of an ancient tale in
Willem de Visser notes that as Buddhism spread from India to Japan, “original Japanese
which aprincess retrieves a lost jewel from the
sea- and river-gods had to give way to the Indian conquerors; therefore most of the drag- home of a dragon king.
ons, mentioned in later works, are Naga.” A ninth-century Chinese Buddhist tale also
refers to a dragon-king, “who lived in a palace at the bottom of a pond?”
The dragon originates from the serpent, as Campbell explains: “A constant image is
that of the conflict of the eagle and the serpent. The serpent is bound to the earth, the
eagle in spiritual flight—isn’t that conflict something we all experience? And then, then
the two amalgamate, we get a wonderful dragon, a serpent with wings.’”® In Chinese lore,
dragons have long held a positive connotation, and for the past two thousand years the
dragon has been a symbol associated with the emperor (plate 24). First recorded in the
I-Ching, or “Book of Changes” (ca. 1200 BCE), the dragon “has been from the earliest
time the emblem with the Chinese of the highest dignity and wisdom, of sovereignty and
sagehood, the combination of which constitutes ‘the great man.””’ In modern Chinese
culture, the dragon is celebrated each Chinese New Year in a dance in which several par-
ticipants operate within a large, constructed dragon.

The Birth of Fantasy 45

>
24. CHINESE
Dragon, 400-600 CE
Earthenware with traces of polychromy,
129 X 13 X 5% in. (31.4 X 33 X 14.9 cm)
Museum ofArt, Rhode Island School of
Design, Providence; Appropriation Fund

~
25. MARTIN SCHONGAUER (1448-1491)
The Griffin, 1400s
Engraving, 44 x 4% in. (10.8 x 10.5 cm)
The Cleveland Museum ofArt; Dudley P.
Allen Fund

The mythological griffin is at least as

old as the dragon. Beginning in 1839, the
British archaeologist Austen Henry Layard
uncovered the ruins of several ancient
cities in upper Mesopotamia, near what
is now Mosul, Iraq. Among the buildings,
cuneiform tablets, and statues, which were
thousands of years old, Layard uncovered
depictions of creatures such as winged lions
similar in form to what is now commonly
known as a griffin.
 In addition to serpents and dragons, creatures unique to each culture have been essen-
tial to understanding the unknown. Some creatures were part-human hybrids—horselike
centaurs, Dionysus-worshipping satyrs possessing goatlike features, and mermen and
mermaids (see plates 33, 34, and 177). Half-fish, half-human creatures appear in numer-
ous cultures throughout history, most notably as the female Sirens of Greek mythology,
which lure sailors to their doom with their beauty and sweet song. Hans Christian Ander-
sen (1805-1875) transformed the ancient myth, making the hybrid creature the heroine
in The Little Mermaid, written for inclusion in his 1837 publication Fairy Tales Told for
Children.
The Greek god Pan, typically depicted as half man and half goat (see plates 48, 161, and
162), watched over shepherds and their flocks, though he was also known for his overt
sexuality. Pan boasted that he had relations with every Maenad, priestesses and laywomen
who followed Bacchus (Dionysus), the god of wine. An impish god, Pan would often
frighten people or animals for his own delight. The word panic is derived from panikos—a
Greek word related to the god.”*
Other fanciful creatures of legend were more benign, or even helpful, such as the uni-
corn and Pegasus, the winged horse. The sphinx (human and lion) and griffin (eagle and
lion or bull), appearing some four thousand years ago, may have had a protective func-
tion (plate 25). Some creatures were more sinister, such as the trolls feared by the Norse;
the vampires that developed from Slavic mythology; and, from the more modern tales of
H. P. Lovecraft (1890-1937), the Great Old Ones, such as Cthulhu, who terrorized anyone
unlucky enough to cross their paths.
Early twentieth-century author Lovecraft is responsible for creating one of the most
horrifying and complex fantasies of his time. Writing in a genre known as “weird fiction,’
Lovecraft was a master of conjuring tales heavy with impending doom and filled with hor-
rible creatures and people driven insane through strange encounters. “Dagon, written in
1917 and released in the widely read pulp magazine Weird Tales in October 1923, details
the beginning of what is now known as the “Cthulhu Mythos.””? The mythos comprises a
group oftales, including the novellas The Shadow over Innsmouth and At the Mountains
of Madness, describing alien monsters that ruled Earth long ago but have since been put
to rest—or so it seems.
Cthulhu, a shape-shifting monster that resembles an octopus merged with a dragon, is
named one ofthe Great Old Ones in “The Call of Cthulhu,” which debuted in Weird Tales
in February 1928 (plate 26). The story, which describes its protagonist’s imprisonment in
the sunken city of R’lyeh, begins:

The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to
correlate all its contents. We live on a placid island of ignorance in the midst of black
seas of infinity, and it was not meant that we voyage far. The sciences, each strain-
ing in its own direction, have hitherto harmed us little; but some day the piecing
together of dissociated knowledge will open up such terrifying vistas of reality, and
of our frightful position therein that we shall either go mad from the revelation or

The Birth of Fantasy 47

 flee from the deadly light into the peace and safety ofa
new dark age.*°

Other monsters in the Cthulhu Mythos include the

Outer Gods Azathoth and Yog-Sothoth, the Great Old One
Shub-Niggurath, and the horrifying Shoggoths. Lovecraft
never actually used the term “Cthulhu Mythos” to describe
the group of related stories, and, Lovecraft expert Leslie S.
Klinger notes, he “never spoke seriously about any mythol-
ogy or pseudomythology.” The term developed after the writ-
er’s death. “Lovecraft’s essential view,’ Klinger continues,
“was that much of the cosmos is in fact without rules, at least
rules intelligible to humans, and that it is not only inaccu-
rate but inartistic to depict alien beings and worlds in human
terms. [Lovecraft’s] stories were not based on some carefully
crafted thought-out tapestry of language and mythology, nor
even a consistent backstory.”
In fact, Lovecraft was satisfied to let his creations live on in
the minds ofother artists and authors, considering his char-
acters “open source” material.** A century later, Lovecraft’s
monsters and stories have been adapted by scores of authors
into compilations of their own, and numerous films and
26. H. P. LOVECRAFT (1890-1937)
role-playing games have centered on the Cthulhu Mythos.
Sketch of statue of Cthulhu, 1934 Stories, whether old or new, evolve as they are passed on, perpetuated by word of mouth,
From H. P. Lovecraft, The New Annotated in written form, and through works ofart.
H. P. Lovecraft, ed. Leslie S. Klinger (New
York: Liveright Publishing, 2014)
Fairy Tales
Lovecraft sent this sketch of his most
famous creation to his friend R. H. Barlow
with the note, “To R. H. Barlow, Esq., Many of the fairy tales that remain popular today first appeared in collections published
whose sculpture hath given immortality to by Charles Perrault, the Brothers Grimm, and Hans Christian Andersen. The stories,
this trivial design ofhis obliged obedient
servant, H. P. Lovecraft.”
however, evolved from folklore passed down for many generations. Fairy tales typically
involve a childlike figure who encounters a hindrance on what should be a simple jour-
ney from point A to point B. The hero or heroine’s typical antagonists include a trickster,
an evil stepmother, and one of an assortment of wicked witches who sulk in castles, ride
on brooms, or threaten to bake children alive in houses made of candy. Other creatures in
fairy tales can be playful, even impish. Though they do not typically play a central role in
the story, fairies, elves, sprites, and boggarts (goblins who terrorize the British country-
side; see plate 118) may enjoy lighthearted encounters with the main character.
Joseph Campbell compared fairy tales to stories from classic mythology that were
designed in a way a child could understand. “Fairy tales are told for entertainment,’ he
wrote. “But even though there's a happy ending for most fairy tales, on the way to the
happy ending, typical mythological motifs occur—for example, the motif of being in

48 JESSE KOWALSKI
deep trouble and then hearing a voice or having somebody come to help you out.... All of
these dragon killings and threshold crossings have to do with getting past being stuck.”
Jung posits that a common archetype in these stories is the hero’s journey to venture
away from home, fight a battle, achieve self-discovery, and return home changed. Peter
and Wendy, J. M. Barrie’s 1904 fairy-tale play, delivers a twist to this classic story line. Sym-
bolizing Pan, the Greek god ofthe wild, the main character does not want to grow up.
He assists other “Lost Boys” in remaining childlike for a time, but “when they seem to be
growing up, which is against the rules, Peter thins them out.”**
Peter Pan isn't just resisting the hero's journey himself; he is stopping others from their
own self-discovery. The reader of Peter and Wendy is left to presume that Peter keeps his
cadre of Lost Boys in perpetual youth by offing the older ones as younger ones arrive. In
contrast to Joseph Campbell's description, Peter Pan isn’t involved in “dragon killings and
threshold crossings,’ but instead kills the hero before the journey has begun. Later versions
of the story were revised and omit any reference to Peter Pan getting rid of his aging cohorts.
The story “Red Riding Hood” does involve a heroine’s journey, but it too puts a twist
in the self-discovery angle (plate 27). Though the basic plot of the story is centuries older
than any published form, Charles Perrault released the first definitive version, “Le Petit
Chaperon Rouge, in the fairy-tale compendium Histoires ou Contes du temps passé. Avec
des Moralitez, published in France in 1697 and in the United States in 1729 (as Histories,
or Tales from Past Times).
In Robert Samber’s original, 1729 translation of the United States edition, the story
ended with the wolf eating both Red Riding Hood and her grandmother: the end—that’s
it. A moral followed the tale’s conclusion: “Growing ladies fair, /whose orient rosy blooms
begin tappear ... / It is no wonder then if, overpowered, / So many ofthem has the Wolf
devoured.”
Far from the heroine she became in later versions, Perrault’s Red Riding Hood served
as a stark warning to pubescent females of the dark desires of the male of her species.
The sanitized version familiar to contemporary audiences was written by Lydia Very and
released in an 1863 edition—die-cut in the shape of Red Riding Hood. In Very’s tale, as the
wolfisabout to eat Red Riding Hood “like a bird,” a hunter shoots the beast. The moral has
also changed, imploring girls to “mind your mother’s word!” and not speak with strange
men, lest they too be taken by the wolf.
The Brothers Grimm also retold the tale, in a story titled “Rotkappchen,’ or “Little Red
Cap, in their 1812 book Kinder- und Hausmarchen (Children’s and Household Tales). How-
ever, the book was revised numerous times between 1812 and 1857. Desiring a wider audi-
ence, Wilhelm Grimm refined and sanitized the tales over several editions, and the final
tales differ substantially from the original versions.*° The first English translation of the
Grimms stories, German Popular Stories Translated from the Kinder- und Hausmarchen,
Collected byM.M. Grimm, from Oral Tradition (1823-24), was groundbreaking—not only
because the book changed the way in which children’s literature entertained children but
also because it featured the first great children’s book illustrations, etchings by George
Cruikshank.”

The Birth of Fantasy 49

27. GUSTAVE DORE (1832-1883)
“Oh, granny, your teeth are tremendous in
size!’ ‘They're to eat you! —and he ate her,”
1865
Engraving, 9% x 101 in. (23.5 x 26.5 cm)
Illustration for Tom Hood, Fairy Realm:
A Collection of the Favourite Old Tales
(London: Ward, Lock, and Tyler, 1866)
The New York Public Library; The Miriam
and Ira D. Wallach Division ofArt, Prints
and Photographs: Picture Collection

In the Grimms’ original story, the wolf had already eaten the grandmother and Little
Red Cap when a passing huntsman spied the wolf and, suspecting the wolf has eaten the
grandmother, “took some scissors and cut open the wolf’s belly.” After Little Red Cap and
the grandmother escaped from the wolf’s stomach, Little Red Cap filled the wolf’s body
cavity with stones. The wolf died, the huntsman skinned it, and “all three were delighted.”
The tale of Red Riding Hood has since been revisited many times, even on screen and
stage, including in Tex Avery’s ribald animated short Red Hot Riding Hood (1943) and
Stephen Sondheim's 1986 musical Into the Woods. It has appeared in print in innumera-
ble editions, with artwork by such illustrators as Walter Crane (1875), Arthur Rackham
(1909), Jessie Willcox Smith (1911), Edmund Dulac (1912), Harry Clarke (1922), and Jerry
Pinkney (1997).
Among the other popular characters Perrault and the Grimms introduced were Cin-
derella and Snow White (plates 28 and 29). Variations on the archetypal character Cin-
derella have been shared around the world for centuries, but the most familiar version
was first published in Charles Perrault’s seminal fairy-tale compilation from 1697. “Little
Snow White” first appeared in the 1812 edition of Kinder- und Hausmdarchen. In this ver-
sion, the evil queen is Snow White's “godless mother,’ though later editions omitted this
portrayal, “clearly because the Grimms held motherhood sacred,’ one scholar asserts.**
The Grimms’ original story “Rapunzel” would be familiar to today’s readers—to a
point. A young prince pleads with the title character to allow him to climb up into the
tower in which she is held by a sorceress, or fairy, and something unexpected (or perhaps
not) happens:

50 JESSE KOWALSKI
 28. HENRY LE JEUNE (1819-1904)
Cinderella, 1874
Engraving, 11 x 8 in. (28 x 21.5 cm)
Cover illustration for the Aldine, February 1874
The New York Public Library; The Miriam
and Ira D. Wallach Division ofArt, Prints and
Photographs: Picture Collection

She let her hair drop, and when her braids were at the bottom of the tower, he tied
them around him, and she pulled him up. At first Rapunzel was terribly afraid, but
soon the young prince pleased her so much that she agreed to see him every day
and pull him up into the tower. Thus, for a while they had a merry time and enjoyed
each other’s company. The fairy didn't become aware ofthis until, one day, Rapunzel
began talking and said to her, “Tell me, Mother Gothel, why are my clothes becom-
ing too tight? They don’t fit me any more.”
“Oh, you godless child!” the fairy replied.”

The tale ends with the prince attempting suicide and ending up blinded. Naturally,
the Grimms removed the pregnancy from future revisions and made the tale much more
romantic.
Many fairy tales feature animals that assist or guide the protagonist (in contrast to
the Big Bad Wolf). The Grimm Brothers’ tale The Two Brothers contains not only a ter-
rible many-headed dragon but a menagerie of helpful animals, including a hare, a bear,
a fox, and a lion. Carl Jung explained, “Again and again in fairytales we encounter the
motif of helpful animals. These act like humans, speak a human language, and display
a sagacity and a knowledge superior to man’. In these circumstances we can say with

The Birth of Fantasy 51

29. ALBERT TSCHAUTSCH (1843-1922)
Snow White, 1892
some justification that the archetype of the spirit is being expressed through an animal
Engraving, 6% x 9 in. (16 x 23 cm)
Illustration for Ebenezer Cobham Brewer form.’*°
and Marion Harland, Character Sketches Lewis Carroll’s Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) is replete with animals (most
of Romance, Fiction, and the Drama,
vol. 4 (New York: Selmar Hess, 1892), 60
ambiguously helpful), from the White Rabbit to the Cheshire Cat to the Mock Turtle
The New York Public Library; The (see plates 100 and 107). An original story rather than an updated folktale, it sent its her-
Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Oine on a topsy-turvy journey that has no purpose other than the reader's entertainment.
Art, Prints and Photographs: Picture
Collection Alice’s passageway to her adventure, through a burrow, inspired the phrase “down the
rabbit hole,” a metaphor for entry into a strange, disorienting, or seemingly inescapable
situation.
Like other popular children’s stories, the Alice series has appeared in many print edi-
tions, but the original illustrations by John Tenniel remain iconic (plate 30). A popu-
lar cartoonist at Britain's Punch magazine since 1850, Tenniel first met Lewis Carroll in
1864. He agreed to create forty-two illustrations for Alice's Adventures in Wonderland after
reading Carroll’s manuscript. Carroll gave the artist very specific instructions concern-
ing every aspect of the illustrations. When Tenniel had completed the forty-two drafts,
Carroll liked only one, the drawing of Humpty Dumpty. Nonetheless, their collaboration

52 JESSE KOWALSKI
went forward. The most accurate representations of the finished illustrations are from the
engravings, since Tenniel produced only preliminary drawings, which he then transferred
to the wood engraving block, where he made his final version, “drawing with the hard-
est pencils directly on the wood.’ After production, many of the blocks were destroyed.”
For the first printing of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Carroll approved Clarendon
Press for a print run of two thousand copies. However, Tenniel took issue with the sample
print Clarendon sent to Carroll, deeming it “altogether unacceptable” and insisting that
Carroll cancel the order. Carroll was worried that starting over with a new printer would
take so long the book would no longer interest his young friends, who “are all grown out
of childhood so alarmingly fast.’** Despite this worry, as well as the financial loss, Car-
roll shifted the responsibility for printing to Richard Clay, a London printing house bet-
ter equipped than Clarendon to complete the job. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland was
finally printed and issued in November 1865. Carroll published a sequel, Through the
Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There, in December 1871 (dated 1872).
The Alice stories have been adapted many times since their initial publication. Walt
Disney released his animated version in 1951; a famously surreal film adaption, Alice, was
released in Czechoslovakia in 1988; and the Disney company revisited the story through
live-action films Alice in Wonderland (2010) and Alice through the Looking Glass (2016).

30. JOHN TENNIEL (1820-1914)

The Rabbit Scurried, 1865
Pencil on paper, 5 x 3 in. (12.7 x 7.6 cm)
Preliminary drawing for Lewis Carroll,
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1865)
The New York Public Library; Henry W.
and Albert A. Berg Collection of English
and American Literature
 PEST ORY OF
meoOOERN PANTASY ILLUSTRATION
Myth must be kept alive. The people who can keep it alive are artists of one kind or
another. The function of the artist is the mythologization of the environment and
the world.
—Joseph Campbell**

he European forebears who instructed the artists who established Ameri-

cas golden age of illustration (1880s-1920s) could not have known that their
lineage would one day create the iconography for comic book superheroes,
role-playing games like Dungeons e& Dragons, and animated fantasy films such
as Heavy Metal and Fire and Ice. If they had, they might have quit teaching.
In all seriousness, fantasy artists from Arthur Rackham to Norman Rockwell to Frank
Frazetta to Donato Giancola carry forth the story of humankind through traditions and
archetypal imagery that stir the emotions.
Illustrators present narrative fantasy to the public through various forms of mass
media. Their art form has ridden a bumpy road over the past 150 years, but these artists
have adapted with the times. After the Civil War, the American public had a passion for
illustrative fiction about rousing subjects, such as knights and pirates, in periodicals and
books. Though the public’s strong desire for illustration declined after World War I, sig-
naling the end of the golden age of illustration, the demand for illustrated children’s liter-
ature was on the rise.
Between the world wars, the American public developed an interest in salacious pulp
magazines featuring covers containing vivid imagery. Comic book superheroes arrived,
just in the nick oftime, when the interest in pulps declined. Animated films thrilled adults
and children alike, as did movie posters featuring lush, life-size painted images of mon-
sters. Beginning in 1974, with the release of Dungeons e& Dragons, role-playing games pro-
vided work for a new generation of illustrators. Since the 1990s, artists have been in high
demand for video-game design.
Now, more than ever, fantasy illustration has become a respected art form that touches
all of our lives in myriad ways. Artists are able to share their projects with the public

55
31. EUGENE DELACROIX (1798-1863)
Liberty Leading the People, 1830
Oil on canvas, 102% x 128 in.
(260 X 325 cm)
Musée du Louvre, Paris
through social media and their own websites, attend fan conventions, and conduct busi-
ness from around the globe. As the mythmakers of today adapt to new audiences and
changing technologies, the future of fantasy illustration has never looked brighter.

THE DIVISION OF FINE ART AND ILLUSTRATION

Imagination is a world of possibility that exists within each of us. It is what makes us
uniquely human. It is our creative fingerprint that touches and influences the world
around us. Imagination is essential to art and science; to innovation and prosperity.
It gives us hope, calls us to action, and leads to change.
—Tony DiTerlizzi**

uring the Enlightenment, beginning in the 1600s, revolutions in the fields ofphi-
losophy, political theory, and science began to change long-held beliefs. A great
cultural shift occurred as traditional depictions of romance and heroism in lit-
erature and art became outdated, the orthodoxy of religion was brought into question,
new art forms were born, and monarchies were routed by revolutions in England, France,
Italy, Spain, and America.
The role mythology played in the evolution of modern society began to lose favor
in an age of reason. Historian J. F. Bierlein notes: “Myth, whether Christian or other, is
an exposition of truth in the form of a story. The [negative] meaning given to ‘myth’ in
the 19th century .. . continues to exert a pervasive influence in popular and journalistic
literature.”*°
The age of Enlightenment gave rise to a return to the classical, typified by the structured
Neoclassicism that took hold in architecture, which embraced a return to ideals of order,
balance, and rationality. The Romantic artists and writers of the early 1800s rejected this
rationalism, instead celebrating individualism, imagination, and emotion, seeking the
sublime or the transcendental. Many of these artists utilized fantasy to a great extent in
their work, as embodied in Eugene Delacroix’s Liberty Leading the People (1830; plate 31),
Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres’s Grande Odalisque (1814), William Blake’s watercolor
illustrations of scenes from Dante’s Inferno (1824-27), Henry Fuseli’s The Nightmare
(1781), and Francisco Goya's Saturn Devouring His Son (ca. 1819-23).
Art historian and archaeologist Karl Kilinski II explains the ways in which the Roman-
tics adapted mythology to serve modern society: “Romanticism replaced archaeological
authenticity with allegorical fantasy. The romantics mingled mythological tales with his-
torical account to create allegorical allusions often for political moralizing. ... Concerned
with provoking emotional responses to their art, the romantics radically altered aspects
of classical myths in ancient art and literature to fit the needs of their times.”*°
William Wordsworth’s description of poetry as “the spontaneous overflow of pow-
erful feelings” became a guiding tenet for English Romantic poets such as John Keats,
Percy Bysshe Shelley, and Lord Byron.*” Amid this fervor, the form of the novel evolved
and began to differentiate into such types as the historical novel, with Sir Walter Scott's

Modern Fantasy Illustration 57

 Waverley (1814), and the Gothic, with Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley’s Frankenstein; or, The
Modern Prometheus (1818)—which is also an early example ofscience fiction.
The artists of the short-lived Pre-Raphaelite movement of the mid-1800s returned to
a classical style that focused on nature, fantastic scenes, and medieval themes. The style
is apparent in the work ofartists such as Edward Burne-Jones, Herbert Draper, and John
William Waterhouse (plate 32).
; Se
A change in the definition of fine art went hand in hand with the rise of industry, sep-
aration of classes, and, most importantly, the availability of published material. After
Johannes Gutenberg introduced printing to Europe in 1439, the rapid rise in the num-
ber of books and periodicals spurred an intellectual movement. By 1500, more than nine
million books had been printed. As technology improved in the late 1600s, the quantity
of available reading materials rose exponentially. In the 1800s, improvements in printing
technology—such as the use of steam to power printing presses, the iron press, and offset
32. JOHN WILLIAM WATERHOUSE
(1849-1917)
printing—lowered costs and increased the output of published material.**
Hylas and the Nymphs, 1896 As the number ofbooks and periodicals increased, and competition among publishers
Oil on canvas, 38% x 644 in.
rose, artists were more frequently hired to provide illustrations. Although Albrecht Direr,
(98.2 x 163.3 cm)
Manchester Art Gallery, Manchester, Francisco Goya, and Rembrandt made and dispersed prints of their work to the masses in
England a similar fashion, they were thought ofas fine artists. The artists of the industrial age who

ee F, 2 Ee Ls
rg se,
ee
27 ia
a.
ea”
A ed

58 JESSE KOWALSKI
33. ALBRECHT DURER (1471-1528) 34. HARRY CLARKE (1889-1931)
»
The Sea Monster, ca. 1498 “I know what you want, said the sea witch > 1916
Engraving, ink on laid paper, 9% x 7% in. (24.8 x 18.7 cm) Illustration for “The Little Mermaid,’ in Fairy Tales by Hans Christian
Indianapolis Museum ofArt, Indiana; Gift ofA. Ian Fraser Andersen (London: G. G. Harrap, 1916), 210

Consider these images of merfolk by Albrecht

Diirer and Harry Clarke. Both were created
produced work for the publishing industry were viewed differently. Images disseminated
for public viewing—yet, one is deemed a work
in periodicals, penny dreadfuls, books of classic tales, and an array of novels, including of fine art, the other a work ofillustration.
the serial form, became less valued than a singular work available only to those of a cer-
tain class in a private collection or art museum.
Fine art and illustration are now largely considered different genres, as evidenced by
the division into separate majors in art schools. In the broadest sense, fine art is intended
for exhibition in galleries and museums (plate 33), while illustration is designed for com-
mercial use, be it a book, magazine article, box or package, or advertisement (plate 34).
Though the line between the two has never been sharply defined, some artists have bris-
tled at the label “illustrator.”
Upon winning the 1942 Caldecott Medal for Make Way for Ducklings (1941), Robert
McCloskey noted, “I’m not a children’s illustrator. I’m just an artist who, among other
things, does children’s books. ...[As.astudent] it never would have occurred to me to draw

Modern Fantasy Illustration 59

35. HARRY CLARKE
(1889-1931)
“They danced with
shawls which were
woven of mist and
moonshine,’ 1916
Illustration for “The
Elf Hill,” in Fairy Tales
by Hans Christian
Andersen (London:
G. G. Harrap, 1916), 182
[ducks] or to paint them unless they were ina deep for-
est pool with a nude, perhaps, and a droopy tree and
a gazelle or two, just to improve the composition.”
Other artists, however, consider illustration a true
art form. Norman Rockwell was not, he insisted, a “fine
art” man. He simply loved to tell stories in pictures.
“The critics say that any proper picture should be pri-
marily a series of technical problems of lights, shadow,
proportion, color, and voids. I say that if you can tell a
story ina picture and ifa reasonable number of people
like your work, it is art. Maybe it isn’t the highest form
of art, but it’s art nevertheless and it’s what I love to
do.”*® In an appearance on The Merv Griffin Show on
September 6, 1966, the host praised Rockwell’s work,
saying, “Gee, you are a fine artist”—to which Rockwell
quickly responded, “No, I’m an illustrator.”

EUROPEAN ILLUSTRATORS OF THE 1800s

n Europe, the distinction between fine art and illus-

tration solidified with the increasing availability of
published material in the 1800s and early 1900s.
In the years around the turn of the century, Impres-
sionist painters Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, and
Pierre-Auguste Renoir wowed European audiences
with colorful paintings of outdoor scenes. At the same
time, such artists as Walter Crane, George Cruik-
shank, Edmund Dulac, John Leech, Georges du Maurier, Arthur Rackham, and John 36. EDMUND DULAC (1882-1953)
The Prince Is Taken Back to the Golden
Tenniel were enjoying successful careers, publishing cartoons in popular periodicals such
Palace by the Magic Black Horse, 1914
as Punch and Fun and interior illustrations in books written by Charles Dickens, Lewis Watercolor and pencil on paper,
Carroll, and other authors. Many of these projects required the artists to delve into fantasy 15 X 10% in. (38.1 x 26.7 cm)
Illustration for Edmund Dulac, Sindbad
worlds: fairy tales, folklore, and mystery. Some artists, such as Richard Doyle and Beatrix
the Sailor and Other Stories from the
Potter, even created their own imaginary realms. Arabian Nights (London: Hodder &
A brief roundup of some of the most influential European fantasy illustrators and their Stoughton, 1914), 197
Private collection
best-known works follows.
Harry Clarke (1889-1931) showcased his distinctive style in Fairy Tales by Hans Chris-
tian Andersen (1916; plates 34 and 35) and Edgar Allan Poe's Tales of Mystery and Imagi-
nation (1919).
Walter Crane (1845-1915) illustrated Household Stories from Grimm (1882), Edmund
Spenser’s Faerie Queene (1896), and tales such as Beauty and the Beast (see plate 160).
George Cruikshank (1792-1878) produced biting political caricatures and illustrated
books by Charles Dickens, including Oliver Twist (1838).

Modern Fantasy Illustration 61

>
37. ARTHUR RACKHAM
(1867-1939)
Storyteller, Ca.

Watercolor, brown
ink, and pen on paper,
10'/4 x 634 in 5 X 17.1 cm)
Illustration for
Washington Irving,
Rip Van Winkle (London:
William Heinemann, 1905)
Fred and Sherry Ross

38. ARTHUR RACKHAM =

(1867-1939)
“A sudden swarm of
winged creatures brushed P fees
past her,’ 1905 = ba
¥.
Illustration for Nathaniel
Hawthorne, A Wonder
Book (Garden City, NY;
Garden City Publ
1922) Ys,
&,
a
For an edition of
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s
book of my thology for “,
children, A Wonder Book,
ol
Arthur Rackham was
‘
tasked with illustrating
jt. , r
legendary scenes of King ge . » ee
Midas, Pegasus, Heracles,
and Pandora, who is
represented in this image
opening the box that reign

released horrors upon all

humankind.

*
 Richard Doyle (1824-1883) worked for the humor magazine Punch from 1843 to 1850,
and his book In Fairyland: A Series of Pictures from the Elf-World (1870) set the standard
for designs offairies for decades to come (see plates 136-138).
Edmund Dulac (1882-1953) revealed his talent for color illustration in The Sleeping
Beauty and Other Fairy Tales (1910), Stories from Hans Christian Andersen (1911), and
many other publications (plate 36).
Kate Greenaway (1846-1901) wrote and illustrated the popular book of nursery rhymes
Under the Window: Pictures and Rhymes for Children (1879).
Phiz, aka Hablot Knight Browne (1815-1882), illustrated several of Charles Dickens's
books, including The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit (1844) and David Cop-
perfield (1850).
Beatrix Potter (1866-1943) created The Tales of Peter Rabbit (1902) and The Tale of the
Flopsy Bunnies (1909).
Arthur Rackham (1867-1939) was considered one of the top British illustrators of his
era, known for his stylistic interpretations of scenes from Rip Van Winkle (1905; plate 37),
Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens (1906), English Fairy Tales (1918), and other stories
(plates 38 and 143). Rackham’s first major success was providing the illustration for The
Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm, released in 1900. A biography ofthe artist notes: “This
book featured ninety-nine black-and-white drawings with a color frontispiece. Two new
editions were issued within ten years of the original, with new and edited illustrations by
Rackham in each.... Rackham continued to succeed in his illustrations of fairy tales and
fantasy stories, attributing the success to his intimate familiarity with the texts.”*"
John Tenniel (1820-1914) is most famous for his work on Alice’s Adventures in Wonder-
land and Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There (see plate 30).
Morris Meredith Williams (1881-1973), who also worked in stained glass and engrav-
ing, illustrated Sir Gawain and the Lady ofLys, translated by Jessie L. Weston (1907), The
Story of the Crusades, by E. M. Wilmot-Buxton (1910), The Scottish Fairy Book by Eliza-
beth W. Grierson (1910), and The Northmen in Britain, by Eleanor Hull (1913; plate 39).

AMERICAS GOLDEN AGE OF ILLUSTRATION (1880s-1920s)

Ithough illustration had been popular in England for some time, the profession
began to take shape in the United States only after the Civil War, when periodicals
and other illustrated publications were numerous and on the rise. The Saturday
Evening Post and the Youth's Companion had been around since the 1820s, though their
readership remained low through the middle of the century. Harper's Bazaar debuted in
1867, Harper's Young People in 1879, St. Nicholas in 1873, Argosy in 1882, Ladies’
Home Jour-
nal in 1883, and Blue Book in 1905.”
As the twentieth century dawned, illustrating covers and interior artwork for classic
stories such as King Arthur, Robin Hood, Rip Van Winkle, and The Last of the Mohicans
was important work for in-demand artists such as Howard Pyle and later N. C. Wyeth.
W. W. Denslow became widely known for the illustrations he created for L. Frank Baum’s

64 JESSE KOWALSKI
 39. MORRIS MEREDITH
WILLIAMS (1881-1973)
The Viking Shieldmaiden
Lagertha (Lathgertha,
Ladgerda), Wife of Ragnar
Lodbrok, 1913
Pen and ink on paper,
anim porno - AA Y FR Z f 4 23 X 20 in. (58.4 x 50.8 cm)
Vile OD Illustration for Eleanor Hull,
i Wi tam, EGA EN me \ ‘ Zepatie gg
SF, The Northmen in Britain
(New York: Thomas Y.
Crowell, 1913), 16
The Eisenstat Collection;
Courtesy of Alice A. Carter
and J. Courtney Granner

Lagertha is mentioned in the

Gesta Danorum (ca. 1200 CE),
a record ofDanish history
written by Saxo Grammaticus.
A wife of the legendary ninth-
century Viking king Ragner
Lodbrok (who, incidentally,
slays a dragon in the book),
Lagertha was renowned for
her bravery and joined her
husband in war. Grammaticus
ends the story on a sad note,
claiming that when they
TI returned from battle, Lagertha
SSS murdered her husband with a
et spearhead and appropriated
his name and kingdom.

boas

pe x i < ese
g MeRedieh
WD1)iarnd|~Soeeze Xx
40. W. W. DENSLOW (1856-1915)
The Monkeys Caught Dorothy, 1900
Pen and ink on paper
Illustration for L. Frank Baum,
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
(Chicago: George M. Hill, 1900)
The New York Public Library; The Miriam
and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art,
Prints and Photographs: Print Collection

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900; plate 40). The Saturday Evening Post featured illus-
trated covers by artists such as J. C. Leyendecker, Mead Schaeffer, N. C. Wyeth, and Nor-
man Rockwell. Blue Book employed Dean Cornwell, Alex Raymond, and Austin Briggs.
Ladies’ Home Journal hired illustrators Jessie Willcox Smith, Coles Phillips, Maxfield Par-
rish, Alex Ross, and Al Parker. Phillips (1880-1927) gained popularity with his “fadeaway
girl” look, in which part ofthe clothing ofhis female model was painted the same color as

66 JESSE KOWALSKI
 41. COLES PHILLIPS (1880-1927)
Vampire Girl, ca. 1924
Watercolor on paper, 30 Xx 24 in.
(76.2 x 61cm)
The Kelly Collection of American
Illustration

Though the type is set on this painting,

Phillips’s Vampire Girl was never actually
published on the cover of Life, due to her
sultry appearance.

the background (plate 41). This gave his works a distinctive look, while providing extra
emphasis on the model’s physical features.
Considered the father ofthe golden age ofillustration, Howard Pyle (1853-1911) was a
working artist (see plate 6), a respected teacher, and a mentor to many rising illustrators.
Pyle famously offered to teach illustration at the Pennsylvania Academy ofArts, only to be
told illustration was nota fine art. He then taught at Philadelphia’s Drexel Institute of Art,

Modern Fantasy Illustration 67

42. BERTHA CORSON DAY

Perseus, 190
Gouache, watercolor, ir
and crayon on illustration

(48.3 X 31.9 cm)

Illustration for Katharine
Pyle, Where the Wind Blows
(New York: R. H. Russell,
1902)
Delaware Art Museum,
Wilmington; Gift of
Mrs. J. Marshall Cole, 1988
<S

43. HOWARD PYLE (1853-1911)

Sir Galahad Cometh with the Hermit of the
Forest, 1910
Pen and ink on paper, 3 x 7 in. (7.6 x 17.8 cm)
Illustration for Howard Pyle, The Story of the
Grail and the Passing of Arthur (New York:
Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1910)
Robert and Lynne Horvath

This illustration from Pyle’s book on King

Arthur is placed at the beginning of the first
chapter of the section titled “The Story of Sir
Galahad.”

<s

44. VIOLET OAKLEY (1874-1961)

Lohengrin, ca. 1910
Oil on canvas laid on board, 23% x 16 in.
(60 X 40.6 cm)
Private collection
A
45. JESSIE WILLCOX SMITH (1863-1935)
Peter, Peter, Pumpkin-Eater, 1914
Oil on illustration board, 26% x 32% in.
(67.3 X 83.2 cm)
Illustration for Jessie Willcox Smith,
The Jessie Willcox Smith Mother Goose
(New York: Colgate, 1914)
The Eisenstat Collection; Courtesy of
Alice A. Carter and J. Courtney Granner

>

46. N. C. WYETH (1882-1945)

Bruce on the Beach, 1921
Oil on canvas, 39 X 32 in. (99.1 X 81.3 cm)
Illustration for Jane Porter, The Scottish
Chiefs (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons,
1921), 386
The Kelly Collection of American
Illustration
Science, and Industry (now Drexel University), and began his own
school in Delaware as well as asummer school in Chadds Ford,
Pennsylvania, near the Brandywine River, teaching men and
women alike. Some of Pyle’s more notable students were
Bertha Corson Day (plate 42), Harvey Dunn, Thorn-
ton Oakley, Violet Oakley, Frank Schoonover, Eliza-
beth Shippen Green, Allen Tupper True, Jessie Willcox
Smith, and N. C. Wyeth.* Their art movement came
to be called the Brandywine School.
Pyle’s illustrations for children appeared in St.
Nicholas, Harper's Young People, and the book Yankee
Doodle: An Old Friend in a New Dress (1881). He also
illustrated such titles as The Merry Adventures of Robin
Hood (1883), The Story of King Arthur and His Knights
(1903), The Story of the Champions of the Round Table
(1905), and The Story of the Grail and the Passing of Arthur
(1910; plate 43).
Among Pyle’s students were Violet Oakley (1874-1961) and her
friends and roommates Jessie Willcox Smith (1863-1935) and Elizabeth
Shippen Green (1871-1954). Under Pyle’s tutelage, the trio came to be known
as the Red Rose Girls, due to their residency at the Red Rose Inn in Villanova, Penn- <<

47. MAXFIELD PARRISH (1870-1966)

sylvania. Pyle helped Oakley (plate 44) obtain her first major project, working alongside
Lady Violetta and the Knave, 1924
Smith on Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s 1897 book Evangeline: A Tale of Acadie. Just Oil on board, 20% x 16% in.
a few years later, Oakley began producing murals and stained-glass windows. Oakley’s (51.1 X 41.6 cm)
Illustration for Louise Saunders, The
Unity mural in the senate chamber at the Pennsylvania State Capitol Building in Har- Knave of Hearts (New York: Charles
risburg showcases a strong female figure, a significant thematic focus in Oakley’s works. Scribner’s Sons, 1925)
Near the end of her career, Oakley accepted a position as the second-ever female teacher The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art,
Los Angeles
at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.**
Smith was one of Howard Pyle’s greatest students. Her success can be attributed to A
48. J. C. LEYENDECKER (1874-1951)
her immense talent, bold color choices, the remarkable composition of her paintings, a
Pan, 1920s
distinctive style, and a keen sense of humor. Smith joined Pyle’s first illustration class at Gouache and graphite on board, 9 in.
Drexel Institute in 1894 and worked diligently to stand out in a field dominated by men. (22.9 cm) diam.
The Eisenstat Collection; Courtesy of
She went on to enjoy a fruitful career, which included nearly two hundred covers for
Alice A. Carter and J. Courtney Granner
Good Housekeeping in addition to many illustrations for advertising and children’s sto-
ries (plate 45).
N. C. Wyeth (1882-1945), another of Pyle’s students, created over three thousand paint-
ings and provided illustrations for more than one hundred books. As did many other
golden-age illustrators, Wyeth also created painted advertisements, for clients such as
Coca-Cola, Lucky Strike, and Kellogg’s; and covers for magazines, including Judge,
Ladies’ Home Journal, McClure’s, and the Popular Magazine (see plate 56). However,
Wyeth’s lasting popularity lies in his prodigious book illustration career, launched in 1911,
when he provided the artwork for Treasure Island for Charles Scribner’s Sons. Wyeth’s

Modern Fantasy Illustration 73

depictions were immensely popular, and he followed up this achievement by furnishing 49. DEAN CORNWELL (1892-1960)
the illustrations for several additional works of classic adventure literature, including The The Other Side, 1918
Oil on canvas, 342 x 25% in.
Scottish Chiefs (plate 46), The Boy's King Arthur, Robin Hood, Rip Van Winkle, The Last of (87.6 x 64.8 cm)
the Mohicans, Robinson Crusoe, and Kidnapped. The Kelly Collection of American
Another of the most popular artists during the golden age was Maxfield Parrish (1870- Illustration

1966), who illustrated poetic narratives set in otherworldly landscapes of ancient gnarled The Other Side is not the type ofimagery
trees, tumbling waterfalls, and azure skies, painted with precision and dreamlike clarity. usually associated with this golden-age
illustrator, though Cornwell’s painting
His illustrations for Louise Saunders’s 1925 children’s book The Knave of Hearts are mag-
style is unmistakable.
ical and witty (plate 47). Parrish’s incredible popularity was built on the expansion of the
print market and the distribution of his charming imagery in calendars, books of poetry,
and tales of the fantastic.
Fora short time Parrish was a student of Howard Pyle, who found him to be so skilled,
Michael Patrick Hearn reports, that he “informed Parrish that there was nothing he could
teach him.’ Parrish’s unique paintings were commissioned for books, magazine stories,
murals, calendars, and commercial advertisements, for companies such as Colgate, Gen-
eral Electric, and Edison Mazda. By utilizing bold colors to illustrate fantasy images, Par-
rish created paintings of surpassing beauty.
Admired by Norman Rockwell and acknowledged as one of America’s preeminent
twentieth-century illustration masters, J. C. Leyendecker (1874-1951) rose to fame as a cre-
ator of elegant artworks for mass publication (plate 48). He was best known for paintings
of fashionable men and women in a sleek, idealized style, perfectly suited for the many
corporations that commissioned his work—from Arrow and Kuppenheimer clothing to
Procter & Gamble, Kellogg’s, Pierce-Arrow Automobiles, and the United States Armed
Forces. Leyendecker was celebrated for his Arrow Collar Man, a sophisticated and ideal-
ized trade character of his own design. Between 1896 and 1950, Leyendecker illustrated
more than four hundred magazine covers for the nation’s trade and general interest pub-
lications, including Collier's, Ladies’ Home Journal, Judge, and the Saturday Evening Post
(see plate 167).
One ofthe most respected artists of the era was Dean Cornwell (1892-1960), who pro-
vided numerous story illustrations and advertisements for magazines such as the Satur-
day Evening Post, Cosmopolitan, Good Housekeeping, and Harper's Bazaar. His use of
strong brushstrokes and exquisite composition brought to life images both ordinary and
heavenly (plate 49).
Joseph Clement Coll (1881-1921) was particularly adept at creating action-packed
drawings, including his interior artwork for Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's 1912 book The Lost
World (plate 50). Coll had few equals in pen-and-ink work, perspective, and draftsman-
ship. He is also remembered for his illustrations for Talbot Mundy’s King of the Khyber
Rifles and Sax Rohmer’s The Insidious Dr. Fu Manchu.
Lauded for his bold style, over his wide-ranging career Herbert Paus (1860-1944) pro-
duced editorial cartoons, theater sets, war posters, covers for Popular Science, Colliers,
and other periodicals, and many magazine and book illustrations (plate 51).
The Canadian illustrator Palmer Cox (1840-1924) introduced his Brownies in 1883

Modern Fantasy Illustration 75

 Ml

SS

(f
S
S

50. JOSEPH CLEMENT COLL (1881-1921)

The Lost World, 1912
Pen and ink on paper, 16 x 12% in. (40.6 x 32.4 cm)
Illustration for Arthur Conan Doyle, The Lost World (New York: Hodder &
Stoughton, 1912)
The Eisenstat Collection; Courtesy of Alice A. Carter and J. Courtney Granner
 <S

51. HERBERT PAUS (1880-1946)

Pyramus and Thisbe, ca. 1910
Gouache and ink on board, each 8 x 5 in.
(20.3 X 12.7 cm)
The Eisenstat Collection; Courtesy of
Alice A. Carter and J. Courtney Granner

In Metamorphoses (ca. 8 cE) the Roman

writer Ovid retells the Babylonian tale
of forbidden love between Pyramus and
Thisbe. Their parents will not allow
them to wed, so the lovers are forced to
communicate through a crack in the
wall their houses share. When Pyramus
attempts to meet his love, he comes to
believe, mistakenly, that Thisbe has been
killed by a lion, and he kills himself. Filled
with sorrow, Thisbe takes her own life with
Pyramus’s sword. The story was a clear
influence on William Shakespeare’s Romeo
and Juliet.

k
52. PALMER Cox (1840-1924)
Brownies at Waterloo, 1894
Ink on paper, 5% x 74 in. (14.1 X 19.1 cm)
Illustration for Palmer Cox, The Brownies
around the World (London: T. Fisher
Unwin, 1894)
Delaware Art Museum, Wilmington;
Gift of Helen Farr Sloan, 1978

Inviy|

We
\)
I)
nid ts
 in St. Nicholas magazine (plate 52). Sprite-like creatures based
in Scottish folklore, the Brownies enjoyed immense popularity,
appearing in two plays, a comic strip, and sixteen books, until
their last appearance in 1918. They were said to be helpful beings,
often cleaning up at night while the owners of the house they
inhabited slept. Cox was a natural salesman, who “licensed the
characters for everything from dolls to china to chocolate to a
Broadway extravaganza.”*° With varying success, artists created
similar creatures in the years to come, including Gelett Burgess's
Goops and Rose O'Neill's Kewpies.
Illustrator Rose O’Neill (1874-1944) debuted the Kewpies in
1909, although similar angelic figures had appeared in her work
for several years. Named after Cupid, the Roman god of love,
Kewpies were childlike, winged, elfish creatures sporting a top-
knot hairstyle (plate 53). O’Neill’s characters were prominently
featured in the pages of Good Housekeeping and Woman's Home
Companion. The Kewpies were an instant success in print, and
the public showed a demand for dolls, which O’Neill began pro-
ducing with a factory in Germany. Over the next several years,
O’Neill became a millionaire from the sales of her Kewpie dolls,
which allowed her to afford homes in New York, Connecticut,
Missouri, and Italy. Meanwhile, she continued her career in illus-
tration and became the top artist for Jell-O, in addition to creat-
ing images for several other ad campaigns, such as Kellogg’s Corn
Flakes and Eastman Kodak.
The golden age of illustration dwindled after World War I. Atti-
53. ROSE O’ NEILL (1874-1944) tudes about home and family began to change as women sought more independence, for-
The Kewps Now Vie in Antics Various to mally receiving the right to vote in 1920. The commercial-art field shifted as demand for
Make the Fairy Queen Hilarious, 1916
cheap pulp magazines increased, and the market for illustrated novels diminished—even
Pen and ink on paper, 184 x 12% in.
(47.6 X 32.7 cm) as publishing houses devoted to children’s books began to flourish. Many of the classic
Illustration for Rose O’ Neill, “The and golden-age illustrators left the field or cut back on work, including Howard Pyle,
Kewpies and Their Fairy Cousin,” Good
Housekeeping, July 1916, p. 89
Arthur Rackham, Jessie Willcox Smith, and Coles Phillips. Some had no choice in the
Norman Rockwell Museum, Stockbridge, matter: the style of the highly prolific Leyendecker, for example, didn’t fit with the chang-
Massachusetts; Gift of The Rose O’ Neill ing tastes, and the number of Saturday Evening Post commissions he received decreased
Foundation
throughout the 1930s.”
>
Some artists of the golden age continued working through the 1950s and 1960s. J.Allen
54. J. ALLEN ST. JOHN (1875-1957)
St. John (plate 54), as illustrator of Edgar Rice Burroughs’s Tarzan and John Carter series
In Shining Armor, 1932
Oil on canvas, 24 X 22 in. (61 x 55.9 cm) (see plate 58), influenced a new generation, which included Frank Frazetta, Jeff Jones, the
Cover illustration for Olive Beaupré Brothers Hildebrandt, and Boris Vallejo. These young artists began to lead the evolution
Miller, My Book House: In Shining Armor
of illustration away from traditional outlets like the newsstand into new arenas. The focus
(Chicago: Book House for Children, 1932)
On loan from the Bantly Collection of many was on fantasy illustration—in print (paperback book covers, magazines), film
posters, animation, role-playing games, and, eventually, video games.

78 JESSE KOWALSKI
 Tat
aniHEELED Jy,ACK,
ppulor
THE BIG NATIONAL FICTION MAGAZINE

THE TERROR OFLONDON.

RING-EEELED JACK APPEARED A TERRIFIC EXPLOSION: SHOOK THE RVILDING.

A FULL-LENGTH BOOK
B BY
_HOWARD F ITZALAN.
— —————— sae

Nos. 12 ‘& 20. Price One Penny,

AK
55. BRITISH PULP FICTION AND DIME NOVELS
As Spring-Heeled Jack Appeared a Terrific
Explosion Shook the Building, ; F : : ee
ee heavy soe
Mechanical reproduction, magazine cover
ulp magazines, the popular, inexpensive fiction publications that were read and
illustration, 9% x 6% in. (24.8 x 15.9 cm) enjoyed by millions, reached their zenith in the 1930s. In the United States the genre
The Ohio State University Billy Ireland began in earnest in 1896 with Argosy, a monthly magazine that was printed on low-
Cartoon Library and Museum, San
Francisco Academy of Comic Art,
cost pulp paper.
Columbus Nota solely American institution, pulp magazines were preceded by the weekly publi-
ee Fe ire wie a posdlar cobiin: cations popular in England from the 1830s to the 1890s known as penny dreadfuls, known
like figure ofurban legend in Victorian for their low price and crime and horror subject matter (plate 55).
England; tales ofhis exploits were serialized Industrialization and improvements in printing allowed the increasingly literate work-
in penny dreadfuls ofthe period.
ing class affordable reading material. Part of the popularity of penny dreadfuls can be
attributed to the affordability of the magazines. Pulp magazines, so named because ofthe
4 inexpensive groundwood-pulp paper the stories were printed on, were held in contrast
56. N. C. WYETH (1882-1945) P 8 al
Cover illustration for Popular Magazine, to the more respectable “glossies” such as Collier's, Life, and the Saturday Evening Post.
March 20, 1926 Presented on newsstands alongside scores of glossies, pulp magazines caught the eyes

80 JESSE KOWALSKI
57. CLINTON PETTEE (1872-1937)
Cover illustration for All-Story, October 1912

Pettee’s cover painting is the first published image of Edgar Rice Burroughs’s
character Tarzan, who makes his debut appearance in this issue of the All-Story.
Among collectors, this issue is one of the most valuable pulp magazines.
Using the pseudonym “Norman Bean,”
Edgar Rice Burroughs introduced his
character John Carter in 1912 in the
first part ofa serial titled Under the
Moons of Mars. Fans offantasy and
adventure stories were drawn to the
story, and subsequent serials titled
The Gods of Mars and The Warlord
of Mars were published over the
following two years. Under the Moons
of Mars was novelized in 1917, with
the title The Princess of Mars anda
cover by the popular illustrator Frank
Schoonover.

John Carter’s adventure begins just

after the US Civil War. The book opens
with the former Confederate soldier
finding refuge in a cave in the Arizona
desert after being chased by a band
of Apaches. After some rest, Carter
awakens to see his physical body lying
on the cavern floor. When he ventures
outside the cave, his eyes are drawn to
the planet Mars, gleaming in the night
sky, and he is inexplicably transported
to the red planet. Carter arrives on
Mars—referred to by the Martians as
Barsoom—with superhuman powers.
He rescues Dejah Thoris, the princess
of the nation of Helium, who has been
taken prisoner by a band ofgreen
aliens known as the Tharks. Carter
assists Thoris in battling her enemies,
and upon their defeat is named prince
of Helium. The series was so popular
that Burroughs wrote nearly a dozen
tales about the planet of Barsoom
between 1917 and 1943.
ORS
58. J. ALLEN ST. JOHN (1875-1957)
The Master Mind of Mars, 1928
Oil on canvas, 25%4 x 18% in.
(65.4 X 46.4 cm)
Cover illustration for Edgar Rice
Burroughs, The Master Mind
of Mars (Chicago: A. C. McClurg,
1928)
Douglas Ellis and Deborah Fulton

<

59. BoRIS VALLEJO (b. 1941)

John Carter ofMars, 1976
Acrylic, 41 X 30 in. (104.1 x 76.2 cm)
Cover illustration for John F. Roy,
A Guide to Barsoom (New York:
Ballantine Books, 1976)
Paul DeDomenico
of passersby with their colorful, action-packed (plate 56), scintillating, and often lurid 60. MARK ZuG (b. 1959)
A Princess of Mars, 2012
cover art.
Oil on canvas, 22 X 15 in. (55.9 X 38.1 cm)
However sensational the images on the cover, pulp magazines published fiction writ- Cover illustration for Edgar Rice
ten by many respected authors, such as Edgar Rice Burroughs, Ray Bradbury, Zane Grey, Burroughs, Mars Trilogy: A Princess of
Mars, The Gods of Mars, The Warlord of
H. P. Lovecraft, H. G. Wells, Horatio Alger, Jack London, Upton Sinclair, Raymond Chan- Mars (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2012)
dler, and Arthur C. Clarke. Greg Obaugh
Furthermore, many famous characters and stories made their first appearances in pulp
magazines. Edgar Rice Burroughs’s creation John Carter was introduced in the pages of
the All-Story magazine in February 1912; his Tarzan debuted in the October 1912 issue
(plate 57). Johnston McCulley’s character Zorro was presented in All-Story Weekly in
August 1919. H. P. Lovecraft’s legendary Cthulhu monster was unveiled in the February
1928 issue of Weird Tales. Robert E. Howard’s Conan the Barbarian made his entrance in
Weird Tales in December 1932.
Illustrator J. Allen St. John (1875-1957) painted many ofthe most popular book covers
in Edgar Rice Burroughs’s Tarzan and John Carter series. His first work for Burroughs
was in the 1915 book The Return of Tarzan. The following year, St. John illustrated the
cover and interior art for The Beasts of Tarzan. In subsequent years, St. John created cov-
ers for the pulp magazines Amazing Stories and Weird Tales, including covers for both
related to Burroughs’s Venus series.** The artist also painted John Carter for the cover of
Burroughs’s 1928 book The Master Mind of Mars (plate 58). Other artists, including Boris
Vallejo (plate 59) and Mark Zug (plate 60), have portrayed John Carter in more recent
years.
The popularity of pulp magazines eventually crossed over to other media. Heroic
adventures were easily translated to the silver screen, in feature films like The Mark of
Zorro (1920) and serials like Flash Gordon (1936) and Buck Rogers (1939), or made into
radio dramas such as The Shadow (1937). The immense popularity of Burroughs’s Tar-
zan among pulp fiction readers did not go unnoticed by filmmakers. Tarzan of the Apes
debuted in theaters in 1918; this first film was followed by seven additional Tarzan serials
and feature films through the 1920s, with various actors playing the lead. Olympic swim-
ming star Johnny Weissmuller had the starring role in Tarzan the Ape Man in 1932. His
performance was so popular that he returned to star in eleven additional Tarzan films
over the next two decades. Since Weissmuller hung up his loincloth in 1948, the character
has been revived multiple times in live-action and animated films, most recently in The
Legend of Tarzan (2016).
Pulp magazines endured through two world wars and the Great Depression, but the
industry faced a steady decline in readership throughout the late 1940s and 1950s. Super-
hero comics had captured the country’s attention with the debut of Superman in 1938,
and readers began buying up new small mass-market paperback books branded as Pocket
Books starting in 1939. Paper drives during World War II limited the availability of stock
for publication. The explosion in popularity of television throughout the 1950s signaled
the end for nearly all of the few surviving pulp magazines. Concern over the effect of
comic books on the behavior of American youth in the early 1950s forced many artists to

Modern Fantasy Illustration 85

61. FRANK FRAZETTA (1928-2010)
The Brain, 1967
Oil on canvas, 21 x 18 in. (53.3 X 45.7 cm)
Cover illustration for Eerie, no. 8, March 1967
Jim Halperin, Heritage Auctions
 Egyptian Queen is one of Frazetta’s most
remarkable works. In an interview with
Gary Groth in the Comics Journal (February
1995), the artist recalled the difficulty he had
in completing the painting:

I'll never forget the Egyptian Queen.

I got that whole painting done, in about
a day and a half, and I looked at it. It
was done as far as I was concerned.
Then I looked at her face, and I didn’t
like it....So I started to repaint the
face, and I painted the face, and I
painted it again, and I painted it again.
Well, I was like three days trying to get
the right face. And I suddenly got sort
of blinded to it. I couldn’t see any more.
I just looked at it and didn’t know
where I was anymore....So Ifinally
just settled for any face, and brought
it in, and they printed it that way, and
then I forgot about it. So, a couple of
months later I get it back; now I was
fresh again. And Ijust looked at it and
“Pow!” ... her face was painted infive
minutes.

62. FRANK FRAZETTA (1928-2010)

Egyptian Queen, 1969
Oil on canvas, 26 x 20 in. (66 x 50.8 cm)
Cover illustration for Eerie, no. 23, September 1969
Private collection
63. HANNES BOK (1914-1964)
Siegfried and the Dragon, 1942
Oil on canvas, 314 x 24 in. (80 x 62.2 cm)
Robert K. Wiener
turn to lighter fare in the form of cartoons and periodicals like Mad maga-
zine. By the late 1960s, baby boomers were coming of age and demanding
more thrilling imagery, which would be supplied by a new generation of art-
ists and writers.
One of the pioneers of modern fantasy illustration, Frank Frazetta (1928-
2010), began his career in the dwindling days of the pulp magazine (plates 61
and 62). Though largely self-taught, he began taking drawing classes at the
Brooklyn Academy of Art at just eight years old. His first work was published
in Tally-Ho Comics when he was sixteen. In 1952, Frazetta began drawing Al
Capp’s popular comic strip Li’ Abner, in addition to working on numerous
comic book titles. His illustration of Ringo Starr for Mad magazine in 1964
brought attention to Frazetta’s work, and movie studios hired him to paint
film posters. However, his 1966 cover of the book Conan the Adventurer
propelled Frazetta to stardom. His striking paintings of Conan, Tarzan, and
John Carter of Mars altered the way readers viewed the characters and influ-
enced other artists and film directors, including George Lucas, who visited
Frazetta’s studio in 1978.
Another master of the sword-and-sorcery genre, Boris Vallejo (b. 1941)
has built a tremendous career over fifty years. In that time, he has painted
nearly every fantasy figure: Tarzan, John Carter (plate 59), Conan, and many
more. However, his most-viewed work may be the illustrated film poster for
National Lampoon's Vacation (1983), in which Vallejo lampoons his own
barbarian-themed work.
The painter Hannes Bok (1914-1964) is best known for the covers he
designed for pulp magazines in the 1940s and 1950s, including Weird Tales,
Other Worlds, Planet Stories, and many more. Though he alternated between
color and black-and-white, all of his artworks shared a surreal fluidity
(plate 63). Maxfield Parrish’s use of color is a clear influence on the pulp 64. JEFF JONES (1944-2011)
covers Bok painted, but Bok nonetheless created a style uniquely his own. The Planet Wizard, 1969
Oil on canvas, 29 x 19% in. (73.7 x 49.5 cm)
The artwork of Jeff Jones (1944-2011) first appeared in the pages of pulp magazines Cover illustration for John Jakes, The
Creepy, Eerie, and Vampirella. He would eventually be declared one of the greatest fantasy Planet Wizard (New York: Ace Books,
artists. Throughout the late 1960s and 1970s, Jones painted covers for hundreds of horror, 1969)
Robert K. Wiener
sci-fi, and fantasy paperback novels, winning numerous awards (plate 64). He was proud
to note that Frank Frazetta called him “the greatest living painter.”
Although the days of pulp magazines are long gone, the most iconic pulp characters
live on in films, such as Flash Gordon (1980), Conan the Barbarian (1982), The Shadow
(1994), The Mask of
Zorro (1998), Solomon Kane (2009), and John Carter (2012). The age-
old themes of fantasy, science fiction, crime, romance, and suspense are alive and well
in paperback novels. Featuring thrilling covers by respected illustrators such as Robert
McGinnis, Ron Lesser, Gregory Manchess, Chuck Pyle, Drew Struzan, Tyler Jacobson,
and others, companies like Hard Case Crime, Tor Books, and Brash Books continue to
publish dozens of such books every year.”

Modern Fantasy Illustration 89

 COMIC ART

artoons have been popular in France, England, and the United States since the late
1700, originating as satirical and political drawings printed in newspapers and
periodicals. Through a natural evolution, cartoons developed into comic books,
first through publications containing compilations of cartoon reprints, then as books
with original cartoon artwork, before reaching critical mass through the creation of the
first superhero, Superman, in 1938.
The eighteenth-century Scottish satirist Isaac Cruikshank (1764-1811) was an early and
noteworthy political cartoonist (plate 65), and his London-born sons, Isaac and George,
carried on the tradition. Perhaps the most influential political cartoonist of all time was
Thomas Nast (1840-1902), who played a large role in bringing down New York Democrat
William “Boss” Tweed’s corrupt political machine in the 1870s, through a series ofheav-
ily critical cartoons (plate 66).
Serial comic strips printed in newspapers became popular in the United States in the
early days ofthe twentieth century. One ofthe pioneers of the form, Winsor McCay (1869-
1934), best known for the comic strip Little Nemo in Slumberland (plate 67), remains a
significant figure for cartoonists and animators to this day. First published on October 15,
1905, McCay’s weekly Little Nemo strip followed the adventures of Nemo, a young boy
whose fantastic nightly dreams were detailed in the comic’s panels. His extravagant visions
were not confined to any particular time or place and were often not based in reality. In

65. ISAAC CRUIKSHANK (1764-1811) FE AE Thafiver DEPP

Ia
Curse or bhase Vac mglars hDritheraDsrothers 3 effer Phe love ofGain lo te i
Vaccination against Small Pox, 1808 wethall al be sarved-, why rater Fe Overcome ly (Conpg fiom fr your fellonvercalures y,
Colored etching heave jratter enough here lo hill so, 4 he not Lalegfee 2 plnge whole amitecr in the hegpurh
kiskrofa» by the unlimely Of yfnearest and Dearest, J
And. Those would Dp neeoD Se ae eS 5(ORR ice nae Lelat: VES BOS
In Cruikshank’s cartoon, British doctor tL be 500. mu 3 ye. Aye. Salways ovder Uber Lh~
Edward Jenner, creator of the smallpox ; Z lis
4 inthe air, in order beasreal sy

vaccine, pleads with doctors opposing

vaccination, who walk a path through
the bodies of dead and dying children. A
cherub crowns Dr. Jenner with a laurel
wreath, declaring him “The Preserver of
the Human Race.”

>: hs = it

i VACC. TNA TION Agar ns L SMALL P0X Mercenary» Thevedeft spreaders ofDeath uDevastation

90 JESSE KOWALSKI
any given week, readers could find Nemo battling giants, enjoying a
ride on an enormous condor, chopping down George Washington's
cherry tree of lore, receiving a kiss from a princess, visiting Jack Frost’s
frozen palace, touring the countryside in the mouth of a dragon, or
sailing alongside a band of pirates. Each strip ended with Little Nemo
awakening in bed, in fright or from the rousing words of an adult.
The comic strip displayed McCay’s mastery of depth of field, per-
spective, composition, use of color, and storytelling ability. Filling a
color sixteen- by twenty-one-inch page of the Sunday edition of the
New York Herald, McCay experimented with ingenious use of the
newspaper page through creatively shaped panels of varying sizes
that were altered to adapt to each story. The Little Nemo in Slumber-
land strip was published until 1914 and had a short-lived revival in the
mid-1920s.
The beloved and extraordinarily enduring comic strip Prince Val-
iant, created by Hal Foster (1892-1982) in 1937, has told a continu-
ous story over the course of four-thousand-plus weekly episodes
(plate 68). It takes place largely in Arthurian England and depicts a
heroic knight in encounters with Merlin, King Arthur, Vikings, and,
naturally, a dragon. Drawn by a variety of artists, such as Gary Gianni,
since Foster’s retirement in 1971, the comic strip continues to run in
newspapers to this day.
In a 1977 interview, movie director George Lucas described the sig-
nificance of Foster and his medium:
66. THOMAS NAST (1840-1902)
“A group of vultures waiting for the storm to
[Foster] was a huge influence in comic art and, I think, art in general. Some of the ‘Blow Over’—‘Let Us Prey’? 1871
Illustration for Harper’s Weekly, September
Prince Valiants are as beautiful and expressive as anything you are going to find any- 23, 1871
where. It is a form of narrative art but because it is in comics it has never been looked Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs
at as art. I look at art, all of art, as graffiti. That’s how the Italians describe the hiero- Division, Washington, DC

glyphics on the Egyptian tombs, they were just pictures of a past culture. That is all This powerful cartoon depicts “Boss” Tweed
art is, a way of expressing emotions that come out of a certain culture at a certain and his associates picking over the bones of
the taxpayers of New York City as a storm of
time. That’s what cartoons are, and that’s what comics are. They are expressing a cer-
criticism swirls around them.
tain cultural manifestation on a vaguely adolescent level but because of it, it is much
more pure because it is dealing with real basic human drives that more sophisticated
art sometimes obscures.°°

In the 1940s, John Coleman Burroughs (1913-1979) illustrated the John Carter of Mars
Sunday comic strip (plate 69), based on the character his father, Edgar Rice Burroughs,
had created in 1912 (see plates 58-60). Additional pulp-fiction icons appearing in comic
strips include Tarzan of the Apes (first drawn by future Prince Valiant creator Hal Foster
in 1929); Flash Gordon, which was published from 1934 to 2003, and Conan the Barbar-
ian from 1978 to 1981.

Modern Fantasy Illustration gl

 (IT §SAYS, HERE, THAT WHEN NEMO WAS CHANGED 70 A GIANT, BY .
een eeof!) Py) slant‘Alas 4 COULD PASS THE GIGANTIC GUARDS AT THE FOURS Rec er ener
> _J GATE, HE DISOBEYED HER AND WENT TO THE RESCUE OF A CONTEMPTIBLE :
HE'S A TERROR FE ES: WRETCH NAMED FLIP, SHE PROMPTLY REDUCED HIM TO A MIDGET To PUN-| {ENEMY INTO HERE,
AsaBESOLU Ze ISH HIM, AND HE AWOKE. NOW ISN'T THAT TOUGH? ISN'T IT A PITY? ess

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 WRITTEN
lee
AND
by Haro R Foster

BUT THORKELL'S BROTHER, TALL EGIL, IS THE SINGING SWORD’ COMES WHISPERING FROM
Our Story: THE CHIEFTAIN IS ANGRY, FOR CRAZED WITH ANGER AND CALLS THE ITS JEWELED SCABBARD AS IF EAGER FOR
PRINCE VALIANT HAS SLAIN. THORKELL IN FAIR ‘BLOOD FEUD,’ WHICH WOULD BIND HIS BATTLE. THE SWORD IS THE QUICKER WEAPON,
FIGHT AND, IN ACCORDANCE WITH THEIR FAMILY TO WAR AGAINST VAL'S UNTIL ONE BUT A FAIR BLOW OF THE AXE CAN SHEAR
TRADITIONS, IS NOT SUBJECT TO VENGEANCE. SIDE IS EXTINGUISHED, THROUGH SHIELD OR HELMET. VAL MUST
RELY ON HIS AGILITY.

IN THE LURID GLOW OF THE TORCHES THE DUEL BEGINS. EGIL PRESSES THEN ONE VIKING, HOPING TO HELP HIS FRIEND, SHOVES A BENCH AT
EVER FORWARD WHILE VAL LEAPS ASIDE OR, DARTING IN, SMOTHERS VAL'S LEGS AND TRIPS HIM. EGIL STEPS BACK, OUTLAW THOUGH HE
THE OTHER'S ATTACK. HE KNOWS ALL THE AXEMAN'S TRICKS AND (5, HE STILL HAS # 1S PRIDE.
AWAITS THE ONE DEADLY STROKE HE CAN TAKE ADVANTAGE OF. "7 DON'T NEED YOUR HELP!" HE SNARLS AS YAL GAINS HIS FEET.

FL SER

akess HIS SHIELD COMES UP UNDER VAL'S AS

ON AND ON THEY FIGHT. VAL WAITING FOR HE STEPS FORWARD, TURNING HIS BODY TO
THE ONE MOVE THAT WILL GIVE HIM AN GET FULL POWER INTO THE UNDERHAND BLOW
OPENING. IT MUST COME SOON, FOR HIS THEN IT COMES! EGIL STRIKES A GLANCING THAT WOULD SPLIT HIS OPPONENT LIKE
SHIELD WILL SOON BECOME USELESS UNDER BLOW AND LETS HIS AXE SWING AWAY A HERRING.
EGIL'S MIGHTY STROKES. BEHIND HIM....... next week The Severed Armguard
6-22 fe Yrs 1969. Weld acho vet 1089

67. WINSOR McCay (1869-1934) 68. HAL FOSTER (1892-1982)

Little Nemo in Slumberland, May 20, 1906 Prince Valiant, 1969
Ink and blue pencil on paper, 28 x 21% in. (71.1 x 54.9 cm) Pen and ink on Bristol board, 34% x 24% in. (87.9 x 62.2 cm)
The Ohio State University Billy Ireland Cartoon Library The Ohio State University Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and
and Museum, Columbus; Philip Sills Collection Museum, Columbus; Gift of Hal Foster
 THE CHICAGO SUN, SUNDAY, DECEMBER 7, 1941

RIZONA, IB65 -FOLLOWING

ee WAR, SEne) OPS
WE szcns
THE STRANGE
STORY OF AN
EARTHMAN
WHOSE
POWERFUL
WILL CARRIED
HIM ACROSS
43 MILLION

FOLLOWING TALE 1S COMPILED FROM

JOHN CARTER'S MEMOIRS WRITTEN
UPCN HIS RETURN FROM MARS

HE SLUMPS TO THE GROUND,

PARALYZED; THEN SOMETHING
SNAPS, “BEFORE ME LIES
MY OWN BODY /” HE
WHISPERS

PseeKiING To
HIDE HIS FRIEND'S
} \, }! BODY, CARTER IS
CARTER BARELY <apemes Ls RPA e ' [ey ‘ \ : CHOKED BY STRONG
ESCAPES INTO ™ 5 cx ’ GASEOUS VAPORS
THE FOOTHILLS WITH _ : i: Sa DM INSIDE YA LONELY
POWELL'S BODY BEFORE HIS » 2S yp CAVERN
WOUNDED HORSE FALLS DEAD : f y

ATION, THE MAN

‘CHES ‘HIS ARMS
ROi
ing

EXTREME
/ COLD AND
DARKNESS,
VIN THE SKY OUTSIDE, HE 1S DRAWN
LITTERING RED PLANE} 4 THROUGH THE
EEMS TO BECKON WITH A af TRACKLESS ~?
STRANGE, IRRESISTIBLE ATTRACTION IMMENSITY
Cane IMI hy United Festure Rendleate, Tne. OF SPACE

69. JOHN COLEMAN BURROUGHS NOW IN BOOK FORM

(1913-1979)
John Carter of Mars comic strip, WITH MORE THAN e}@) ILLUSTRATIONS.
December 7, 1941 THE PRICE 50 Cents
Tearsheet, ink on paper, 9 x 14 in. r L
(22.9 X 35.6 cm) i OW K |D
The Ohio State University Billy Ireland (
Cartoon Library and Museum, San o) €
Francisco Academy of Comic Art, y Ml FADDEN KS
Columbus FLATS

Reoee
70. R. F. OUTCAULT (186
(1863-192 8) isgannl
UW 2 | oD
Poster, 1896 EW. TOWNSEND
“6 AUTHOR OF
Lithograph on paper, 18 x 12 in.
(45.7 X 30.5 cm) CHIMMIE FADDEN
Advertisement for E. W. Townsend + TR RAEEPERS epee
and R. F. Outcault, The Yellow Kid AND _
in McFadden’s Flats (New York: R: FOUTCAULT
G. W. Dillingham, 1897) CREATOR. OF
Private collection YELLOW Ki D.

4
G@: W-DILLINGHAM Co.
**¢, PUBLISHERS
+ NEWYORK:

FOR SALE HERE.

 The earliest comic books were collections of strips that had already been printed in
newspapers. Published in 1897, The Yellow Kid in McFadden’s Flats is considered to be the
first, insomuch that it bore the phrase “comic book” on its back cover (plate 70). Far from
the full-color glossies of today, this book featured black-and-white reprints of a popular
newspaper series. Subsequent compilation books included reprints of the strips The Kat-
zenjammer Kids, Happy Hooligan, Buster Brown, and Mutt e& Jeff.
The first monthly comic book, aptly titled Comic Monthly, began publication in 1922; it
too featured reprints of daily newspaper comic strips. In 1933, Funnies on Parade became
the first color comic book printed in the now standard size (6% x 10% inches).
DC Comics began in 1934 as National Allied Publications. In the mid-1930s, National
Allied’s output consisted mainly of detective and adventure magazines in the vein of The
Shadow or Buck Rogers. In February 1935, National Allied published the first issue of New
Fun—its first comic book, and the first ever to consist of completely original material.
Writer Jerry Siegel (1914-1996) and artist Joe Shuster (1914-1992) began working at New
Fun in October 1935. In March 1937, in the first issue of Detective Comics, Siegel and Shus-
ter introduced a brawny detective character named Slam Bradley, the forebear of their
creation Superman, the first fantasy superhero.
The golden age of comic books began with Superman’s debut. Making his first entrance
in Action Comics, number one (June 1938), the character was an immediate hit with the
American public. Superman was so popular that he became the first superhero to receive
his own comic book, with the publication of Superman, number one, in June 1939.
An amalgam of Flash Gordon and Friedrich Nietzsche's Ubermensch (with Clark Gable
and Harold Lloyd informing his alter ego), the world’s first superhero was born Kal-El, on
the planet Krypton. Realizing that Krypton would soon die of “old age,’ Kal-El’s father,
Jor-El, sends his only child to Earth in a rocket ship. Kal-El’s crashing vessel is spotted by
a passing motorist, who turns the baby over to an orphanage. Reaching maturity, Clark
Kent, as he was named, could jump over twenty-story buildings, run faster than a train,
and lift tremendous weights. The source of his power was his highly advanced Krypto-
nian physiology. Because of this unique gift, he chose to become Superman and “devote
his existence to those in need.”
Superman’s backstory was eventually altered, and in the revision, Ma and Pa Kent in
Kansas find and adopt the alien baby, and his strengths include the ability to fly, increased
superpowers, and near invulnerability. The source of his power was later explained to be
an effect of Earth’s yellow sun on his alien DNA.
Since he burst onto the scene, Superman has appeared in numerous comic book series
(plate 71), a daily comic strip, a radio series, theatrical cartoons, film serials, several fea-
ture films and live-action television series, and numerous animated television series.
Over the past eighty years, Clark Kent/Superman has married, died, returned to life, and
fought Al Capone, Nazis, and Communists—all while wearing tights.”
Scores of other superheroes were introduced to readers over the next fewyears. Although
many were based on fictionalized realities, several were purely fantasy creations. Captain
Marvel, Wonder Woman, the Spectre, Doctor Fate, Zatanna, and others used mythology

Modern Fantasy Illustration 95

or magic as the foundations of their power. At a time when the most popular superheroes
were the alien from Krypton, millionaire detective Bruce Wayne (Batman), and the fiery
android Human Torch, Fawcett Comics introduced Captain Marvel—an ordinary boy
named Billy Batson who could turn himself into a superhero. Modeling Captain Marvel
on popular actor Fred MacMurray, artist C. C. Beck (1910-1989) debuted his character in
Whiz Comics, number two, in February 1940.
In his first appearance, twelve-year-old Billy, a newsboy, is led through a subway tunnel
by a mysterious stranger, who takes him to meet the wizard Shazam. The wizard grants
Billy magical powers, accessed by uttering the word Shazam, after which a lightning bolt
appears and Billy Batson is transformed into Captain Marvel. (Shazam is an acronym
derived from “the wisdom of Solomon, the strength of Hercules, the stamina ofAtlas, the
power ofZeus, the courage ofAchilles, and the speed of Mercury.’) Pronouncing Shazam
a second time changes Captain Marvel back into Billy Batson.
For a period in the mid-1940s, Captain Marvel was more popular than Superman. This
drew the ire of executives at DC Comics, who already believed Captain Marvel's pow-
ers and likeness were too similar to those of Superman. After a series of lawsuits between
DC Comics and Fawcett Comics, Captain Marvel ceased publication in late 1953, as part
of a settlement deal between the two companies. Under the title Shazam!, DC Comics
revived the series in the 1970s in comic books and a live-action TV show. The DC charac-
ter is now also referred to as Shazam. Marvel Comics owns the name Captain Marvel and
has turned the character into a female superhero with an unrelated backstory.”
Wonder Woman, who first appeared in All Star Comics, number eight (December 1940/
January 1941), was a relatively late arrival to the superhero genre (plate 72). The most pop-
ular female superhero to date, Wonder Woman is an Amazon warrior princess named
Diana who traveled to the United States to help fight the Nazis during World War II. Pos-
sessing superhuman strength and speed, Wonder Woman carries a magic truth-telling
lasso. The superhero was portrayed by Lynda Carter in the iconic Wonder Woman televi-
sion series, which aired from 1975 to 1979. The Wonder Woman film, released in 2017, was
hugely successful at the box office and achieved praise from critics and audiences alike,
making the superhero more popular than ever.
During the return to normalcy in post-World War II America, the sales of superhero
comic books plummeted, and many titles ceased publication. Through the mid-1950s, the
void was filled by comic books catering to a variety of audiences interested in fantasy, hor-
ror, crime, romance, and Western stories.
In 1954, in his best-selling book Seduction of the Innocent, psychiatrist Fredric Wertham
asserted that comic books ofall types were corrupting the youth of America. Members of
Congress were so shocked by Wertham’s claims that they called him to testify before the
Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency.
Sensing public backlash, that same year comic book publishers created the Comics
Code Authority in order to self-regulate their industry, much as the Motion Picture Asso-
ciation of America was formed to prevent government involvement in film production.
The new code set a number of requirements for comic books:

96 JESSE KOWALSKI
 <<
71. TERRY DODSON (b. 1970) and
RACHEL Dopson (b. 1969)
Untitled, 2013
Ink on paper with digital color,
19 X 13 in. (48.3 x 33 cm)
Variant cover illustration for
Superman Unchained, no. 2,
September 2013
Collection ofthe artist

<

72. TERRY DODSON (b. 1970) and

RACHEL DODSON (b. 1969)
Untitled, 2007
Ink on paper, 19 x 13 in.
(48.3 x 33. cm)
Preliminary cover illustration for
Wonder Woman, no. 13, December
2007
Collection of the artist

Vampires and vampirism, ghouls, cannibalism and werewolfism are prohibited.

In every instance good shall triumph over evil.
Females shall be drawn realistically without exaggeration of any physical qualities.
If crime is depicted it shall be as a sordid and unpleasant activity.

Subsequently canceling many horror, crime, and romance series that violated the code,
comic book companies began reviving golden age superheroes (the Flash and Green Lan-
tern, for example), revamping existing characters, and creating new ones (Spider-Man
and Iron Man). This flourishing is often called the silver age of comic books.
In 1971, the Comics Code Authority relaxed some standards, going so far as to state:
“Vampires, ghouls, and werewolves shall be permitted to be used when handled in the
classic tradition.” The more lenient attitude allowed for the return of the horror comic
genre, including titles such as The Tomb of Dracula in 1972 and Ghost Rider and Tales of
the Zombie in 1973.
From the mid-i980s through the early 1990s, antiheroes became popular. Readers
turned toward dark, pessimistic stories, such as Alan Moore’s Watchmen, set in a world
that looks down on once-mighty superheroes, or Frank Miller’s Batman: The Dark Knight
Returns, in which a fifty-five-year-old Batman has retired from crime fighting, leav-
ing criminals to terrorize Gotham City. Comic book fans during this period witnessed

Modern Fantasy Illustration 97

 Superman dying, Batman becoming critically injured,
and Green Lantern Hal Jordan slaughtering his fellow
Green Lanterns.
During the mid-1990s, the industry experienced a
period of downsizing due to a massive drop in comic
book sales, which contributed to the bankruptcy of
Marvel Comics in 1996. Making matters worse, the
declining quality of superhero films, culminating in
Batman e& Robin (1997), turned audiences away. How-
ever, by the end of the decade, comic book publish-
ers had begun improving the quality of their products,
and a new era of thoughtful superhero films began
with the release of the X-Men film in 2000. Since then,
audiences have enjoyed a rebirth of superheroes in
movies and comic books.*
The modern world has evolved beyond the black-
and-white morality ofpast generations into oneofinnu-
merable gradations. This is a change long coming. As
| technology and culture developed at a quickened pace
j \ in the 1800s, philosophers began to develop new the-
b\ ories to provide alternative views to long-held beliefs
\ and traditions. Fantasy no longer worked in coordina-
\__ tion with reality, and new moralities came into being.
2H \ Philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche proclaimed:

As in the realm of stars the orbit of a planet is in

some cases determined by two suns; as in certain
cases suns of different colors shine near a single
planet, sometimes with red light, sometimes with
green light, and then occasionally illuminating
the planet at the same time and flooding it with
73. BEN OLIVER (b. 1972) . ; ;
Untitled Golo colors—so we modern men are determined, thanks to the complicated mechanics
Pencil, spray paint, acrylic, and gouache, of our “starry sky,’ by different moralities; our actions shine alternately in different
17 X 11 in. (43.2 x 27.9 cm)
colors, they are rarely univocal—and there are cases enough in which we perform
Cover illustration for Vengeance of
Vampirella, no. 2, November 2019 actions of many colors.°*
Dean Abraham

In the twenty-first century, the world has become one in which Batman, the masked
vigilante, is held in higher esteem (and is more profitable) than Superman, now consid-
ered by many to be an outdated propagandist, espousing the values of “Truth, Justice,
and the American Way.” However, a new generation of fans has found a kinship with anti-
hero superheroes like Vampirella and Hellboy, both born from evil but devoted to doing
good—as best they can.

98 JESSE KOWALSKI
74. MIKE MIGNOLA

(43.2 X 27.9 cm)

Cover illustration for
Hellboy: The Wild Hunt,
no. 4, March 2009
Collection ofthe artist
> Typically clad in little clothing, the character Vampirella comes from the planet Dra-
75. WINSOR McCay kulon, which is populated by vampires (plate 73). Vampirella made her way to Earth via
(1869-1934) an errant spacecraft and changed her ways to devote her life to ridding the world of evil.
Animation drawing from
Gertie the Dinosaur, 1914 Created by Forrest J. Ackerman (1916-2008), founder of the magazine Famous Monsters
Ink on rice paper, 7 X 9 in. of Filmland, the character debuted in Vampirella, number one, in 1969, with a cover by
(17.8 X 22.9 cm)
Private collection
Frank Frazetta. Dynamite Comics currently publishes several Vampirella titles, some of
which feature her with other fantasy-fan favorite characters, including Red Sonja, Dejah
An archetypal creature, the sea
Thoris (of Burroughs’s John Carter series), and Archie Comics’ Betty and Veronica.
serpent, makes an appearance
in one of the rare extant Mike Mignola (b. 1960) created the Hellboy series in 1993, releasing it through the
drawings from Gertie the independent comic book publisher Dark Horse. The offspring of a human mother and
Dinosaur.
a demon father, and born in hell, Hellboy was brought to Earth in a plot hatched by the
nN Russian mystic Rasputin and the Nazis during World War II, and then rescued by the
76. FLEISCHER STUDIOS Allies. Thereupon, Hellboy is raised in captivity but treated as a normal child, though he
Still from Gulliver’s Travels
(dir. Dave Fleischer, Fleischer
possesses superhuman strength, red skin, and horns, which he files down. Despite being
Studios), 1939 half demon, Hellboy joins the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense, where he is
tasked with fighting all manner of supernatural and otherworldly evil (plate 74).
The Hellboy series continues to enjoy success, which has not waned over nearly three
decades. The character regularly appears in comic book series, novels, and video games,
and has been featured in three live-action films, released in 2004, 2008, and 2019. Unlike
many superhero creators who came before him, Mignola owns the rights to his creation,
contributing to the character’s sustained popularity. Mignola’s dedication to his craft was
acknowledged at the 2016 Spectrum Fantastic Art annual, when he was awarded the dis-
tinguished title of Grand Master.

ANIMATION

llustration has played an important role throughout the history of cinema. Before the
invention of the film camera, scientists used drawings when experimenting with cre-
ating moving images. In 1833, Belgian scientist Joseph Plateau invented the phenakis-
toscope, one of the first animation devices. He discovered that images drawn on disks
could be spun in a way that showed animated movement. According to historian Stephen
Prince: “The disks held a series of drawings on one side separated by slits. When the
disk was held before a mirror and rotated, and when viewed through the slits, the draw-
ings appeared to move.” Subsequent devices such as the mirrored stereoscope and the
three-dimensional zoetrope improved on Plateau’s design.®* During the 1890s, the devel-
opment of the modern film camera, invented by Auguste and Louis Lumiére, Thomas
Edison, and others, introduced moving images that could be projected and viewed by
groups oftheatergoers.
Due to its innovation, use of humor, and skillful design, Gertie the Dinosaur (1914), cre-
ated by golden age illustrator Winsor McCay, marks the beginning of modern film anima-
tion. It was essentially a type of flip-book animation, with each page of the cartoon fully
hand-drawn on rice paper, including nonchanging backgrounds traced from the previous

100 JESSE KOWALSKI

 } BEYOND THE FUTURE
NEVER SEEN BEFORE...
TERSE OF MYSTERY.

HEAVY METAL
*Sescnex MICHAEL GROSS “Sy¥ELMER BERNSTEIN — rrocuer LEONARD MOGEL
scarey DAN GOLDBERG & LEN BLUM ™S?Sio8foregev RICHARD CORBEN, ANGUS McKIE,
DAN O'’BANNON, THOMAS WARKENTIN ano BERNI WRIGHTSON m
pret? GERALD POTTERTON SIVAN REITMAN
rademark

= SSS <any = ripe mel ADVANCE TEASER # NSS 810081

page. The twelve-minute film required about ten thousand handmade drawings, from 77. CHRIS ACHILLEOS (b. 1947)
Poster illustration for Heavy Metal (dir.
which approximately four hundred pages survive (plate 75).
Gerald Potterton, Columbia Pictures), 1981
Special-effects pioneer Willis H. O’Brien (1886-1962) brought to life fantastic crea-
tures through stop-motion animation in The Lost World (1925), adapted from Sir Arthur
Conan Doyle's 1912 novel, and King Kong (1933). Meanwhile, animation artists Walt Dis-
ney (1901-1966) and Ub Iwerks (1901-1971) were busy at their Laugh-O-Gram Studio in
Kansas City in 1922 creating comedies based around a human character named Alice. The
films combined the movements ofa live-action actress as she interacted with hand-drawn
animation. Knowing the future of animation was not in Kansas City, Disney and Iwerks
moved to Los Angeles the following year, hoping that a fresh start would lead to success.
In 1921, brothers Max Fleischer (1883-1972) and Dave Fleischer (1894-1979) formed
the animation studio Out of the Inkwell Films in New York City, where they made surreal
cartoons featuring Ko-Ko the Clown and Bimbo, and created the singular Betty Boop and
turned the comic strip character Popeye the Sailor into a movie star. The brothers formed
Fleischer Studios in 1929, which produced two feature-length animated films: Gulliver’s
Travels (plate 76) in 1939, only the second American animated feature film (after Disney’s
1937 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs); and Mr. Bug Goes to Town, released in 1941, the
same year Fleischer Studios began releasing a series of groundbreaking animated short
films starring Superman.
Although animation studios began introducing sound into their cartoons in the late
1920s, they were not able to adequately synchronize the movement on screen with the
audio track. Walt Disney adeptly incorporated sound into his cartoons by using a click
track on the film, which indicated to the musicians the beat to follow. Released in 1928,
Steamboat Willie was the third Mickey Mouse short film but the first Disney short to be
released with synchronized dialogue and score.
Six years after the premier of Steamboat Willie, Walt Disney hired Swedish-born illus-
trator Gustaf Tenggren (1897-1970) to assist with the design of his first feature film, Snow
White and the Seven Dwarfs. Following the success of that venture, Tenggren continued
to work for Disney, helping to craft the look of fantasy films Pinocchio (1940) and Fantasia
(1940), as well as Bambi (1942). Over the next two decades, Disney continued to focus on
fantasy animation, often basing his films on preexisting stories, including Alice in Won-
derland (1951) and Peter Pan (1953). Sleeping Beauty (1959) performed below expectations
at the box office, and many of the company’s employees found themselves out of work.
Subsequently, Disney began producing numerous less-expensive live-action movies and
fewer animated films. However, Disney incorporated animation in the live-action fantasy
films Mary Poppins (1964) and Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971), as the studio had done
several years earlier in the musical Song of the South (1946).
While the Fleischer Brothers enjoyed huge success in the 1930s with Betty Boop and
Popeye animated short films, Warner Bros. dominated the field in the 1940s and 1950s,
both behind the scenes and on screen. Animators Tex Avery, Chuck Jones, Bob Clam-
pett, and others animated the films, while writers such as Michael Maltese and Tedd
Pierce wrote the scripts, and legendary voice actors Mel Blanc and June Foray brought the

Modern Fantasy Illustration 103

characters to life. On-screen, Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Elmer Fudd, Wile E.
Coyote, and many other characters brought joy to millions. In animation historian Jerry
Beck’s 1994 book, The 50 Greatest Cartoons: As Selected by 1,000 Animation Professionals,
four of the top five cartoons were produced by Warner Bros.: Duck Dodgers in the 24¥ath
Century (1953), Duck Amuck (1953), One Froggy Evening (1955), and What's Opera, Doc?
(1957), in which Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd act out the parts of Brunhild and Siegfried
in a parody of Richard Wagner’s Ring of the Nibelung.°°
Following the 1948 US Supreme Court's United States v. Paramount Pictures decision,
which declared that movie studios could no longer be in the business of owning movie
theaters, most of the studios shuttered their animation departments.
German illustrator Heinz Edelmann (1934-2009), well known in Europe for his dis-
tinctive surrealist style, was hired to design the look of the Beatles’ film Yellow Subma-
rine (1968). The band’s members had reservations about being involved in an animated
film, concerned it would be similar to The Beatles television cartoon series (1965-67),
produced by King Features Syndicate, which they disliked. King Features producer Al
Brodax was eager to make the film, and promised a different look than he had presented
in the TV show.”
The Beatles reluctantly agreed to the deal but limited their contribution to a handful of
new songs. Their speaking voices were provided by British actors, though the band mem-
bers were contractually obligated to appear in a live-action segment at the end of the film.
Ultimately, the Beatles were pleased with the style of Yellow Submarine. Edelmann’s rev-
olutionary design had a powerful influence on other animators, including Terry Gilliam,
who animated segments on the sketch-comedy series Monty Python's Flying Circus, and
the Disney company, which re-released the 1940 film Fantasia with a psychedelic adver-
tising campaign in 1969.°°
After something of a dearth of theatrically released animated films came the fantasy
film Wizards (1977), directed by Ralph Bakshi (b. 1938) and featuring eye-catching pro-
motional art painted by William Stout. Created with a meager budget, Wizards was pop-
ular enough to prove Bakshi could direct successful animated films. The following year,
he released an animated retelling of (most of) J. R. R. Tolkien’s epic tale The Lord of the
Rings. When asked which artists influenced the film’s design, Bakshi replied, “No contem-
porary illustrators inspired me on this film. The major influence was guys like [Howard]
Pyle and [N. C.] Wyeth. It’s very classical.”®”
The 1981 animated film Heavy Metal has developed a cult following since its theatri-
cal release (plate 77). The publisher of Heavy Metal magazine, Leonard Mogel, based
the movie on science fiction and fantasy stories published in his magazine. The film's
strengths result from the mix of adult-themed animation; a cast of actors from the Cana-
dian television sketch series Second City Television (SCTV), including John Candy and
Eugene Levy; and an all-star soundtrack featuring Devo, Cheap Trick, Journey, and Black
Sabbath, among others. A sequel, Heavy Metal 2000, was produced twenty years later.
In 1983, Bakshi collaborated with Frank Frazetta on the film Fire and Ice (plate 78).
At the time, Frazetta was hugely popular for his paintings of Conan the Barbarian, John

104 JESSE KOWALSKI

 78. ARTHUR TRESS (b. 1940)
Frank Frazetta and his daughter Heidi, posing with his
poster painting for Fire and Ice (dir. Ralph Bakshi, Polyc
International BV/Producers Sales Organization), 1983
Color photograph, 10 x 8 in. (25.4 x 20.3 cm)
Collection ofthe artist

Carter, and other fantasy figures, as well as the iconic Death Dealer, which he painted
in 1973. An added bonus for Bakshi was that Frazetta had previously worked in the film
industry, creating promotional material for the movies What's New Pussycat? (1965), Mad
Monster Party? (1967), and Clint Eastwood’s The Gauntlet (1977).
Bakshi intended the film to be an animated version of a Frazetta painting (see plates
61 and 62). To help replicate the artist’s signature style, Fire and Ice was designed using
a rotoscope process created by Max and Dave Fleischer. This involved filming an actor’s
movement, such as a dance or a sword fight, and tracing the figure from the motion pic-
ture film onto animation sheets, using input from Frazetta. The result was a more accu-
rate animated rendering of the actor’s movement than could be achieved by drawing from
model sheets. Illustrator James Gurney (b. 1958), whose work is included in this exhibi-
tion (see plates 111 and 153), worked as a background artist on the film with his friend
and fellow artist Thomas Kinkade. Gurney recalls, “Each of us had to produce about 600
paintings at a rate of about eleven per week.”

Modern Fantasy Illustration 105

 —————

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79. LEDL BERNHARD (active 1920) 80. ANTON GROT (1884-1974)

Poster for Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari (dir. Robert Wiene, Decla Film- Poster for The Thief
of Bagdad (dir. Raoul Walsh, United Artists), 1924
Gesellschaft), 1920 Private collection
Private collection

CINEMA

n early cinema history, no movies were more thrilling than those based on fantasy.
The French film pioneer Georges Méliés (1861-1938) brought fantasy to life through
the use of special effects, hand-colored film stock, and animation in groundbreaking
short films includingA Trip to the Moon (1902), The Kingdom ofFairies (1903), and The
Impossible Voyage (1904). The latter was based on Jules Verne’s 1882 play Journey through
the Impossible, in which travelers explore uncharted realms, from the center of the earth
to other planets.
The German Expressionist filmmakers of the 1920s excelled at the use offantastic imag-
ery within their films and in their marketing. The dark fantasy films The Golem (1920),
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920; plate 79), Nosferatu (1922), Destiny (1921), and Phantom

106 JESSE KOWALSKI

 CARL LAEMMLE presents

“MUMM
THE UNCANNY <>:

with
ZITA JOHANN
DAVID MANNERS
EDWARD VAN SLOAN
featuring. ARTHUR BYRON
BELA LUGOS!, DAVID MANNERS NINA WILCOX PUTHAM
RICHARD SCHAYER

HELEN CHANDLER, DWIGHT FRYE Produced

KARL FREUND
by CARL LAEMMLE Dv,
EDWARD VAN SLOAN
A UNIVERSAL PICTURE

81. UNKNOWN ARTIST 82. KAROLY GROSzZ (active 1920s-1930S)

Poster for Dracula (dir. Tod Browning, Universal Studios), 1931 Poster for The Mummy (dir. Karl Freund, Universal Studios), 1932
Private collection Private collection

(1922) served as an emotional outlet to the German people following their country’s defeat
in World War I. The illustrations used to promote the films were no less provocative.
Many illustrators found work creating promotional artwork for film studios in the early
years of Hollywood (plate 80). Some of today’s most sought-after movie posters are ones
illustrated for early fantasy films. A painted poster for Dracula (1931; plate 81) sold for
$525,000 in 2017; a poster for The Mummy (1932; plate 82) sold in 1997 for $478,000; and
an illustrated King Kong (1933) poster went for $244,500 in 1999.”"
RKO Radio Pictures was the first Hollywood studio to commission Norman Rockwell
to illustrate advertisements for a motion picture. Rockwell’s poster for Orson Welles’s sec-
ond film, The Magnificent Ambersons (his first was Citizen Kane), depicted the stars of
the 1942 melodrama, which told the story ofadysfunctional family in middle America of
the 1890s. A promotional success, Rockwell’s poster inspired future commissions for The

Modern Fantasy Illustration 107

83. IAIN McCaica (b. 1957)
Star Wars Classic Trilogy Triptych, 2015
Pencil, watercolor, and digital, 17 x 42 in. (43.2 x 106.7 cm)
Private collection

Just after the release of Star Wars in 1977, director George Lucas told Paul
Scanlon of Rolling Stone (August 25, 1977): “I wanted to make a space fantasy
that was more in the genre of Edgar Rice Burroughs; that whole other end of
space fantasy that was there before science took it over in the Fifties. Once the
atomic bomb came, everybody got into monsters and science and what would
happen with this and what would happen with that. I think speculative fiction
is very valid but they forgot the fairy tales and the dragons and Tolkien and all
the real heroes.”
 Song of Bernadette (1943), The Razor’s Edge (1946), Stagecoach (1966), and Cinderfella
A,
(1960), a modern take on the Cinderella fairy tale starring comedian Jerry Lewis.
84. IAIN MCCAIG (b. 1957)
Untitled, 2002 Illustrator Bob Peak (1927-1992) began painting film posters in 1961 for the promo-
Graphite and digital, 11 x 8% in. tion of West Side Story. He went on to create posters for the fantasy films Camelot (1967),
(27.9 * 21.6 cm)
Concept art of Tinkerbell, from Peter Pan,
Superman (1978), and Excalibur (1981). One of the greatest of all fantasy poster artists,
by J. M. Barrie Richard Amsel (1947-1985) contributed illustrations for a number of films with fantas-
Collection of the artist tic elements, including Flash Gordon (1980), Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), and The Dark
a Crystal (1982).
85. IAIN MCCAIG (b.1957) Prominent film poster artist Drew Struzan (b. 1947) has painted promotional images
Untitled, 2016
for several fantasy features, including the Star Wars movies beginning in 1978, The Mup-
Pencil on paper, 14 x 17 in. (35.6 x 43.2 cm)
Concept art based on The Jungle Book, by pet Movie (1979), Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984), Hook (1991), Hellboy II:
Rudyard Kipling The Golden Army (2008), and the Harry Potter films.
Collection of the artist
Working behind the scenes, Iain McCaig (b. 1957) has designed concept art, story-
board art, and designs for several popular films over the past thirty years (plates 83-85).
McCaig began his career in cinema with Terminator2:Judgment Day (1991), Hook (1991),
and Interview with the Vampire (1994). In 1999, McCaig was hired as a principal designer
for the three Star Wars prequel films, as well as the more recent films Star Wars: Episode
VII—The Force Awakens (2015) and Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018). McCaig has created
illustrations for other high-profile films such as The Spiderwick Chronicles (2008), John
Carter (2012), The Avengers (2012), Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), Avengers: Infinity War
(2018), and Avengers: Endgame (2019). In 2008, a retrospective of McCaig’s illustration
career in cinema was released in the book Shadowline: The Art of lain McCaig.

110 JESSE KOWALSKI

 GAMING

he role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons was first published in 1974 and soon 86. DAvip C. SUTHERLAND III

became an underground success. By 1977 it had split into basic (plate 86) and (1949-2005)
Untitled, 1977
advanced versions. Although Dungeons e& Dragons lost popularity in the 1980s and Acrylic on board, 24% xX 22 in,
1990s due to the accessibility of video games, unfounded accusations by some outspo- (62.5 X 55.9 cm)
Cover illustration for the first Dungeons &
ken religious groups, and internal company restructuring, today the game is more popu-
Dragons Basic Set (TSR, 1977)
lar than ever, among both the players who grew up with it and a new generation of fans. Wizards of the Coast
As Americans have become more reliant on new technology and social media, many are
David C, Sutherland III served as art
finding pleasure in face-to-face game playing. Friends and strangers silence their phones director at Dungeons & Dragons for over
and set established playing times in order to meet in person to explore fantasy worlds in two decades. His painting on the box of the
quests and adventures created within their own groups. first set of Dungeons & Dragons is beloved
by many gamers. Sutherland’s vivid
Gary Gygax (1938-2008) and Dave Arneson (1947-2009) created Dungeons & Drag- illustration perfectly defined the premise of
ons, basing play on the rules of earlier military-based role-playing games. Instead of a the game, as a wizard and a knight begin
to battle a treasure-hoarding dragon.
game involving model soldiers going to war, Gygax and Arneson devised a game of mon-
sters and medieval-type heroes who venture on a quest. The two men formed TSR, Inc.
(Tactical Studies Rules), in 1973, and established the
basic rules for the game. With the help of a narrator
and game organizer referred to as the Dungeon Mas-
ter, each player creates a character based on preexisting
guidelines. Using a combination of mathematics and
many-sided dice, which help to determine actions, all
the players work as a team in the campaign. The char-
acters may find hidden treasure, dangerous dungeons
to explore, or a band of monsters waiting to attack.
Magic: The Gathering, begun in 1993 by the pub-
lisher Wizards of the Coast, is a role-playing game of
a different sort. Players use cards (plate 87), each with
its own statistics, to cast spells and summon creatures
to defeat their opponents. Unlike Dungeons & Drag-
ons participants, Magic players work on opposite sides
and rely on chance as well as skill. Naturally, the more
cards players have, the better able they are to succeed.
On its company website in 2018, Wizards of the Coast
announced it had printed more than 20 billion Magic
cards between 2008 and 2016. Wizards of the Coast
purchased TSR in 1997, bringing Dungeons & Drag-
ons and Magic: The Gathering into the same company.
These and other fantasy-based games, as well as
spinoff publications, share similar iconography, style,
and artists. The monsters and creatures in Dungeons
e Dragons are inspired by ancient mythology and

Modern Fantasy Illustration 1

 . WESLEY BuRT (b. 1982)
Judith, the Scourge Diva, 2019
Digital print on paper, 11 x 14 in. (27.9 x 35.6 cm)
Illustration for the character’s card, Magic: The Gathering
(Wizards of the Coast)
Collection of the artist

>
88. ScoTT MurRpPHy (b. 1984)
Flumph Encounter, 2018
Oil on sealed paper, 11% x 16% in. (29.2 x 41.9 cm)
Illustration for Waterdeep: Dungeon ofthe Mad Mage
(Wizards of the Coast)
Collection of the artist

Murphy’s work for the recent Dungeons & Dragons adventure

publication Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage features
an elf encountering Flumphs, unusual characters created
for the game in 1981. They are described as lawful, good
characters, resembling floating jellyfish, who use telepathy to
communicate to visitors of the Underdark. Murphy studied
his craft under illustration historian and artist Dennis
Nolan, whose own artwork is included in this exhibition (see
plate 162).
89. ANTHONY PALUMBO (b. 1980)
Angel Token, 2011
Oil on illustration board, 30 x 20 in.
(76.2 X 50.8 cm)
Illustration for token card for
Magic: The Gathering expansion
set Avacyn Restored (Wizards of the
Coast, 2012)
Collection ofthe artist
 characters and settings from J. R. R. Tolkien's Lord of
the Rings books. Elves, dwarves, orcs, and hundreds
of other creatures exist in a fantasy realm (plate 88).
One of the oldest gods in the history of humankind,
Tiamat of ancient Babylon, has been incorporated
into the game as a powerful dragon ofthe same name.
Angels, which have appeared in many religious texts
and innumerable fantasy illustrations since they were
first written about in ancient Rome, also factor into the
play of Dungeons & Dragons and Magic: The Gather-
ing, as powerful forces for good (plate 89).
Creating many early iconic characters and images
for Dungeons & Dragons, David Trampier (1954-
2014) was best known for his uniquely styled pen-
and-ink drawings inside publications created for the
game (plate 90). One of the most famous of all Dun-
geons & Dragons images is Trampier’s 1978 painting of
Moloch, printed on the cover of the Advanced Dun-
geons & Dragons Players Handbook.
Larry Elmore (b. 1948) began his artistic career
drawing for National Lampoon and Heavy Metal. In
wy
1981, he joined the staff of TSR as one of the company’s
4
first professional illustrators. Elmore left the company
aN
AY | in1987 to pursue other projects, which included coau-
—, thoring the fantasy novel Runes ofAutumnin 1996, and
; performing freelance work for various entities, includ-
ing Magic: The Gathering, DC Comics, and Dragon
Magazine (plate 91). Elmore recently published two
compendiums of his work, The Complete Elmore and
The Complete Elmore, Volume II: Black & White.
Among Dungeons & Dragons’ most prolific artists,
90. DAVID A. TRAMPIER (1954-2014) Jeff Easley (b. 1954) created cover art for horror magazines Creepy and Eerie before join-
Pseudo-Dragon, 1977
Permanent marker on bond paper,
ing his friend Larry Elmore at TSR in 1982. Easley’s Big Red Dragon painting was featured
1412 X 13 in. (36.8 x 33 cm) on the cover of TSR’s 1991 release, The New Easy-to-Master Dungeons & Dragons Game
Illustration for Gary Gygax, Advanced
(plate 92). After the purchase of TSR by Wizards of the Coast, Easley created additional
Dungeons & Dragons, Monster Manual:
Special Reference Work (Lake Geneva, WI: artwork for Magic: The Gathering, until leaving the company in 2003 to pursue freelance
TSR Hobbies, 1977) work.
Tony and Angela DiTerlizzi
Numerous other artists have created cover art and interior illustrations for role-playing
> games and related publications and other materials. Among them are many illustrators
g1. LARRY ELMORE (b. 1948) participating in this exhibition, including Karla Ortiz (plate 93), Tyler Jacobson (plate 94),
Eyes of Autumn, 1989
Bastien Lecouffe Deharme (plate 95), Piotr Jabtonski (plate 96), Brom (plate 115), Tony
Oil on canvas, 19 x 13 in. (48.3 x 33 cm)
Cover illustration for Dragon Magazine, DiTerlizzi (plate 118), and Scott Fischer, to name just a few.
no. 150, October 1989
Collection of the artist
114 JESSE KOWALSKI
A
92. JEFF EASLEY (b. 1954)
The Big Red Dragon, 1991
Oil on illustration board, 30 x 40 in.
(76.2 X 101.6 cm)
Cover illustration for The New Easy-to-Master
Dungeons e& Dragons Game (TSR, 1991)
Benny Hsieh

>
93. KARLA ORTIZ (b. 1986)
Liliana and the Eternal Army, 2019
Digital print on paper, 24 x 16 in.
(61 X 40.6 cm)
Product packaging for Magic: The Gathering
expansion set War of the Spark (Wizards of
the Coast, 2019)
Collection of the artist
A A
94. TYLER JACOBSON (b. 1982) 95. BASTIEN LECOUFFE DEHARME (Db. 1982)
Mummy’s Mask, 2014 Dark Pilgrimage, 2019
Digital print on paper, 13 x 14 in. (33 x 35.6 cm) Digital image
Cover illustration for Pathfinder Adventure Card Game: Mummy’s Illustration for the artist’s game GODS (Arkhane Asylum Publishing, 2020)
Mask (Paizo Publishing) Collection ofthe artist
Collection of the artist
Dark Pilgrimage is an illustration
from a dark fantasy tabletop role-playing
Jacobson has created illustrations for a number ofoutlets, including game of Deharme’s own creation, titled GODS.
the New Yorker, Sports Illustrated, and Magic: The Gathering.
>

96. PIOTR JABLEONSKI (b. 1987)

Great Tree People, 2016
Digital print on paper, 13% x 24 in. (34.3 x 61cm)
Concept art for video game Dishonored 2 (Arkane Studios)
Collection ofthe artist

Working from Poland, Jabtonski creates elaborate fantasy settings

for book
designs, role-playing games, and video games such as Dishonored 2, an
action-adventure game set in mid-nineteenth-century Europe.
 Another genre of gaming that has grown in popularity over the past several years is <<

97. WEI WANG (b. 1980)

the fantasy-based video game. World of Warcraft, released in 2004, is the most popular
Reign of the Lich King, 2008
of these (plates 97 and 98). At its peak, in 2010, twelve million people were playing every Digital image
month, and by 2014, one hundred million user accounts had been created for the game. Illustration for product packaging of World
of Warcraft’s second expansion, World of
A subscription-based video game designed for computers, World of Warcraft is classified Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King (Blizzard
as an MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role-playing game). In an environment Entertainment)
similar to that found in Dungeons & Dragons, players are able to create characters, inter-
In World of Warcraft: Wrath ofthe Lich
act with other players, and battle monsters. As of 2017, World of Warcraft had grossed King, Prince Arthas Menethil, who would
over $9 billion in revenue, making it one of the highest-grossing video games in history, one day rule the kingdom of Lordaeron,
succumbed to evil, laying waste to his
behind Pac-Man and Space Invaders. In a sign of the times, fantasy illustration in gaming
homeland and claiming the Frozen Throne.
has become so popular that nearly every one of the younger artists included in this exhi- Raising his fallen people into a vast army
bition has done work for one or more companies in the role-playing and/or video game of undead Scourge, the Lich King began a
campaign of conquest.
industry.”
kK
98. DMITRY PROZOROV (b. 1989)
Onyxia’s Lair, 2019
Digital image
Promotional artwork for launch of
World of Warcraft Classic (Blizzard
Entertainment, 2019)

Russian-born Prozorov designed this

promotional artwork for the 2019 launch
of the video game World of Warcraft
Classic, a version of the game as it looked
in 2004. This image depicts the black
dragon Onyxia, daughter of Deathwing
the Destroyer, in her lair as she prepares to
battle the champions of Azeroth.

Modern Fantasy Illustration 121

 ise ieUR E
Oi TIN TACs Y
ews PRAT TON
Never abandon imagination.
—Tony DiTerlizzi

ot much has changed in fantasy since the first stories of creation were told
thousands ofyears ago. The themes have been constant in myths, sacred
texts, folklore, and fairy tales, told to frighten and amuse, from the Epic
of Gilgamesh to The Lord of the Rings to the role-playing games and video
games of today. We find mythological creatures, from serpents to Love-
craft’s Cthulhu; heroic figures, from Heracles to Hellboy; dragon slayers of all sorts; and
terrorizing monsters.
Fantasy art was revered for millennia. However, during the age of Enlightenment in the
seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the division between science and mythology wid-
ened and fantasy was increasingly viewed as an interest for the less educated. Narrative
illustration, likewise, came to be considered an inferior art form. Illustration, however,
unlike some modern art, presents insights into the characteristics that make us human.
We learn through the lessons taught by those before us, from Albrecht Durer to Norman
Rockwell.
This book’s introduction asks the question, What is so important about fantasy?
Whether one explores ancient ruins in the Middle East, examines the ceiling of the Sistine
Chapel, tours the Louvre, reads such periodicals as the Saturday Evening Post, or plays
Dungeons & Dragons, one can see that imagination has always been with us. If we believe
Carl Jung, it is literally in our DNA.
As long as artists can find work drawing story illustrations in books or magazines,
creating powerful advertisements, crafting original fairy tales, designing concept art for
films, inventing new creatures to fight in role-playing games, or posting works in progress
on Instagram, fantasy illustration will be a powerful force. The images showcased here
(plates 99-132) provide a cross section oftoday’s illustrators and styles; many more exam-
ples are distributed throughout this catalogue.

123
 The resurgence of Dungeons & Dragons, the strong fan base of Magic: The Gathering,
interest in newer role-playing games like Pathfinder, the revival of fantasy drama in the
Game of Thrones television series, and a vast online community of fans and artists have
continued to shine a spotlight on fantasy illustration in popular culture. While genera-
tions past may have been taught in school that illustration was not practiced by true art-
ists (and that Norman Rockwell was nota fine artist), such attitudes are changing and are
no longer the norm. The popularity offantasy films and television series and the support
of illustration collectors—such as George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, Microsoft cofounder
Paul Allen, and others—have helped to shift opinion. Museums that scoffed at fantasy art
fifteen years ago now proudly promote fantasy exhibitions, some of which are bringing in
record audiences of all ages.
Veteran illustrators and young artists working in the fantasy illustration genre adeptly
adjust to new technologies and tastes to present their visions of imaginary worlds, crea-
tures, and heroes and villains. Fantasy art and its rich history thrive with the encourage-
ment of artists like James Gurney (plates 111 and 153), Gregory Manchess (plate 149; see
also “An Artist’s Perspective on Contemporary Fantasy Painting,” p. 167), Tony DiTerlizzi
(plate 118), Iain McCaig (plates 83-85), Donato Giancola (front cover and p. 210), and
others. The field is kept alive through the tireless efforts of people like Arnie and Cathy
Fenner, creators of the annual Spectrum Awards for excellence in fantasy illustration;
publisher John Fleskes, director of the annual showcase Spectrum: The Best in Contem-
porary Fantastic Art; and Patrick and Jeannie Wilshire, who promote the work of artists
through Illuxcon (IX), a yearly presentation of works of imaginative realism.
An arena dominated by men for a very long time, the world of fantasy illustration has
greatly expanded over the past few decades. More women than ever are entering the field,
and the internet makes it possible for artists around the world to display their work on
community-based websites, connect with fans through social media, and sell their origi-
nal artworks directly to collectors.
The rising illustrators of today continue to perfect their craft as they chart new paths
forward. Using digital technology, online file-sharing services, and an array of programs,
apps, and platforms, illustrators are able to create, adjust, and deliver their work more
quickly. In addition, artists are finding new ways to present fantasy illustration through
concept art for film and video games, designs for role-playing games, and in books and
games of their own creation. Fantasy illustration may not have received its full due just
yet, but its impact has been immeasurable and indisputable.

124 JESSE KOWALSKI

AK
99. THE BROTHERS HILDEBRANDT (Tim, 1939-2006; Greg, b. 1939)
The Siege of Minas Tirith II, 2000
Acrylic on board, 37 x 67 in. (94 x 107.2 cm)
Illustration for Greg Hildebrandt, Greg and Tim Hildebrandt: The Tolkien
Years, expanded edition (New York: Watson-Guptill Publications, 2001)
Greg Hildebrandt and spiderwebart.com

<<

100. GREG HILDEBRANDT (b. 1939)

The Mock Turtle, 1990
Acrylic on board, 21 x 16 in. (53.3 X 40.6 cm)
Interior illustration for Lewis Carroll, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
(London: Unicorn, 1990); and Greg Hildebrandt, Greg Hildebrandt’s
Magical Storybook Treasury (Philadelphia, PA: Courage Books, 2004)
On loan from the Bantly Collection

Tim and Greg Hildebrandt, better known as the Brothers Hildebrandt,

became famous for their iconic paintings in Lord of the Rings calendars
from 1976 through 1978. They also created artwork for the original Star Wars
(1977). The Art of the Brothers Hildebrandt, a compilation oftheir work,
was published in 1979, and that same year they wrote and illustrated the
fantasy novel Urshurak. Sadly, Tim passed away in 2006, but Greg continues
to illustrate fantasy and pinup art. In 2012, Dynamite Comics released
a comprehensive history ofthe brothers’ work, The Tolkien Years of the
Brothers Hildebrandt.
>yo

101. BRIAN FROuD (b. 1947)

Fir Darrig, 1977
Watercolor on
board, 18%4 x 12% in.
(47.6 X 32.7 cm)
Illustration for Brian Froud
and Alan Lee, Faeries
(New York: Abrams, 1978)
Tony and Angela DiTerlizzi

The groundbreaking
1978 book Faeries, which
Froud created with
Alan Lee, updated the
look and mythology of
the fey creatures fora
new generation. Froud’s
artwork in Faeries and
his collaboration with Jim
Henson on thefilms The
Dark Crystal (1978) and
Labyrinth (1986) have
influenced many of today’s
fantasy artists.

SS
102. WILLIAM STOuT (b. 1949)
Glinda the Good Witch, 1999
Ink and watercolor on board, 14 x 9 in. (35.6 X 22.9 cm)
Collection of the artist

Though his name may not be familiar to the general public, William Stout is one of the most influential and
prodigious fantasy artists of our time. Influenced by illustrators Frank Frazetta (plates 61 and 62), Hal Foster
(plate 68), Norman Rockwell (plates 165, 166, and 168-183), Roy Krenkel, and others, Stout often works behind
the scenes. Beginning in 1971, Stout illustrated the Tarzan of the Apes comic strip and supplied artwork for
Playboy and Heavy Metal. The artist created the iconic poster for Ralph Bakshi’s animated fantasy film Wizards
(1977), and the poster for Roger Corman’s 1979 film Rock ‘W Roll High School, which featured punk-rock
pioneers the Ramones. Stout’s other film work includes production and storyboard design for Raiders ofthe Lost
Ark (1981), Conan the Barbarian (1982), Return of the Living Dead (1985), and Masters of the Universe (1987).
More recently, the artist was key designer
for Guillermo del Toro’s 2006fantasy
film Pan’s Labyrinth.
In 1977 Stout self-published the limited-edition portfolio The Prehistoric World of William Stout. Four
years later, he illustrated the groundbreaking book The Dinosaurs: A Fantastic New View of a Lost Era, which
transformed the public’s perception of dinosaurs. In the acknowledgments for his 1991 novel Jurassic Park,
Michael Crichton noted the influence of Stout’s artwork. Stout has painted prehistoric-themed murals for the
San Diego Natural History Museum, the Houston Museum of Natural Science, and Walt Disney World’s Animal
Kingdom.
>
103. CHARLES VESS (b. 1951)
Here There Be Dragons, 2018
Colored inks on paper,
26 X 37 in. (66 X 94 cm)
Cover illustration for Ursula K.
Le Guin, The Books of Earthsea:
The Complete Illustrated Edition
(New York: Saga Press, 2018)
Collection of the artist

Here There Be Dragons is one

of the most recent works in
this celebrated fantasy artist’s
lengthy career. He previously
collaborated with the author
Neil Gaiman on several projects,
including the acclaimed comic
book series The Sandman.
 <<

105. GARY GIANNI (b. 1954)

Daenerys Targaryen, 2019
Pen and ink, 14 x 11 in.
(35.6 X 27.9 cm)
Illustration for George
R. R. Martin,A Storm of
Swords (New York: Random
House, 2020)
Collection ofthe artist

Gianni follows in the

footsteps of artists like N.
C. Wyeth (plates 46 and 56)
and Hal Foster (plate 68),
illustrating classic tales
such as Moby Dick and
Kidnapped. With a strong
appreciation for the
characters created by Robert
ain at ‘| é 4 fel \, S S & * AN \ WN E, ae Gianni has
ts walk \ SQ 5 4 ANY painted Conan, Solomon
wayaee Henn NCAR | \ | We = Swe ay aN \\ \ 4 Kane (plate 150), and Bran
\ ; “pie \\\ Mak Morn (plate 151). His
pen-and-ink illustrations
for the Prince Valiant
comic strip in the early
2000s prepared him for his
role as artist for George
R. R. Martin’s Song ofIce
and Fire books, the basis
for the Game of Thrones
television series.

<

104. JEFF ECHEVARRIA (b. 1953)

Beauty among the Beasts, 2019
Graphite and charcoal powder, PanPastel on paper, 18 x 24 in. (45.7 x 61 cm)
On loan from the Bantly Collection

A freelance and commercial illustrator formany years, Echevarria became paralyzed in 2011 in
a nearly fatal auto accident. Atfirst receiving a dire diagnosis, he began a miraculous recovery
and entered a new phase in his career. “I found myself seeing everything in a brand new light,” he
explained in his biography on the IX Arts website, “from realizing how short and fragile life is to how
important it is to be grateful for each and every day we have and to pay our blessings forward.”
<
Vv
106. THOMAS BLACKSHEAR (b. 1955) 107. SCOTT GUSTAFSON (b. 1956)
Preparing to Sound the Alarm, 2011 A Mad Tea Party—Alice in Wonderland, 1993
Oil on canvas, 25 x 20 in. (63.5 x 50.8 cm) Oil on panel, 32 x 26 in. (81.3 x 66 cm)
Collection ofthe artist Collection ofthe artist

In Blackshear’s stunning painting, the archangel prepares to blow the shofar, or In Gustafson’s delightful style of illustrating
fairy tales, the
ram’s horn, in anticipation of the Last Judgment. Over the past four decades, characters come to life as they are imagined, without reference
Blackshear has illustrated for magazines, movie studios, and the US Postal Service, to previous iterations. Gustafson has illustrated numerous books
for which he painted designs for postage stamps featuring legendary jazz musicians, containing such stories as “Peter Pan,’ “Red Riding Hood,
classic film monsters, 1930s movie stars, and a series of African American heroes. “Snow White,” “Sleeping Beauty,’ “The Lion and the Mouse,”
In 1993, Blackshear released The African American Tradition: Heroes of Our “Jack and the Beanstalk,’ and many more. He received the title
Heritages, a portfolio of images from the lattermost series, which included Rosa of Grand Master at the Spectrum Fantastic Art annual in 2015.
Parks, Dorothy Height, Ida B. Wells, and Martin Luther King Jr. Blackshear is just
as well known for his dramatic images of angelic figures in such paintings as The
Awakening, Forgiven, Watchers in the Night, and Preparing to Sound the Alarm.
In 2006, the Vatican celebrated Blackshear’s work with a solo exhibition.
<< A
108. WAYNE BARLOWE (b. 1958) 109. JULIE BELL (b. 1958)
Demon Minor, 2018 Pegasus Befriends the Muses, 2018
Acrylic on illustration board, 14 x 12 in. (35.6 x 30.5 cm) Oil on wood, 48 x 60 in. (121.9 x 152.4 cm)
Collection ofthe artist The Bennett Collection of Women Realists

Since the release of his first book, in 1979, Barlowe’s On her way to becoming one oftoday’s greats among fantasy
Guide to Extraterrestrials, and the subsequent illustrators, Julie Bell has worn many hats. After studying art in
Barlowe’s Guide to Fantasy (1996), Wayne Barlowe college, Bell dabbled in children’s book illustration, and then, for
has developed into one of the finest illustrators of a time, pursued a career in bodybuilding, becoming a nationally
fantasy hellscapes. His demonic figures and infernal ranked competitor. In 1989 she began modeling for well-known
environments have fascinated readers of Barlowe’s fantasy artist Boris Vallejo and was inspired to return to illustration.
Inferno (1998), God’s Demon (2007), and The Heart of In 1991 her work appeared on the cover of Heavy Metal magazine.
Hell (2019). Since then, Bell has created advertisements for several companies
Barlowe has also applied his unique style and world and found work in the comic book industry, where she became
building to the cinema, creating concept art and the first woman to illustrate Conan the Barbarian
for Marvel
creature design for numerous fantasy and science fiction Comics. Bell and Vallejo married in 1994 and continue to inspire
films, including Galaxy Quest (1999), Titan A.E. (2000), each other, often collaborating on paintings. Enchanted is the first
Blade II (2002), Hellboy (2004), Avatar (2009), John major exhibition to feature the work of Bell, her husband (plate 59),
Carter (2012), The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and her sons, Anthony Palumbo (plate 89) and David Palumbo
(2012), Pacific Rim (2013), and Aquaman (2018). (plate 125), who are accomplished fantasy artists in their own right.
110. PETER DE SEVE (b. 1958)
Something Familiar, 2014
Watercolor and ink on paper,
15 X 11 in. (38.1 x 27.9 cm)
Collection of the artist

Perhaps best known for his

character designs for such
blockbuster animated films
as Mulan (1998), A Bug’s Life
(1998), Finding Nemo (2003),
and the Ice Age series, Peter de mi

Séve is inspired by golden-age *

2

illustrators Edmund Dulac and

A. B. Frost. De Séve has painted

wealee
numerous New Yorker covers,
often featuring animals in
humorous settings; this image was eRe
“ fgmec
©ie
3

a submission that did not make

er
@
bate
the cut. He has illustrated several
7—Tr
as
ee
Se
books, including A Murder, a i 4
sy

Mystery, and a Marriage; and

The Duchess of Whimsy, created
in collaboration with his wife,
Randall de Séve. In 2009, he
published a compilation ofhis
favorite artworks in A Sketchy
Past: The Art of Peter de Seve.
 <

111. JAMES GURNEY (b. 1958)

Skeleton Pirate, 1987
Oil on board, 17 x 11 in. (43.2 x 27.9 cm)
Cover illustration for Tim Powers, On Stranger
Tides (New York: Ace Books, 1987)
Collection of the artist

In 1992, just a few years after painting this eerie

image for the cover of Tim Powers’s dark fantasy
novel, Gurney launched his hugely successful
book series Dinotopia, which features an
imaginary world where humans and dinosaurs
coexist (plate 153). At the 2012 Spectrum
Fantastic Art annual exhibition, Gurney was
awarded the title of Grand Master.

112. BoB EGGLETON (b. 1960)

The Crypt of Cthulhu, 2020
Oil on linen, 30 x 24 in. (76.2 x 61cm)
Collection ofthe artist

Cthulhu, a powerful member of a race ofaliens

who ruled Earth long ago, was created by author
H. P. Lovecraftfor a story titled “The Call of
Cthulhu,’ which debuted in the pulp magazine
Weird Tales in February 1928. One ofthe established
superstars of “weird fantasy” artwork, Eggleton has
illustrated and written numerous science fiction
and fantasy books, and between 1994 and 2004 won
the prestigious Hugo Award for Best Professional
Artist eight times. His award-winning work has been
showcased in the 1995 book Alien Horizons: The
Fantastic Art of Bob Eggleton, and the 2000 volume
Greetings from Earth: The Art of Bob Eggleton. In
1995, Eggleton painted the cover for the Lovecraft-
inspired Cthulhu 2000: A Lovecraftian Anthology,
a collection of
stories by eighteen horror and fantasy
authors. He continues to illustrate monsters and
aliens, and designed this horrifying painting of
Cthulhu especially for this exhibition.
<<

113. ERIC VELHAGEN (b. 1963)

Mulan, 2018
Oil on cradled panel, 24 x 24 in. (61 x 61 cm)
On loan from the Bantly Collection

Vv
114. ERIC VELHAGEN (b. 1963)
Maelstrom, 2015
Oil on linen, 27 x 36 in. (68.6 x 91.4 cm)
On loan from the private collection of Jason and Tina Rak

Mulan, the subject of Disney animated (1998) and live-action (2020) films, was a brave
female warrior from China, ca. 400 CE. According to legend, she took her aging father’s
place in battle, disguising herselfasa man. Velhagen painted his image for a 2018 exhibition
focused on heroines of history and myth. Although the figurative works of Frank Frazetta
(plates 61 and 62) and Boris Vallejo (plate 59) have been a strong influence, Velhagen has
developed a distinctive style of conveying action through bold brushstrokes. “I have always
enjoyed painting movement, he noted recently (e-mail to author, December 11, 2019).
“There is a memory echo with movement that entices me, granting me the artistic freedom
to play, and paint suggestions of that memory.”
 =)

A >

115. BROM (b. 1965) 116. PETAR MESELDZIJA (b. 1965)

The Night Mare, 2017 Gandalf, 2001
Oil on linen, 46 x 54 in. (116.8 x 137.2 cm) Oil on canvas, 28 x 20 in. (71.1 x 50.8 cm)
IX Arts On loan from the Bantly Collection

One of the most highly regarded artists of his generation, Brom Serbian-born artist Petar Meseldzija has won numerous awards for his highly
received the prestigious Grand Master award at the 2013 Spectrum detailed depictions offantasy scenes. MeseldZija recently released The Book of Giants
Fantastic Art annual. His haunting imagery has appeared in role- (2015), which he wrote and illustrated with sixteen original paintings and ninety
playing games and in horror novels that he writes and illustrates, drawings. He also wrote and illustrated an edition ofthe Serbian folktale “Prince
including The Devil’s Rose (2007); Krampus: the Yule Lord (2012); Marko and the Dragon, which was published in his home country. His work has also
and a frightening take on Peter Pan titled The Child Thief (2010). been compiled in a retrospective volume, The Art of Petar MeseldZija (2013).
117. ALLEN WILLIAMS (b. 1965)
The Enochian, 2019
Pencil and powdered graphite on
Paper, 17 X 14 in. (43.2 x 35.6 cm)
Leslie Jordan

The Enochian refers to an ancient

Hebrew text, the Book of Enoch,
which reveals the origins of angels
and demons. Disavowed by
organized religion, the text was
largely ignored. In 1583, inspired
by the Book of Enoch, occultist
John Dee wrote Five Books of
Mystery, which describe his
encounters with angels and spirits.
Dee also detailed the alphabet for
an Enochian language he claimed
was used by angels.
Among the artists Allen
Williams names as influences
are Hieronymus Bosch (plate 2),
William-Adolphe Bouguereau
(plates 5 and 139), Jean-Léon
Géréme, and Maxfield Parrish
(plate 47)—all known for their
use of bold color and striking
composition. By contrast, Williams
creates many ofhis illustrations
in stark black-and-white, using a
pencil and powdered graphite to
conjure images of dark fantasy.
Williams recently illustrated Pan’s
Labyrinth: The Labyrinth of the
Faun (2019), a novel by Guillermo
del Toro and Cornelia Funke
based on del Toro’s 2006 film Pan’s
Labyrinth.
118. Tony DITERLIZZI (b. 1969)
Common House Boggart, 2005
Acryla gouache on Bristol board, 18% x 12 in. (47 x 30.5 cm)
Ilustration for Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black, Arthur Spiderwick’s Field
Guide to the Fantastical World around You (New York: Simon & Schuster,
2005)
Tony and Angela DiTerlizzi 119. JEAN-BAPTISTE MONGE (b. 1971)
The Kensington Lovers, 2006
The author of an April 9, 1825, letter to the editor of London’s Literary Watercolor, gouache, and graphite on paper, 15% x 12% in. (40 x 31.1 cm)
Gazette relates a story of a farmer’s encounter with a boggart, which the Illustration for Jean-Baptiste Monge, Celtic Faeries (Morlaix, France:
writer defines as “a spectre or goblin, that haunts houses orfamilies, like the Au Bord des Continents, 2007)
Brownie ofthe Scotch, or the Nis of the Danes.” The boggart moved into the Norman Rockwell Museum, Stockbridge, Massachusetts;
farmer’s house and claimed occupancy. In an attempt to force the family Gift of the artist
out, the creature began terrorizing the farmer’s children, stealing their food,
physically assaulting them with shoehorns, and rattling their beds at night. Jean-Baptiste Monge works in many media—oil, watercolor, digital, and
The creature was particularly troublesome, the writer explains, because “a others—and has illustrated numerous books, created concept art for
Boggart is seldom or ever visible to the human eye.” Eventually, the writer video games, and self-published his own art books, includingAWorld of
notes, the family came to terms with the boggart, and they lived on together, Imagination, which he released under his own label, Goblin Way, in 2019.
though not without the occasional disturbance. Monge follows in the footsteps ofillustration pioneers such as Arthur Rackham
Tony DiTerlizzi began his career illustrating creatures and scenes for (plates 37, 38, and 143 ) and Brian Froud (plate 101), as he creates new worlds
Dungeons & Dragons and Magic: The Gathering, before embarking on filled with fairies, fantasy, and wonder.
the second phase of his career in children’s literature. Within the genre,
DiTerlizzi has written and illustrated several award-winning books,
including Ted; Kenny and the Dragon; The Spider and the Fly; The Story
of Diva and Flea; The WondLa Trilogy; and The Spiderwick Chronicles,
which has sold nearly twenty million copies and has been translated into
thirty-one languages. With an artistic style influenced by such legendary
illustrators as Arthur Rackham (plates 37, 38, and 143), Winsor McCay
(plates 67 and 75), and Norman Rockwell (plates 165, 166, and 168-183),
DiTerlizzi has inspired a new generation of young readers.
120. JUSTIN GERARD (b. 1980)
Lair of the Sea Serpent, 2019
Watercolor on paper, 18 x 12 in. (45.7 x 30.5 cm)
Collection of the artist

Gerard’s fantasy paintings exhibit a bold color palette, inventive composition, and terrific
wit. Seemingly inspired in equal parts by J. R. R. Tolkien and Maxfield Parrish (plate 47),
Gerard’s monsters, demons, and trolls never seem all that evil. His barbarians and dragons
often give the viewer an amused yet exasperated glance as they head into battle once again.
A
121. Nico DELORT (b. 1981)
The Path of Faith, 2014
Ink on clayboard, 11% x 22% in. (28.9 x 58.1 cm)
Courtesy of Galerie Daniel Maghen, Paris

>

122. Nico DELORT (b. 1981)

The Blessing of Athena, 2015
Ink on clayboard, 16 x 12 in. (40.6 x 30.5 cm)
Private collection; Courtesy of the Daniel Maghen Gallery,
Paris

Working in scratchboard, his medium of choice, Nico Delort

etches highly detailed black-and-white scenes that are often
drawn from mythology orfairy tales. He creates book covers,
limited-edition prints, and commissioned works, all possessing
his distinctive style. Delort has made artworks inspired by
everything from the television series Game of Thrones and the
video game Castlevania to the legend of the goddess Athena.
>
123. BASTIEN
LECOUFFE DEHARME
(b. 1982)
Dub, 2019
Digital print on
paper, 16 X 20 in.
(40.6 X 50.8 cm)
Illustration for
game card, Magic:
The Gathering
Collection ofthe artist

French-born artist
Bastien Lecouffe
Deharme brings beauty,
eroticism, and horror
to images of dark
fantasy through digital
illustration. Utilizing
a style that includes
archetypes such as
knights, magicians, and
demons, the artist has
produced illustrations
for periodicals, book
covers, video games,
the role-playing game
Magic: The Gathering,
(see also plate 145),
and a game of his own
creation, GODS (see
plate 95).

124. TYLER JACOBSON (b. 1982) Jacobson uses vivid colors and captivating composition to emphasize the action-packed
Red Dragon, 2014 scenes in his work. He has created illustrationsfor games and gaming companies such
Digital print on paper, 10% x 24 in. as Dungeons & Dragons, Magic: the Gathering, and Paizo Publishing (see plate 94);
(27.3 X 61cm) periodicals such as Entertainment Weekly, the New Yorker, and Sports Illustrated; and
Collection of the artist many other clients, including the Boy Scouts of America.
125. DAVID PALUMBO (b. 1982) Palumbo has created works in his classical style of painting, as shown in this one
The Fallen, 2014 commissioned by Sideshow Collectibles, for video games, films, role-playing games,
Oil on panel, 40 x 30 in. and other media. This painting has been compared to Gustave Doré’s The Black Eagle
(101.6 X 76.2 cm) of Prussia (1871), which depicts a sword-wielding angel guarding the bodies ofFrench
D. Eric Lewis soldiers killed on the battlefield during Prussia’s invasion ofFrance in 1870.
 - #9

“i = 4 5

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“0 4)
126. ANNIE STEGG GERARD (b. 1982) 127. CORY GODBEY (b. 1983)
Herald of the Night, 2018 Snow White, 2019
Oil on panel, 12 x 24 in. (30.5 x 61 cm) Brown Col-Erase pencil on Graphic natural white paper, 13 x 26 in.
C. K. Gyllerstrom (33 X 66 cm)
Collection of the artist
Annie Stegg Gerard’s style is influenced by the Rococo artists of the eighteenth
century, who emphasized the beauty of nature and mythology. Her diaphanous oil Cory Godbey’s works exhibit an exceptional liveliness, owing to both the way
paintings offairies, dragons, mermaids, and other mythological creatures provide he composes each piece and his adept use of line drawing. Each part of his work
the viewer with a glimpse into another world. seems to flow seamlessly, as the softly drawn lines adapt to their form.
128. YOANN LOSSEL (b. 1985)
Grendel’s Mother, 2017
Mixed media on Arches paper, graphite, hydrangea petals, and gold leaf, 16 x 12 in.
(40.6 X 30.5 cm)
Illustration for Beowulf, trans. Frederick Rebsamen (Norwalk, CT: Easton Press, 2017)
Ingrid Neilson

Lossel’s breathtaking work, done in graphite and gold leaf and often with intricately designed
borders, has been exhibited worldwide. Grendel’s Mother was recently published in a deluxe
edition of Beowulf illustrated with numerous works by the artist.
129. MIRANDA MEEKS (b.
1988)
Little Red, 2014
Digital print on paper,
14 X 11 in. (35.6 X 27.9 cm)
Collection of the artist

Haunting figures of
mermaids, werewolves,
and other fantasy creatures
inhabit foggy landscapes in
the stunning digital works of
Miranda Meeks. The winner
ofthe 2018 Rising Star award
at the Spectrum Fantastic Art
annual exhibition, Meeks is
able to finely craft complex,
imaginative visions, in a
gloomy palette that belies the
bright future ahead ofher.
130. VICTO NGAI (b. 1988)
The Green Children ofWoolpit, 2019
Digital and mixed media,
18 X 12% in. (45.7 X 31.1 cm)
Cover illustration for J. Anderson
Coats, The Green Children of
Woolpit (New York: Simon &
Schuster, 2019)
Collection ofthe artist

The Green Children of Woolpit

is the cover illustration for a book
based on a legend concerning a
brother and sister with green skin
who were found near the village
of Woolpit, ninety miles northeast
of London. The odd-acting pair
spoke an unknown language, and
once brought to civilization, the boy
became ill and soon died. However,
the girl’s health improved, and she
was able to describe her home as a
land where there was no sunlight.
Eventually, in the sunnier climes, her
skin lost its green hue.
Born in Hong Kong, Victo Ngai
studied at the Rhode Island School
ofDesign. In her brief career, she has
won numerous awards and accolades
from herpeers for her bold color
palette and inventive designs. In 2019,
Ngai was awarded the advertising
gold medal from the Society of
Illustrators and won the Spectrum
Gold Award for book illustration in
2018. Ngai has illustrated advertising
campaigns forMcDonald’s, Apple,
Johnnie Walker, American Express,
and many other companies.
131. ALESSANDRA PISANO (b. 1989)
Eternal Bond, 2019
Oil on wood panel, 24 x 37 in. (61 x 94 cm)
Aram Compeau

The winner ofthe Spectrum Rising Star award in 2017,

Pisano often paints images containing elements of
mythology and magic. Her oil paintings provide a glimpse
into a world where solitary women live and hunt in the
wilderness alongside animal companions.
132. ANNA DITTMANN (b. 1994)
I Dreamt I Could Fly, 2017
Digital print on paper, 12 x 12 in. (30.5 x 30.5 cm)
Collection ofthe artist

Ethereal images of men and women interacting with nature populate Dittmann’s work. As a
rising young star in thefield offantasy illustration, Dittmann has taken advantage of changes
in the way artists learn and produce their craft. Inspired by her father at a young age, she
studied illustration online before obtaining a BFA in illustration from Savannah College
ofArt and Design. Dittmann’s strength is in digital design, though she is as adept with oils,
watercolor, and charcoal as she is with a computer.
 UNG | inle =SuBy eat@a
ee Gre LS:
MeN TASY IN AN AGE OF
DS QO ERY
DLAC EAS CARTER

n 1762, when artist and poet William Blake was four years old, he looked up from
his narrow bed and screamed in terror. The face of God was pressed against his
window. Several years later, Blake experienced a more comforting vision. While
exploring a meadow near his London home, he spotted a tree populated by singing
angels, whose luminous wings sparkled like stars. Enraptured, he ran home to tell
his parents. It was only his mother’s intervention that saved the boy from a beating by a
father with no patience for lies. Blake’s visions were persistent and impervious to repri-
mand or derision, although he received plenty of both. They continued throughout his
life, informing his artwork (plate 133) right up to the moment ofhis death in 1827. A friend
reported that Blake passed away singing ofthe beautiful things he saw in heaven.
Blake's revelations alternated between the apocalyptic and the ecstatic. While some
thought him mad, his beliefin the supernatural was not unusual in an era when respected
scientists were uncovering mysterious forces, objects, and elements at work in the uni-
verse. These discoveries inspired Blake and many of his successors to create images com-
bining natural phenomena with supernatural elements. Today, we classify these works as
fantasy art. In their day, the pictures were the honest manifestation of a widespread con-
viction that the visible world was only part of the story.
During the first half of the nineteenth century, Blake’s work was largely ignored, and
John Martin (1789-1854) was England’s best-known artist. Both Martin's illustrations and
his enormous canvases juxtaposed tiny, terrified characters with colossal and unmistak-
ably ominous atmospheric effects. Martin’s apocalyptic work was immensely popular. At
the British Institution’s 1821 exhibition, his painting Belshazzar’s Feast had to be fenced off
to protect it from the enthusiastic crowds. Although Martin was often accused of sensa-
tionalism and pandering to public opinion, his sublime vision was motivated by his belief
that scientific fact was the foundation of both mythology and religion.

153
 <
133. WILLIAM BLAKE (1757-1827)
Martin's view merged two contrasting theories concerning the nature of the cosmos. Frontispiece, Europe: A Prophecy, 1794
The first was advanced by renowned astronomer William Herschel (1738-1822), whose Relief etched plate in colors, 914 x 6% in.
(23.5 X 16.8 cm)
sweeps of the night sky convinced him that the universe had not only a beginning but
The New York Public Library; Henry W.
also a decisive end, which he gloomily foresaw as a collapse into oblivion. Romantic poet and Albert A. Berg Collection of English
William Wordsworth (1770-1850), who once stated his willingness to shed blood for the and American Literature

Anglican Church, advanced the conventional view. The stars, he assured his readers,
A
were “mansions built by nature’s hands” where the righteous would receive their eter- 134. JOHN MARTIN (1789-1854)
nal reward. John Martin’s work commingled these two opposing theories. “Why should The Deluge, 1834
Oil on canvas, 66% x 101% in.
a man use one kind oflogic for religion and a different kind for general affairs?” he once (168.3 x 258.4 cm)
asked.’ Not everyone agreed with his premise. Yale Center for British Art, New Haven,
England's leading critic, John Ruskin (1819-1900), described Martin’s canvases as a Connecticut; Paul Mellon Collection

“reckless accumulation of false magnitude.’ Painter John Constable (1776-1837) com-

pared them to lowbrow theatrical “pantomimes.”* Although Martin received reassurance
from fellow artist J. M. W. Turner (1775-1851) and writer Charles Dickens (1812-1870),
most encouragement came from the era's scientists, including Michael Faraday (1791-
1867), William Buckland (1784-1856), and French paleontologist Baron Georges Cuvier

On the Side ofthe Angels 155

135. JESSIE WILLCOX SMITH (1863-1935)
“Oh, don’t hurt me!” cried Tom. “I only want to look at you; you are so handsome,” ca. 1916
Charcoal, watercolor, and oil, 22% x 16% in. (57.5 x 41.9 cm)
Illustration for Charles Kingsley, The Water-Babies (New York: Dodd, Mead, 1916), 140
Library of Congress, Washington, DC
(1769-1832). When Cuvier heard that Martin was work-
ing on a painting of the great flood described in the book
of Genesis, he traveled to England to check the geologic
details. Martin was not at home, but as the story goes, the
scientist studied the painting for some time. Finally, nod-
ding in approval, Cuvier removed a small bouquet from
his buttonhole and placed it with his calling card on the
artist’s palette.
The Deluge (plate 134) garnered a gold medal at the
1835 Paris Salon, but the honor was Martin’s last official
endorsement. Five years later, he was facing bankrupt-
cy.’ Still, he continued to paint, maintaining a vision
uniquely his own. In 1853, in a final hurrah, Martin pro-
duced his magnum opus, The Last Judgement, a triptych
inspired by the Book of Revelation. After his death, Mar-
tin’s heirs dispatched the pictures on an extended tour
of Britain, the United States, and Australia. The display
attracted thousands of paying customers at once thrilled
and terrified by Martin’s fantastic view of humanity’s final
drama.
While John Martin was completing The Last Judge-
ment, ordinary citizens were observing a smaller set of
marvels through microscopes, which by 1852 could be
136. RICHARD DOYLE (1824-1883)
purchased for as little as five pounds. Under the improved
Untitled, ca. 1845
accuracy of achromatic lenses, a drop of water revealed miracles. Intricate single-celled Green wash, pen and black ink, pen and
diatoms (a type of algae) found in common puddles sparkled like faceted gems under the brown ink, and graphite on medium, slightly
textured, cream wove paper, 8% x 7% in.
light of magnification. Enthusiasts with steady hands glued the enigmatic creatures (nei- (22.5 x 18.7 cm)
ther plant nor animal) to glass slides in kaleidoscopic patterns—hidden treasures from a Illustration for title page, Punch, vol. 8, 1845
parallel universe too small to be perceived by the naked eye. Yale Center for British Art, New Haven,
Connecticut; Paul Mellon Collection
These wonders bolstered natural theology, a theory revived in the early nineteenth
century by Anglican clergyman William Paley (1743-1805), who famously compared the
intricacies of nature to the mechanics of a watch. Both, he contended, provided irrefut-
able evidence of an intelligent designer. “The hinges in the wings of an earwig, and the
joints of its antennae, are as highly wrought, as if the Creator had nothing else to fin-
ish, Paley explained. “We have no reason to fear, therefore, our being forgotten, or over-
looked, or neglected.”
Theologian Charles Kingsley (1819-1875), who may have been looking for evidence
of Paley’s divine providence, soon saw magical possibilities in the microscopic world.
“In the tiniest piece of mould on a decayed fruit, the tiniest animalcule from the stag-
nant pool, will imagination find inexhaustible wonders, and fancy a fairy-land,”° he told
a lecture audience in 1846. Seventeen years later, Kingsley (now turned novelist) wrote
The Water-Babies (plate 135), a tale weaving the miracles revealed by microscopy into a

On the Side of the Angels 157

<<
137. RICHARD DOYLE
(1824-1883)
The Fairy Queen Takes
an Airy Drive, 1870
Color wood engraving
and color lithography,
11% X 15% in.
(29.2 X 39 cm)
Illustration from In
Fairyland: A Series
ofPictures from the
Elf-World (London:
Longman, Green,
Reader and Dyer, 1870)
The Metropolitan
Museum of Art, New
York; Gift of Lincoln
Kirstein, 1970

ke
138. RICHARD DOYLE
(1824-1883)
Asleep in the Moonlight,
1870
Color wood engraving
and color lithography,
1% X 15% in.
(29.2 X 39 cm)
Illustration from In
Fairyland: A Series
of Pictures from the
Elf-World (London:
Longman, Green,
Reader and Dyer, 1870)

=>
139. WILLIAM-ADOLPHE
BOUGUEREAU
(1825-1905)
Nymphs and Satyr, 1873
Oil on canvas,
10242 X 72 in.
(260.4 X 182.9 cm)
Sterling and Francine
Clark Art Institute,
Williamstown,
Massachusetts; Acquired
by Sterling and Francine
Clark, 1942
 _ EO eee eS rer ES

140. J. M. W.. TURNER

(1775-1851)
Queen Mab’s Cave, 1846
Oil on canvas, 364 x 484 in.
parable combining Charles Darwin’s newly published evolutionary theories with his own
(92 X 122.6 cm) belief in redemption through Christ. ;
Tate, London; Accepted by the The diminutive marvels that ignited Kingsley’s imagination captivated others too.
nation as part of the Turner
Bequest, 1856
During the latter half of the nineteenth century, the creative possibilities of an invisi-
ble wonderland spread like fairy dust, shrinking the ancient pantheon of supernatural
creatures populating European folklore. While Kingsley was describing the splendors
of his miniature world, illustrator Richard “Dicky” Doyle (1824-1883) was picturing it
(plate 136). The cover he designed for the British humor magazine Punch juxtaposed a
cornucopia of pixies and fairies with two iconic characters from Punch and Judy puppet
shows. Doyle’s illustration graced the magazine's cover for more than a century. His per-
sonal association with the publication lasted less than a decade.
After resigning from Punch, in 1850, Doyle established a freelance career that secured
his reputation as Britain’s leading illustrator of fairy tales. His masterpiece, In Fairyland:A
Series of Pictures from the Elf-World, was issued in December 1869, in time to capture the
Christmas market.’ Doyle presented his elfin biosphere in sixteen color plates (plate 137).

160 ALICE A, CARTER

 K
141. RICHARD DADD (1817-1886)
The Fairy Feller’s Master-Stroke, 1855-64
Like their human counterparts, Doyle's sprites could be kind, mischievous, jealous, gen- Oil on canvas, 2114 x 154 in.
erous, and (for Victorian children’s literature) remarkably sensual. Doyle’s final illustra- (54 x 39.4 cm)
tion for In Fairyland shows the community in repose—slumbering entwined on moonlit Tate, London; Presented by Siegfried
Sassoon in memory of his friend and
branches and variously diaphanously draped or stark naked (plate 138). Accordingly, the fellow officer Julian Dadd, a great-nephew
book was popular with adults as well as children. As one of Doyle’s biographers noted, of the artist, and of his two brothers who
gave their lives in the First World War,
his work was perhaps more appreciated by the “‘used up’ and the ‘disillusioned’ than the
1963
young.”
Eroticism was prevalent in nineteenth-century painting and accepted by the public A
142. ABBOTT HANDERSON THAYER
as long as the subjects were mythic. Prurient interest was one of the reasons thousands
(1849-1921)
flocked to the annual Paris Salon, where allegorical beings, scaled to human proportions, Winged Figure, 1889
cavorted naked on the huge canvases of artists such as William-Adolphe Bouguereau Oil on canvas, 51% x 37% in.
(130.8 X 95.9 cm)
(1825-1905; plate 139) and Alexandre Cabanel (1823-1899). The swarms of charming, The Art Institute of Chicago;
microscopic fairies prevalent in illustrated books were less predominant in fine art, where Simeon B. Williams Fund

epic drama topped the hierarchy of genres and close inspection was impossible in packed
galleries in which hundreds ofpaintings hung cheek byjowl from floor to ceiling.

On the Side of the Angels 161

143. ARTHUR RACKHAM (1867-1939)
The Fish King and the Dog Fish: Its Head Was Patted Graciously, ca. 1905
Pen, ink, and watercolor on paper, 10% x 9 in. (27.3 x 22.9 cm)
Courtesy Chris Beetles Gallery, London
 Still, there were notable exceptions. Queen Mab’s Cave (plate 140), a painting by
J. M. W. Turner, was inspired by both Shakespeare's reference to Mab, “no bigger than an
agate stone on the forefinger of an alderman,’ and the poem by Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-
1822) that bears her name.’ Turner’s canvas—a stark departure from the tempestuous sea-
scapes that had made him famous—was uncharacteristically erotic and featured both the
tiny monarch and a retinue of nude beauties swirling in the artist’s distinctive atmospheric
mists. Lest anyone lose sight of his intentions, Turner appended his title by adding (along
with a quotation from A Midsummer Night's Dream), “Thy orgies, Mab, are manifold?”
Artist Richard Dadd (1817-1886) painted a more sinister view of Queen Mab’s micro-
scopic domain. His most celebrated work, The Fairy Feller’s Master-Stroke (plate 141),
was conceived in London’s Bethlem psychiatric hospital, where he was incarcerated for
the murder of his father. Dadd’s ominous painting reveals a diverse cast of the decent
and deceitful, all watching transfixed as a fairy woodsman, ax poised, prepares to cleave
a skull-shaped hazelnut. The weapon, the artist explained in an accompanying poem,
would unlock “the secret cells of dark abyss.”" Dadd’s words proved prophetic. By the time
he finished his painting, scientists had found those secret cells.
In the 1860s French chemist Louis Pasteur (1822-1895) discovered that living microor-
ganisms caused illness. His breakthrough was slow to gain traction, as there was a general
feeling that it was impossible for such tiny creatures (germs) to be the agents of deadly
diseases. Pasteur’s successful vaccines for anthrax and rabies eventually proved the point.
In 1886, after four children he vaccinated survived rabies, the youngsters were displayed
in a New York shop window, where three hundred thousand curiosity seekers paid to see
them. Still, the causative microorganisms for most illnesses remained elusive, and Pas-
teur’s “germ theory” generated more fear than hope.
Alarmed public health officials warned of aggressive little germs “pressing out of bro-
ken drains, slipping under doors and flying in through the open sash . . . resting in the
dust of the lintel and again pouncing down on the babe in the cradle.”"” Fearing contam-
ination in New York City, artist Abbott Handerson Thayer (1849-1921), a noted painter
of grand-manner society portraits, decamped to the New Hampshire countryside, where
he produced breathtaking images ofethereal angels (plate 142). At night the artist and his
family slept in unheated three-sided lean-tos and breathed what he believed to be purer
country air. Across the Atlantic, germs worked their insidious way into public conscious-
ness, and fairyland was not spared.
By the end of the nineteenth century, British artist Arthur Rackham (1867-1939) was
the best-known illustrator of fairytales in a field now crowded with worthy competi-
tors. Rackham’s work was set apart by his ability to amalgamate the grotesque with the
gorgeous, a process that mimicked the new understanding of the microscopic world
(plate 143). Outwardly conservative and cautious, the artist lived a double life suspended
between his own ordered reality and the boisterous alternative universe he created in
more than three thousand illustrations. American painter George Inness Jr. (1854-1936)
thought that Rackham’s work was more than fancy. “Rackham has really seen with his
mind’s eye these delightfully fantastic creatures,” he told the New York Times in 1914."°

On the Side of the Angels 163

 ad

144. ELSIE WRIGHT (1901-1988)

Cottingley Fairies, 1917
Sepia gelatin silver print, 6% x 8% in. Believing with the “mind’s eye” and actually believing were two different things. Arthur
(16 X 21cm) Rackham was one of the first to cry hoax in 1917 when photographs taken by two young
Private collection
girls in Cottingley, England, revealed fairies (plate 144). The little creatures, Rackham
noticed, bore striking similarities to figures in his own drawings.'* Others were fooled.
With a degree ofgullibility more suited to Dr. Watson than to Sherlock Holmes, author
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930), nephew of illustrator Dicky Doyle, decided that
the fairies were real. “These little folk who appear to be our neighbours, with only some
small difference of vibration to separate us, will become familiar,’ Doyle prophesized.
“The recognition of their existence will jolt the material twentieth-century mind out of
its heavy ruts in the mud, and will make it admit that there is a glamour and a mystery to
life?”° The rational explanation of nature supported by nineteenth-century science did
not, as Sir Arthur feared, take the mystery out oflife. Rather, in imitation of Newton's third

164 ALICE A. CARTER

law, each astonishing empirical revelation birthed an equally incredible supernatural
claim.
On May 24, 1848, American painter and inventor Samuel F. B. Morse (1791-1872) sat
down in the old Supreme Court chamber in the US Capitol in Washington, DC, and
tapped out the first telegraphic message: “What hath God wrought!” The telegraph rev-
olutionized communication and inspired a revival of interest in psychic transmissions as
well. Mesmerism found new devotees, who, under hypnosis, claimed miraculous cures,
prophetic visions, and contact with spirits.’® Spiritualism, which promised similar results
to the fully conscious, generated a renewed interest in the writings of Swedish scientist
Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-1772), who, at the height ofadistinguished career, in a “per-
fect state of wakefulness,’ visited heaven and hell and communed with angels and spirits.”
Swedenborg’s revelations spoke to the conundrum implicit in Charles Darwin’s On the
Origin of the Species (1859). “The question is this,’ future British prime minister Benjamin
Disraeli (1804-1881) posed to an audience at Oxford in 1864. “Is man an ape or an angel?”
For someone contemplating the two alternatives, Swedenborg’s writings offered solace.
Here was an eminent scientist whose personal experience verified humanity's primacy in
God's firmament. Swedenborg’s admirers included Irish poet William Butler Yeats (1865-
1939), American poet and philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882), and Howard
Pyle (1853-1911), writer, illustrator, influential teacher, and a faithful member of aSweden-
borgian congregation in Wilmington, Delaware.
Howard Pyle completed more than twenty-five hundred commissioned illustrations
during a thirty-five-year career. His best works bridged realty and imagination, in tales he
wrote, designed, and illustrated, including The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood of Great
Renown, in Nottinghamshire (1883), Otto of the Silver Hand (1888), The Garden behind the
Moon (1895), and four volumes of Arthurian legends published between 1903 and 1910.
Illustrator Frank Schoonover, one Pyle’s most successful students, saw “an actual living
in his creations that lifed them... from the commonplace,” a quality that distinguished
Pyle’s work and made it internationally popular at a time when American artists were
struggling to gain recognition in Europe.’* Positive reviews on both sides of the Atlan-
tic encouraged Pyle’s dream of establishing a uniquely American school of art with his
students at the vanguard. Meanwhile, he would teach them to see the enchantment right
before their eyes (see plate 6).
One beautiful October afternoon, Pyle put away his brushes, dismissed his model, and
called out to his students to follow him along a small stream. Emerging from the shad-
ows, they looked up and saw an oak tree shimmering in the last ofthe day’s light. “Look,”
Pyle exclaimed. “Just look at it! It’s like the exquisite creation of a worker in metal, a
great yellow thing with plate after plate of burnished gold towering up against the arch of
heaven... all clothed in shining garments, standing there to reflect the glory of the Divine
Maker:”” If angels appeared, Pyle never mentioned them.

On the Side of the Angels 165

 aN ort lis LS
PinikeunbeG LIVE ON
SON TEMPORARY
meNTASY PAINTING
GREGORY MANCHESS

agic just isn’t what it used to be. 145. BASTIEN LECOUFFE- DEHARME
(b. 1982)
Through the long history of creating images that spark, inspire,
The Sentinel ofthe Eternal Watch, 2015
stimulate, and excite the imagination of the viewer, artists have strived Digital print on paper, 16% x 24 in.
to suspend disbelief. To stall the brain from questioning, images must (42.4 X 61 cm)
Illustration for the character’s card,
first stimulate and capture a moment, a point of observation, and ride
Magic: The Gathering (Wizards of the Coast)
the fine edge between what’s real and what is unnatural to the senses. Collection ofthe artist
Contemporary image designers have been able to tap into the wide history of fantasy,
myth, and story, and have commingled the genres, blending them to create fresh, pow-
erful visuals. Realizing that pictures inspired by these genres throughout the course of
human history are still communicating to a modern audience, artists have taken the old
approaches, the old styles, the old methods, myths, and legends, and reapplied them,
reenlivening them to move viewers in a stark, digital, modern world (plate 145).
And the audience has warmed to them yet again.
In the modern age, post World War II, we lost track of how effective narrative images
can be. Even while television prospered by fostering believable fantasies in Westerns, hor-
ror tales, mysteries, fairy tales, and enigmatic episodes of life in twilight zones and the
outer limits of reality, audiences for a time lost their intellectual interest in painted fan-
tastic images. It’s as if they needed to experience a break from the past, to displace expres-
sions in art to gain a new regard for modern life and the science fictions that were coming
true all around them.
A visitor to nearly any art museum today will be surprised to realize that most of the
work on the walls hangs there by virtue of fantasy’s roots. So much of the artwork depicts
moments from mythology, fantastic literature, and speculative fiction. The artwork is
narrative, full of story, character, and human interest, from mythological depictions of
fantastic creatures to fantastic humans suffering fantastic consequences to depictions

167
of historical events for which we had only oral and sometimes written traditions long
before—and now, long after—photography.
Art museums house a broad range of fantasy artwork yet barely recognize its roots,
let alone its significance. The imagination it takes to depict the moment before Socrates
drank the hemlock or Washington stood in a boat to cross the icy Delaware River or the
gloomy boat ride across the River Styx to the Isle of the Dead is just as creative, just as
intense, and perhaps even more compelling than the conjuring ofalackluster conceptual
painting in an attempt to explain what art is to an increasingly bored audience.
Inside those halls of revered art, one will find that the classifications of what is fantasy
and what is not are suddenly and silently dropped. The imaginative works of the Pre-
Raphaelites hang as comfortably alongside John Singer Sargent’s society portraits as the
depictions of the seasons by Alphonse Mucha or, in the next gallery, Vincent van Gogh’s
dreamlike Starry Night. Jules Bastien-Lepage’s Joan of Arc may sit securely ina gallery not
far from Grant Wood's Midnight Ride of Paul Revere, a fairy-tale-like version ofthe jour-
ney through the countryside in the middle of amoonlit night.
Asan audience, we readily accept these masterpieces hanging together, no matter where
they come from, no matter what era, no matter the movement, but somehow many muse-
ums ignore the contemporary visions of fantasy painting that hark back to their ancestry:
fantastic, imaginary subjects.
A painting does not find its worth in a thousand words or in tens of thousands of words.
A painting finds its worth in the instant emotional impact viewers receive upon their first
inspection. The immediacy of apowerful image is felt as deeply as a body blow; it may be
as dramatic as a slap across the cheek or as subtle as a slow pulling that reaches toward the
audience and eases it into a different kind of reality altogether.
After that first glimpse, an image can continue that pulling, that coaxing, that relent-
less force, to consistently draw the viewer back to the moment over and over again. It is
the artist’s job to set a fire alight and let it smolder under its own magic to keep the viewer
returning to the picture.
A painting has one moment to reach its audience, one brief chance to engage the viewer
and hold them there, on the two-dimensional plane of the painting. The magic is set up
through curiosity, the viewer's compelling interest to know more. If the image depends
on expected tropes, it can lose the audience quickly, like a magic show where everyone
knows how the illusion is pulled off.
But if viewers can be unseated, tilted off balance for even a brief moment, it may be
enough to get them to say, Wait, let me see that again. In that hesitation, the rich depth of
the image is revealed, not only by what is obvious but by what is not.
The world inside a painting is established by leading the witness—by leaving a subtle
trail of visual bread crumbs that seems to disappear just over the edge ofthe rise or beyond
the roots ofa tree that’s lived there for centuries and might possibly be the home ofa crea-
ture we hadn't expected to encounter.
However, taking the viewer out of the present moment is not achieved by the subject
alone. A unicorn or fairy in the modern world doesn’t give enough ofa point of departure.

168 GREGORY MANCHESS

More is needed. Centuries of make-believe, expressed through vol-
umes of literature and cinematic special effects, which lately have
achieved phenomenal visual depth and realism, have given audi-
ences a well-established sense of which topics are fantasy and which
are not (plate 146).
Fantasy is no longer just the old tales, the old fay, the old myths. It
has developed new myths, folding in and folding over the old with
a fresh everyday connection that allows it to step much further into
realism. With the principles of good storytelling driving the visuals,
the old ways, we might say, have become new again.
Nothing becomes new without first re-involving or restructuring
the familiar. Contemporary master artists working in fantasy have
been able to move away from the tropes while resurrecting them in
fresh ways. As their images become even more fantastic, reaching
much broader realms than just those of knights and fair maidens in
distress, they diverge into the psychological realm, blending wildly
disturbing phenomena with the ordinary and mundane.
The range between these aspects opens the mystical fabric divid-
ing the real and the unreal, providing a fresh, experiential realm that
speaks so visually well that the average viewer can easily gain access.
The fantasy audience widens yearly.
<—>
As a painter, to work on the borderland of narrative imagery that
shows but doesn’t tell is thrilling for me. Ask most artists working
with fantasy themes if they remember when they first saw a picture
so fantastic that it stayed with them, and you'll probably be listen-
ing for a while. The impressions gained from a piece of art are long-
lasting and deep. Those impressions become inexorably connected
to story, and story shows.
146. HERBERT JAMES DRAPER
The painting process of creating a fantastic or magical image is not a linear one. Tak- (1863-1920)
ing a subject from reality to unreality involves a complicated thought process, blending A Deep Sea Idyll, 1902
Oil on canvas, 534 x 30% in.
the practical with the surreal, the obvious with the enigmatic, and finding the edge where
(135.3 X 77-5 cm)
they merge. Fred and Sherry Ross
Ideas are built upon ideas. Seeing an image clearly in one’s mind isn’t the completed
visual but merely the start of it. It has been said that generally the first idea or inclination
is the right one to follow. After many tries and false trails branching off from it, the artist
very often circles back to that important first impression.
But that first idea is not, generally, a projection of the actual final image. The brain’s
impression is not so clear, and it takes the work of design and composition to get it to work
physically on the canvas. This is where the false trials help clarify that initial impression.
It takes pushing the idea further than expected to find its limitations and come around to
an image that works on the page.

Contemporary Fantasy Painting 169

 When conceiving a fantastic image, a fantasy artist today must be attentive to nearly the 147. CHARLES-FRANCOIS JALABERT
(1819-1901)
entire history of human art, from primitive technologies to current advances. The range
Nymphs Listening to the Songs of
of disparity there leaves a wide margin for unique visions. Adding emotional aspects to a Orpheus, 1853
piece further complicates the process but adds more depth at the same time. Oil on canvas, 44 x 36% in.
(111.8 X 91.8 cm)
Technology hasn't ruined the magic of the single image. The more we know or explain The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore
things, the more we are drawn to the simple charms of imagination, of mystical thinking.
We are still drawn to the edge, to glimpse a borderland, to experience a portal (plate 147).
This happens early. We are exposed to fantasy portals from childhood. Parents wish
almost desperately to instill in their offspring a sense of wonder and imagination, story-
telling and happy experience through artwork, music, dance, and play acting. We shower
children with imaginary characters, from talking rabbits to animated vegetables to invis-
ible friends.
Children are inspired by these mythologies. Their fantastic images work in the back-
ground on the child’s imagination, while in the foreground the characters and situations
and stories serve as examples of life experience. This is how we communicate. These pro-
jected lessons offer children solutions to problems that may seem to them insurmountable.
How many times have we heard lauded individuals speak of the discoveries they made
in childhood that inspired them to greater heights in adulthood, and how often they have
used those examples to succeed?
Authors conjure stories that guide and exemplify how characters encounter obstacles
in their path and how they overcome them. Images are a fast way to project a story, and
they set a mindful barometer of visual examples that children can picture themselves
experiencing. Story may teach, but visual story inspires.
>
All painting is illusion. An artist’s ability to reproduce the human figure in two dimensions
to achieve an illusion of three is part of the appeal ofa single painted image. In depict-
ing a moment, the artist departs from reality and holds that moment indefinitely. The
endeavor itself is fantastic, to the point that all representational painting is a fantasy of
real moments, real time, real story.
How very remarkable it is to gain all that from a simple two-dimensional image of lands
unvisited, realms crossed over, the rich country of potential adventure. That promise of
adventure portends the many places a viewer can go, encourages curiosity, and stimulates
accomplishment.
In the moment captured with an image, worlds spring forward, adventures bloom, and
characters capture our attention and hold it there.
Artists may not paint fantasy themes the way they used to, and audiences may not view
them in the same way earlier generations did, but fantasy interest persists—for fantasy is
timeless.

Contemporary Fantasy Painting 171

 mmernmas
ote vermmumme
cormummmam cnacm: anna ts
of

oé
~~
 mopeR! §. HOWARD:
Pwost POETRY IN
eeO IN
RUSTY BURKE

n the years between the two world wars, one of the most popular forms of enter- 148. JUSTIN SWEET (b. 1969)
Kull of Valusia, 2006
tainment was the fiction magazine. Many of these periodicals were printed on inex-
Oil on canvas, 44 x 34 in. (111.8 x 86.4 cm)
pensive wood-pulp paper and were thus called “pulp magazines,’ or simply “pulps.” Illustration for Robert E. Howard, Kull:
The earliest of these, such as Argosy, Adventure, Short Stories, and Blue Book, were Exile of Atlantis (New York: Del Rey, 2006)
Arnie and Cathy Fenner
general fiction magazines, but in time the field came to be dominated by hundreds
of often short-lived specialty titles, covering a wide range of genres, including Westerns,
sports, mystery, war stories, romance, and many others. One such specialty title was
Weird Tales, subtitled “The Unique Magazine,” intended as a market for “off-trail” sto-
ries of the sort that other magazines would not publish. The first year was shaky, but then
Farnsworth Wright took over as editor, added “A Magazine of the Bizarre and Unusual” to
the masthead, and began seeking material to fit that description. Among his first accom-
plishments was the acceptance, in the fall of 1924, ofa story by an eighteen-year-old Texan
named Robert E. Howard.
Howard and Weird Tales would remain closely associated for the next dozen years,
until the author took his own life at the age of thirty. During that period, the maga-
zine would run forty-eight stories and twenty-one poems by Robert E. Howard, and he
would become one of its most popular writers, along with H. P. Lovecraft and Seabury
Quinn. While Howard’s fame rests largely on the fantasy adventures that first saw print
in “The Unique Magazine,” featuring Kull (plate 148), Conan (plate 149), Solomon Kane
(plate 150), Bran Mak Morn (plate 151), and Turlogh O’Brien, Howard became a prolific
contributor to many other pulps as well, including Action Stories, Argosy, Fight Stories,
Jack Dempsey’s Fight Magazine, Oriental Stories/Magic Carpet, Spicy-Adventure, Sport
Story, Strange Detective Mysteries, Thrilling Adventures, Top-Notch, and others. In his
brief career, the young Texas author produced some three hundred stories and more
than eight hundred poems. Both Howard and Weird Tales, neither gaining any particular

173
149. GREGORY MANCHESS (b. 1955)
The Creek, 2005
Oil on linen, 30 x 22 in. (76.2 x 55.9 cm)
Illustration for Robert E. Howard, The Conquering Sword of Conan
(New York: Del Rey/Ballantine Books, 2005)
Arnie and Cathy Fen
notice from the literary world of their time, would go on to leave lasting legacies and are
now regarded as important contributors to the literature of the weird and fantastic.
Robert Ervin Howard was born on January 22, 1906, in the little town of Peaster, Texas,
west of Fort Worth, the only child of Isaac M. and Hester Ervin Howard. His father was
a country doctor who moved the family frequently, from one potential boomtown to
another. By the time Robert was nine, the Howards had lived in at least eleven different
locations. Finally, in 1915, they arrived in the post-oak country of central West Texas, first
in the community of Cross Cut, then neighboring Burkett, finally settling in the town of
Cross Plains, where they would remain.
Though living far from the literary world, Howard apparently decided on his career
very early. Burkett’s postmistress recollected an encounter with young Bob and his dog,
Patches, during which he told her, “We like to come here where there are big rocks and
caves so we can play ‘make believe. Someday I’m going to be an author and write sto-
ries about pirates and maybe cannibals.” Years later, in a letter to fellow weird fictionist
H. P. Lovecraft, Howard wrote,

It seems to me that many writers, by virtue of environments of culture, art, and edu-
cation, slip into writing because of their environments. I became a writer in spite of
my environments. Understand, I am not criticizing those environments. They were
good, solid and worthy. The fact that they were not inducive to literature and art is
nothing in their disfavor. Nevertheless, it is no light thing to enter into a profession
absolutely foreign and alien to the people among which one’s lot is cast; a profession
which seems as dim and faraway and unreal as the shores of Europe. ... The idea of
a man making his living by writing seemed, in that hardy environment, so fantastic
that even today I am sometimes myself assailed by a feeling of unreality. Neverthe-
less, at the age of fifteen, having never seen a writer, a poet, a publisher, or a maga-
zine editor, and having only the vaguest ideas of procedure, I began working on the
profession I had chosen.”

Success was not immediate, of course, and Howard continued his schooling and worked
a variety of odd jobs while pounding out more stories on his typewriter. After complet-
ing high school, he took two brief courses of study in a business academy, but his dili-
gence in submitting stories to the magazines, his growing relationship with Weird Tales,
and the acceptance of his boxing tales by Fight Stories, finally paid off. Those early stories
were soon joined by many others, and Howard made his living entirely from his writing
from 1928 onward. From that time until his death, eight years later, his stories or poems
appeared in nearly three of every four issues of Weird Tales, and his battling Sailor Steve
Costigan fought his way through twenty-two tales spread across four different magazines.
Writers working for the pulp magazines had two paths to success. One was the cre-
ation of a character who would keep readers coming back for more and thus keep edi-
tors happy. The Shadow and Doc Savage are well-known examples, and in Weird Tales,
Seabury Quinn’s Jules de Grandin fought supernatural menaces in more than ninety

Robert E. Howard 175

150. GARY GIANNI (b. 1954)
Solomon Kane, 1997
Oil on canvas, 40 X 30 in. (101.6 X 76.2 cm)
Illustration for Robert E. Howard, The
Savage Tales of Solomon Kane (London:
Wandering Star, 1998)
Collection ofthe artist

stories. The second path was through versatility: a writer who could handle a variety of
story types could sell to more magazines in an age of specialization. Fortunately, Robert
E. Howard was both versatile and had the knack ofcreating popular characters. However,
unlike many ofhis contemporaries, who could continue cranking out stories about their
characters long after inspiration had abandoned them, Howard found he could not keep a

176 RUSTY BURKE

series going indefinitely. Writing to fellow Weird Tales contributor Clark Ashton Smith in
1933 about Conan, Howard conceded, “the time will probably come when I will suddenly
find myself unable to write convincingly of him at all. This has happened in the past with
nearly all my numerous characters; suddenly I would find myself out of contact with the
conception, as if the man himself had been standing at my shoulder directing my efforts,
and had suddenly turned and gone away, leaving me to search for another character.”
After Howard's death, H. P. Lovecraft said that the secret to the vividness of Howard’s
stories was “that he himself is in every one of them.’ Less perceptive critics have suggested
that Howard's heroes were all cut from essentially the same cloth, but if this were true,
Howard should have had no problem continuing to write stories about Kull, Solomon
Kane, Bran Mak Morn, and the like. Howard scholar Patrice Louinet has proposed what
seems the best explanation for this: the characters represent new stages of the writer’s own
emotional growth. As a person matures, his (or her) basic nature or personality does not
change dramatically (thus the similarities among the characters), but many of his ideas
and his emotional responses to the world do change—and thus the contemplative and
sometimes tentative Kull comes to be replaced by the more carefree and decisive Conan,
for example. Howard, in that case, sometimes lost touch with his characters because he
had psychologically outgrown them and therefore could no longer write convincingly
from their point of view.
While he never grew wealthy, Howard did well enough with his writing that he could
help support his family while his mother suffered through a lengthy illness. He and his
mother were close, partly because his father was so frequently called away to see patients
on farms and ranches, or in relatively distant communities, and was sometimes gone for
days at a time. According to Robert’s father, Hester had read poetry to their son when he
was little, and his continuing love for verse and the way he could weave poetry into his
prose show the effect of this early exposure. As his mother’s health worsened in the 1930s,
Robert more frequently had to shoulder much of her care and take her to hospitals in
other towns for specialized treatments. By early 1936, her care had become a nearly full-
time job, and while he and his father hired nurses and housekeepers, their interruptions
and Robert's constant concern meant that he was able to find little time for his writing and
was under considerable stress. Finally, on June 11, Hester slipped into a terminal coma,
and in answer to Robert’s question, a nurse told him his mother was unlikely to regain
consciousness. Exhausted and dispirited, Robert left the house, got into his car, and shot
himself with a borrowed pistol.
Howard's friends and fans were shocked to learn of his death, and in ensuing years his
work was newly published or reprinted in magazines and, eventually, books. The Conan
stories, in particular, were often requested, and in the 1950s Gnome Press published them
in five volumes. (Two later volumes contained pastiches.) With the increasing popular-
ity of fantasy works in the following decade, Lancer Books published the Conan tales
in paperback, and a “Howard boom” began. There can be little doubt that a good part
of the series’ success came from the choice of the dynamic Frank Frazetta as a cover art-
ist. (Lancer Books went bankrupt, but the series was eventually bought by Ace Books,

Robert E. Howard 177

which retained the Frazetta covers and reprinted the books through many editions.) In 151. GARY GIANNI (b. 1954)
Bran Mak Morn, 2000
1971, Marvel Comics began publishing the Conan series in comic book form, with first Oil on canvas, 40 x 30 in. (101.6 x 76.2 cm)
Barry Smith (now Windsor-Smith) and then John Buscema illustrating the adventures Illustration for Robert E. Howard, Bran
of the Cimmerian. This led in turn to movies, television, and ultimately a worldwide Mak Morn: The Last King (London:
Wandering Star, 2001)
popular-culture phenomenon, as the imagery of “Conan the Barbarian” became known Collection ofthe artist
around the globe. Along the way, others among Howard’s many characters and stories
have fired the imaginations of superlative artists.
Why has Howard so inspired these illustrators? There are probably many reasons, but
certainly one is what Howard scholar Larry Richter called “a prose poetry of action.” He
noted that, as author Fritz Leiber had earlier observed, Howard makes “heavy usage of
words like black, dark, savage, grim, that a writer would try to avoid....[ He] finds a strong
and broad word and unhesitatingly goes for it.” Howard “wants the reader to do a lot of
the work in description of scenes and characters,’ Richter wrote. “His limited but pow-
erful descriptions will tend to be of the emotional import of the thing described rather
than of the physical parameters of the place or object. They will have light and color, but
not much other visual detail. Swords glimmer and glitter, which incidentally, if polished
weapons are presented to you unawares, is how they are visually perceived.”* Consider the
opening paragraph of Howard's only Conan novel, The Hour of the Dragon:

The long tapers flickered, sending the black shadows wavering along the walls, and
the velvet tapestries rippled. Yet there was no wind in the chamber. Four men stood
about the ebony table on which lay the green sarcophagus that gleamed like carven
jade. In the upraised right hand of each man a curious black candle burned with a
weird greenish light. Outside was night and a lost wind moaning among the black
trees.”

There is a sense of vivid description, but upon closer look we see just “strong and broad”
words—“long tapers,’ “black shadows,” “velvet tapestries.” The impression of the scene
is very strong, but we're left to fill in the visual details ourselves, which is sheer joy to an
illustrator. The tales of Robert E. Howard have given free rein to the imaginations and
talents of artists working in a variety of styles, from Hugh Rankin, Joseph Doolin, and
Margaret Brundage in Weird Tales to more recent illuminators such as Mark Schultz,
Gregory Manchess (plate 149) and Gary Gianni (plates 150 and 151). It seems fitting, then,
that the hero of that first Howard story Farnsworth Wright bought for Weird Tales, “Spear
and Fang, is not only a barbarian (specifically a Cro-Magnon) but also an artist, first seen
“laboriously tracing figures on the wall. With a piece of flint he scratched the outline and
then with a twig dipped in ocher paint completed the figure. The result was crude, but
gave evidence of real artistic genius, struggling for expression.”® The symbiosis of How-
ard’s prose poetry of action and the expression of artistic genius seems destined to con-
tinue into new generations.

Robert E. Howard 179

 ee AE ENCHANTMENT
PNG) IRSEIN
E.W AL:
Ree ART,
feel yPE, AND
Woes y MEET
GRAIG CHALQUIST

esterday, in the old tales, the figure of the witch looked like Hecate of Greece,
Cerridwen of Wales, Oya of Nigeria, Chen Jiao of China, or Morgan le Fay of
Britain. Today, in comics, novels, and films, she reappears as Clea, Hermione
Granger, Shuri, Lian Nichang, Wanda Maximoff.
Built into existence itself, the great motifs of life never cease—creation, love,
growth, maturity, transformation, death, resurrection—and neither do the larger-than-
life roles: hero, heroine, mentor, outlaw, warrior, emissary, witch. From 1919 onward, Carl
G. Jung, psychological theorist and analyst, referred to these and other recurring collec-
tive motifs and roles as archetypes. This double word, joining “origin” or “first” to “type”
or “model,” signifies a primary pattern that shapes lived experience. The pattern abides,
and as time moves inexorably on, different images bring it ever back to life, reminding us
that we live among dramas larger than our personal spectacles.
Some ofthese fantastic, self-updating images come from myth—not a lie, not an out-
dated explanation of a natural cause, but a timeless tale embodying archetypal motifs
and characters. Such tales are timeless because, like a phoenix, which burns itself in its
nest and flies heavenward reborn, they reinvent themselves for whatever fresh day should
dawn on them (plate 152). As a result, they reinvent the creative perceptions of those of
us who appreciate what the old tales have to say, whether in their early versions or in con-
temporary reimaginings. Tending mythic images and motifs that return to life inside and
outside us brings with it a life-renewing feeling of re-enchantment.
Consider mythical Pandora, whose name, meaning “all gifts,” reflects her creation by
the admiring Greek gods. Tales of the archetype of creation often feature gift-giving, as
in the story of the orisha spirits of the Yoruba people of West Africa, who received their
sacred powers once they landed on the newly made earth. Adam and Eve received gifts

181
152. ROCKWELL KENT (1882-1971)
Phoenix, 1928
Pen and ink on board, 4% x 8% in. ——
(11.4 X 21 cm) _
Advertising illustration for Marcus and
Company
The Eisenstat Collection; Courtesy ofAlice
A. Carter and J. Courtney Granner

of life and food from the Garden of Eden. Might the innocent couple have grown bored
of being taken care of?
It has been said that when, out of curiosity, Pandora opened her famous box (it was
actually a jar), all the evils that afflict mortals flew out into the world: illness, disease,
death. For this she is often compared to Eve. But myths that live, or are brought back to
life, bear multiple interpretations. Did Pandora, and Eve, not make us human by under-
lining our mortality? Does Pandora not caution us, as Mary Shelley did in writing Fran-
kenstein, to avoid opening what cannot then be resealed? And there, at our beginnings,
did she not preserve in her box or jar what we most need for difficult times: the powerful
winged daemon known as Hope (plate 153)?
Joseph Campbell, in his works on world mythology, wrote much about the popular fig-
ure of the hero of many times and places. The hero is a giant figure. Often unruly, he must
learn to control himself. He needs tempering, often through adversity (plate 154).
The oldest hero in Western culture is mighty Gilgamesh, whose story was found in the
ruins of an ancient library in the Assyrian city of Nineveh, in what is now Iraq. Other
examples include the Greek Heracles, the Hindu Balarama, the Balinese Bhima Swarga,
the Yoruba Gbonka, the Chinese Hou Yi, the Bantu Mbega, the Israelite Samson, and the
Norse Thor, a hero among gods.
Campbell’s version of the hero must make a perilous descent (picture the Greek wan-
derer and former warrior Odysseus visiting the underworld) in order to win treasures,
not for himself but for humanity. (The root of the word knight—describing one heroic
type—means “to serve.” )Descents come in many sizes and shapes. The Arthurian knight
Perceval must face the Wasteland in his search for the Holy Grail. Ditaolane, a mythic
hero of South Africa, must escape Kammapa, the giant monster who swallowed him and
all his people. Superman must fall to Earth. Even for nonheroes, into every life some

182 CRAIG CHALQUIST

153. JAMES GURNEY (b. 1958)
Garden of Hope, 1995
Oil on canvas mounted to plywood,
46 X 34 in. (116.8 x 86.4 cm)
Illustration for James Gurney,
Dinotopia: The World Beneath (New
York: Harper Collins, 1995)
Collection ofthe artist
A
154. MICHAEL WHELAN (b. 1950)
The Way ofKings, 2010
Acrylic, 24 x 40 in. (61 x 101.6 cm)
Cover illustration for Brandon Sanderson, Nh (OT SIGE Ye
Na)A
The Way ofKings (New York: Tor Books, 2010)
Dragonsteel Fine Art Collection a 6)
Ja
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155. KELLY FREAS (1922-2005)

From the Dust Returned, 2001
Acrylic on board, 17 x 10% in. (43.2 x 27.3 cm)
Frontispiece for Ray Bradbury, From the Dust
Returned: A Family Remembrance (Norwalk,
CT: Easton Press, 2001)
Peter and Elaine Guiffreda Science Fiction
Collection
156. PIETER BRUEGEL THE ELDER (Ca. 1525-1569)
The Triumph of Death, ca. 1562
Oil on panel, 46 x 63% in. (116.8 x 162 cm)
Museo del Prado, Madrid

<
157. EGYPTIAN
Divine Mother Isis and Her Son Horus, 664-332 BCE
Bronze and silver, 5% x 14 in. (14 x 3.8 cm)
Indianapolis Museum ofArt, Indiana;
Emma Harter Sweetser Fund
underworld must fall—or we into it, for a time of necessary initiation into fuller ways to
feel, perceive, and be.
The hero’s entire journey downward and then upward involves great labors undertaken
in service to others. Chief among these labors is the heroic task of mastering oneself; in
doing so, the hero obtains new powers.
Heroines include the Greek Antigone, martyred daughter of King Oedipus; the Ger-
man Brunhild, fierce Valkyrie and lover of Siegfried; British Maid Marian, mate and
counterpart of Robin Hood; Mulan, warrior woman of China; Irish Oonagh, whose cley-
erness saved her husband, Fionn MacCumhaill; Princess Bari of Korea, expert in healing
and woodcraft; and Russian Vasalisa, who escaped the witch Baba Yaga by accomplishing
difficult tasks. Images of powerful heroines remind us of what the unleashed strength of
the feminine can look like.
In old as well as contemporary tales, the hero or heroine inevitably brings, or responds
to, the monster. They seem to go together. Perhaps they are actually two sides of the same
imbalance, a knot to be worked out in the fabric of a culture undergoing transition.
On the underworld path, or anywhere life grows dark and uncanny, fantastic crea-
tures appear. We have learned to call them mood shifts, strange impulses, symptoms, or
nightmares; but perhaps they also reflect the uncanny aspects of life itself, when we find
ourselves in deep transition. Are these creatures obstacles, we then wonder, or guides
(plate 155)? Hinderers or helpers? Perhaps hinderers, when properly understood, are in
truth disguised helpers (as we can see when we look back afterward), strengthening us
for the way forward?
As long-held ideals, beliefs, and social structures wear out, a time of reckoning arrives
that sweeps away the old to prepare for the new (plate 156). This completion of a cycle or
end of days goes by many imaginings: the Aztec Fifth Sun, the Sami figure of the celes-
tial hunter finally catching the starry stag, the Apocalypse, Ragnarok (also known as the
Death of the [Old] Gods). Often the reckoning is announced by some rousing sign or
signal.
Then comes the inevitable fall of the old order, making way for what will come after.
One meaning of apocalypse is the unveiling of what was hidden, the tempestuous bring-
ing to life of new possibilities of being that were unable to express themselves previously.
As archetypal motifs recur, the stories, myths, and art that express and evolve them
reconnect us to dimensions of enchantment and wonder. The tales and images then nour-
ish us as the Egyptian goddess Isis did her son Horus (plate 157).
Images of the otherworld are often interpreted psychologically as symbolic of the inner
world of the unconscious, a realm populated by fantasies and dreams. But can we not see
the daily world as enchanted too when we perceive it through imagination as awakened
by art, archetype, and ancient tale (plate 158)?
Not only myths, but fairy tales and folktales too can bring the magic touch of enchant-
ment, reminding us that we can be much more than what appears to the eye (plate 159).
In many of these tales, the trick is to rouse oneself and make use of whatever resources
appear.

186 CRAIG CHALQUIST

4
A A
158. DAVID WIESNER (b. 1956) 159. RUTH SANDERSON (b. 1951)
June 29, 1999, 1992 The Princesses Hurried down a Lamp-Lit Path, 1990
Watercolor on paper, 102 x 20% in. (26.7 x 52.1 cm) Oil on canvas, 17 X 34 in. (43.2 x 86.4 cm)
Illustration for David Wiesner, June 29, 1999 (New Cover illustration for Ruth Sanderson, The Twelve Dancing
York: Clarion Books, 1992) Princesses (Boston: Little, Brown, 1990)
Collection ofthe artist Norman Rockwell Museum, Stockbridge, Massachusetts; Gift
of Mark N. Bursari and Ruth Sanderson
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160. WALTER CRANE (1845-1915)

“At last he turned to her and said, Am Iso
very ugly?’? 1875
They can also serve as cautionary tales, advising us to abandon innocence as we mature
Engraving, 10! x 17% in. (26 x 44 cm)
Illustration for Walter Crane, Beauty and and acquire adult discernment. Like unbridled and untamed heroism, innocence held too
the Beast (London: George Routledge long calls forth the monstrous (plate 160).
and Sons, 1875)
Because so many of the old stories have been handed down by storytellers living close
The New York Public Library; The
Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of to the natural world, they contain much wisdom about how to be on good terms with soils
Art, Prints and Photographs: Picture and streams, plants and animals, ocean and sky, mountain and valley, and other features
Collection
of nature. This is wisdom desperately needed in our ecologically perilous time.
Nature, the tales seem to say, has many faces—some wild (plate 161), some reflective
(plate 162), some playful (plate 163), and some glorious in their beauty and aliveness.
Above all, the tales—and the art that so often accompanies and reinvents them—
remind us ofthe power of everyday magic.
We can live a few weeks with no food, a few days without water, anda few hours without
shelter in hostile climes, but we do not pass a moment without imagination, where all our
ideas, plans, hopes, and passions begin. Imagining is a primal human need. We cannot
get up and make a single move without imagining where we go or how we'll arrive. Every
great creative work, every attainment, every blueprint, every computation and investi-
gation, everything our species ever envisioned, grew, implemented, raised, crafted, built,
and maintained, ever, began as a fantasy in somebody's awakened imagination.
From imagination comes enchantment; not only a mood of eager, inviting wonder,
enchantment encompasses human capacities such as fantasy, awe, reverie, hope, fancy,
foresight, vision, play, and invention. Enchantment is a basic right; its absence is a sign

188 CRAIG CHALQUIST

161. LAURENCE HOUSMAN
(1865-1959)
Pan Covetous, 1899
Pen and ink on paper, 7 x 3% in.
(17.8 x 9.8 cm)
Illustration for Percy Bysshe
Shelly, The Sensitive Plant
(London: Printed for the Guild
of Women-Binders, 1899)
The Eisenstat Collection;
Courtesy of Alice A. Carter and
J. Courtney Granner
162. DENNIS NOLAN (b. 1945) 163. SCOTT BRUNDAGE
Pan, 1993 Swamp Scarefest, 2016
Bronze, 17 X 10 X 7 in. (43.2 X 25.4 x 17.8 cm) Ink, watercolor, Acryla gouache, and digital, 19 x 13 in. (48.3 x 33 cm)
Collection of the artist Illustration for B. A. Frade and Stephanie True Peters, Swamp Scarefest
(New York: Little, Brown, 2016)
Collection ofthe artist

—_>

164. JAMES WARHOLA (b. 1955) of something wrong. The arts and humanities deserve our support, love, and protection
Magic Shop, 1985 because, beyond their imperishable value to the cultures they represent and to human-
Oil on canvas board, 28 x 20 in.
ity as a whole, they creatively enchant us. In the end, the measure of a society's health is
(71.1 X 50.8 cm)
Cover illustration for Magic for Sale, ed. in how strongly it supports its blessed works of imagination, no matter how strange they
Avram Davidson (New York: Ace Science seem when we first encounter them.
Fiction Books, 1983)
Collection of the artist
In enchantment’ silvery light, anything can happen. Engage the imagination, warm up
the heart, turn a corner—and the road to wonder opens (plate 164).

190 CRAIG CHALQUIST

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Rockwell recorded our fantasies and ideals and gave us a sense of what
was in our heads and hearts.
—George Lucas’

n ardent and perceptive observer, Norman Rockwell was a persuasive visual

commentator whose realist paintings for popular periodicals inspired belief
for millions in the innate goodness of humanity and the achievability of the
American dream. Nurturing our love of fantasy in ways that the artist may
not have fully perceived, his carefully constructed artworks for the Saturday
Evening Post and other magazines, and for hundreds of twentieth-century advertisers and
products, are the work of aconsummate mythmaker who understood his audience’s deep-
est desires and spoke to them from the heart. As art critic Peter Schjeldahl aptly noted,
Rockwell's “precisely observed facts squared with deeply serious hopes,” and his pictures
“constitute as accurate a graph as we have of what being American—a fictive condition,
always—could feel like.”*
Despite the complications of life, or perhaps because of them, Rockwell pictured a
world that he and many others wished to inhabit. His recurring motifs—children enjoy-
ing the company oftheir elders, patient parents, nosy but benevolent neighbors, resource-
ful girls and women, and later, principled freedom fighters—reflected mores that society
embraced but sometimes fell short of fulfilling. Embedded within his humor and pathos
were conceptions of heroism, patriotism, individuality, and equality—ideals that have
helped to sustain us in good times and bad. His artworks, though “realist,” portrayed
ideas rather than actualities, and it is perhaps no surprise that Rockwell’s psychoana-
lyst, Erik Erikson, observed that the artist painted his happiness, pouring his energy into
whatever happened to be on his easel at the time.* Storytelling was Rockwell’s passion
as well as a shield against uncertainty and despair. For sixty years, his willfully hopeful
constructions—aspirational fantasies—celebrated commonalities and helped to galva-
nize America by envisioning its dreams and desires.

193
 Film directors George Lucas and Steven Spielberg, who have explored themes of fan-
tasy and science fiction in their work, are both admirers of Rockwell's narratives and
collectors of his art. Washington Post film critic Ann Hornaday once remarked that the
two directors’ movies have “tapped into the mass audience’s most fundamental hunger
for archetype and myth”’—an observation that could likewise be applied to Rockwell.
Committed to entertainment, these three master storytellers offer something more pro-
found. “Early in my career, Rockwell said, “I discovered that funny ideas, pure gags, were
good ... but funny ideas with pathos were better. Not only pathos, though; just some-
thing deeper. An idea which is only humorous doesn’t stay with people, but if the situa-
tion depicted has some overtones or undertones, something beyond humor, it sticks with
people and they like it much more.”®
For much of Rockwell’s career, disseminators of his art were drawn to its wit, whimsy,
and charisma. Kenneth J. Stuart Sr., Rockwell's art editor at the Saturday Evening Post for
almost two decades, from 1943 to 1962, noted: “No guide is needed for Norman's work.
The warmth of his understanding reaches them. People experience his paintings.’ Rock-
well’s curated and affecting snapshot of America was both real and imagined, a jumble
of colorful, unique types that somehow managed to coexist peacefully. Directing scenes
with the skill ofa seasoned filmmaker, he coaxed extravagant expressions and poses from
his carefully chosen cast of amateur models. Rockwell enjoyed the theatrical creativity of
this directorial work, often editing the information captured in his reference photographs
to achieve his vision. “I will enlarge an eye, reduce the size of the mouth, or do any num-
ber of things ... needed to put over the story,’ he said.®
Byvirtue of his training and inclination, Rockwell called the history of European art into
play, employing classical painting methodology to weave contemporary tales inspired by
everyday people and places. A cast of affable, exquisitely painted characters anda plethora
of supporting details kept him and his audience engaged, and inspired belief by millions
in the hopeful vision of America that Rockwell conceived and continued to refine. The
complexities of artistic production remained hidden to his enthusiasts, who were content
to embrace his narratives and accept them as unadulterated truth. In 1943, a Time maga-
zine reporter noted that Rockwell “constantly achieves, with no sacrifice of conscientious
sincerity, that compromise between a love of realism and the tendency to idealize which
is one of the most deeply ingrained characteristics of the American people.”
Rockwell's Saturday Evening Post covers originated from his own imagination or from
events that he had witnessed or remembered, though unsolicited advice from fans was
a constant. For Saying Grace, his November 24, 1951, cover—the Post's most popular,
according to reader polls—he took a rare cue from someone else’s eyewitness account
(plate 165). In the fall of 1951, Rockwell received a letter from Elsie Earl, an admirer from
Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, describing a scene she had witnessed in a Philadelphia
Automat restaurant."® Seated at a table, she observed a plain young woman, “evidently
Polish,” with a little boy of about five. Laughing and happy, they walked by her with
food-laden trays and, after hanging up their coats, settled at a table where two men were
already seated, “shoving in their lunch.” The young woman and boy folded their hands,

194 STEPHANIE HABOUSH PLUNKETT

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165. NORMAN ROCKWELL (1894-1978)

Saying Grace, 1951
Oil on canvas, 42 X 40 in. (106.7 x 101.6 cm)
Cover illustration for the Saturday Evening Post,
November 24, 1951
Lucas Museum ofNarrative Art, Los Angeles
 bowed their heads, and “for something of a
two-minute duration,’ said grace.
From this description, Rockwell con-
structed his painting. He hired a photogra-
pher to take photos looking out the window
of a busy New York Horn & Hardart Automat
and another to capture Albany street scenes.
Rockwell ultimately selected an industrial
train station in Rensselaer, New York, as his
more humble backdrop. Architectural struc-
tures shrouded in smoke blend away in the
finished painting, in contrast to earlier ver-
sions, in which the view through the win-
dow featured busy storefronts, cars, buses,
and people—a distraction from the contem-
plative tableau inside. Rockwell's players of
varying ages and walks of life turn their atten-
tion to the woman—now older—and the boy
bent in prayer. Civility permeates the scene
as onlookers turn toward them, surprised,
respectful, and nostalgic. However, the man
moving out of the picture to the right, too pre-
occupied to notice the goings-on, may reflect
a more accurate picture of lunchtime reality in
a cacophonous railroad diner. The originating
incident and Rockwell’s own re-creation of it,
cast with his own son Jarvis and his animated
studio assistant Gene Pelham, are interesting
Alice Duer Miller—Samuel G. Blythe—John A. Marose=Chetice Brackett nsider in tandem—the real in ntr t
Kenneth L. Roberts— Elsie Singmaster—Isaac F. Marcosson—
Hal G. Evarts to conside tande oS gst to
his fiercely affirming worldview.
166. NORMAN ROCKWELL (1894-1978)
Rockwell's point was clearly made. In a
Boy Reading Adventure Story, 1923 heartfelt letter to the artist about Saying Grace, Perceval Dean of Lexington, Kentucky,
Tearsheet wrote, “You have caught the idealism of an evident ‘failure’ with his everlasting hope [the
Cover illustration for the Saturday
Evening Post, November 10, 1923
man in the upper left wistfully looking on]; you have caught the sudden ‘harking back’ to
Norman Rockwell Museum, Stockbridge, childhood in the man with the cigar. On the faces of the two [young] men can be found
Massachusetts
the expression of one who has seen that faith at home and one who has never known it.’ It
is remarkable to note how resonant Rockwell’s archetypes were for Dean, who confessed
that Saying Grace, which appeared on the cover ofan ephemeral magazine for just a week,
“has given me a warmth ... such as one has when laughter is mixed with tears.”
Rockwell's love of fantasy was first inspired by literature. Many of his artworks fea-
ture men and boys engrossed in reading—like the young man in his 1923 Boy Reading
Adventure Story—highlighting the importance of literature as a source of inspiration

196 STEPHANIE HABOUSH PLUNKETT

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167. J. C. LEYENDECKER (1874-1951)
Hugs from Santa, 1925
generally, and to him personally, throughout his life (plate 166). Captivated by the stories Tearsheet
of Charles Dickens, which his father read out loud in the evenings after dinner, Rock- Cover illustration for the Saturday Evening
Post, December 26, 1925
well was inspired as a boy to draw their characters as he listened. His father read in an
Norman Rockwell Museum, Stockbridge,
“even, colorless voice, the book laid flat before him to catch the full light of the lamp, the Massachusetts; Gift of William Hargreaves
muffled voices of the city—the rumble of a cart, a shout—becoming the sounds ofthe
London streets.” As a lifelong reader of Dickens, Rockwell adopted the author’s literary A
168. Norman Rockwell (1894-1978)
view, observing the world around him for its rich narratives and characterizations. By his Merrie Christmas (Man with Christmas
own report, Rockwell’s parents supported his decision to attend art school after seeing Goose; Mr. Pickwick Sets out by the
Muggleton Coach for Christmas at
an impressive drawing of Ebenezer Scrooge, the coldhearted miser who eventually finds Dingley Dell), 1938
redemption, created as he listened to a reading of A Christmas Carol. Oil on canvas, 27 x 22 in. (68.6 x 55.9 cm)
In the 1920s and 1930s, Saturday Evening Post cover illustrations by Rockwell and his Cover illustration for the Saturday Evening
Post, December 17, 1938
friend and chief competitor, J. C. Leyendecker, promoted a fantastic holiday-themed Private collection
symbolism, showcasing jolly Santas (plate 167), posh religiously inspired costume pieces,
and Old English scenes infused with literary overtones. One of these, Rockwell’s Decem-
ber 17, 1938, cover painting, which the Post titled Mr. Pickwick Sets out by the Muggleton
Coach for Christmas at Dingley Dell, features another of Dickens’s well-known charac-
ters (plate 168). A retired businessman described as a generous and affluent gentleman,

Fantastical Rockwell 197

169. NORMAN ROCKWELL
(1894-1978)
“I thought you were wrong,” he said
in triumph. “You said it was nine!
Stupid!,” 1914
Oil on canvas, 19%4 x 29% in.
(50.2 X 75.6 cm)
Illustration for “The Magic Foot-
ball: A Fairy Tale of To-day,” by
Ralph Henry Barbour, St. Nicholas,
December 1914, 131
Norman Rockwell Museum,
Stockbridge, Massachusetts;
Norman Rockwell Museum Art
Collection Trust

Samuel Pickwick was the founder and chairman of the Pickwick Club. Written for seri-
alized publication and later compiled and sold as one story, The Pickwick Papers tells
tales of the club’s members, who travel around England by coach to examine specimens
of human life in places remote from London. In Rockwell's painting, the beloved protag-
onist is portrayed with an overflowing basket of holiday bounty. Fond of painting lively,
ornate scenes in an imagined Victorian or Elizabethan England, the artist embraced this
subject not just because of his youthful immersion in Dickens's stories but also due to his
mother’s proud tales of their English ancestry.
As a fledgling professional fresh from his studies at New York’s Art Students League,
Rockwell gained entry to the publishing world at McBride, Nast and Company, which
hired him to do eight illustrations for an edition of C. H. Claudy’s “Tell Me Why” Stories.
Many fiction-based assignments for children’s magazines followed, including a series of
five illustrations for Ralph Henry Barbour’s story “The Magic Foot-ball: A Fairy Tale of
To-day,’ published in St. Nicholas magazine in December 1914 (plate 169). Despite its fan-
tastical underpinnings, the story must have rung true for the artist. Principal character
Billy Piper, like Rockwell, was not known for his athletic prowess but had daydreams of
being a star football player. Responding to the boy’s impassioned wish, a spindly fairy
emerges to give Billy a magic football to aid him in his quest. In Rockwell's illustration,
this flight of imagination is set against a realistic setting—a well-appointed sitting room
filled with books, art prints, sculpture, brushes, pens, and ink bottles. Over the mantel
hang a Rembrandt-like burgomaster and what appears to be a copy ofJean-Francois Mil-
let’s 1857 painting The Gleaners, featuring three women toiling over the remaining stalks

198 STEPHANIE HABOUSH PLUNKETT

of wheat in a field after the harvest. At the end of the story, Billy wins the
big game for his team, to much acclaim, but also experiences “a sorrow”:
the magic football is gone, indicating that next time, talent and effort
alone will be his salvation.
Literary inspiration continued to bea touchstone for Rockwell; when
reflecting upon his life in My Adventures as an Illustrator, his 1960 auto-
biography, he depicted himself in cartoon style with two of the most
famous characters in fiction—Mark Twain’s Tom Sawyer and Huckle-
berry Finn (plate 170). Struggling with his identity as a visual storyteller
in the 1930s, when modern art attracted collectors and critics whose
passion for visceral, less readable artworks relegated illustration to a
lesser status, Rockwell found solace in book projects focused on these
legendary folk heroes. In 1935, George Macy, of the department store
family, launched Heritage Press as a division of his Limited Editions
Club. Rockwell initially declined Macy’s invitation to create a series of
paintings and chapter headings for The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, but
the connection to literature and to Twain's work ultimately compelled
170. NORMAN ROCKWELL (1894-1978)
him to accept the assignment. In 1936, Rockwell's lively color illustrations and chapter Trials, Tribulations, and Twain, 1960
headings appeared in a new edition of Tom Sawyer, and in 1940 he continued to picture Ink on paper, 5% x 5 in. (14 x 12.7 cm)
Chapter heading for Norman Rockwell
the all-American boy in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. and Thomas Rockwell, My Adventures as
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, the story of ayoung boy growing up along the Missis- an Illustrator (Garden City: Doubleday,
sippi River that was based upon Twain's own experiences, was published in 1876, the year 1960), 297
Private collection
the United States celebrated its centennial. It remains one of America’s most iconic nov-
els, and its title character—portrayed in illustrations, films, and musicals, and at Disney
theme-park attraction Tom Sawyer’s Island—has achieved the status of a national icon.”
It is perhaps no surprise that Rockwell, America’s beloved twentieth-century mythmaker,
took up the theme in his art. Twain’s book and many Rockwell artworks celebrate notions
of childhood and the ways that people interacted in a scaled-down, small-town America,
reflecting a nostalgic longing for simpler, nicer times.
To achieve authenticity in his fictional illustrations, Rockwell traveled to Hannibal,
Missouri, the hometown of Samuel Langhorne Clemens (Twain), to experience the sto-
ry setting and ambience. He visited Clemens’s boyhood home and the cave in which
Tom Sawyer and Becky Thatcher became lost. He even sketched the window from which
the mischievous young Clemens used to climb and purchased clothing off the backs of
Hannibal residents to include in his artworks. From this reality, both Twain and Rock-
well conjured the fantasy world of St. Petersburg, Missouri. As portrayed in the Heritage
Press edition’s color frontispiece, Tom Sawyer lures the boys of Twain's fictitious town
into whitewashing a fence—a task that he dreaded (plate 171). Rockwell's model for Tom,
young Richard Gregory of New Rochelle, New York, spent Saturdays for six uncomfort-
able months holding poses for Rockwell’s images, in the artist’s pre-photography days.
Rockwell wrote: “The great thing about illustrating a classic is that it is alive. When you
read it, the scenes—characters, setting, mood, jump right off the page, metamorphosed

Fantastical Rockwell 199

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171. NORMAN ROCKWELL (1894-1978)

Tom Sawyer Whitewashing the Fence, 1936
Oil on canvas, 19 x 14% in. (49.2 x 36.3 cm)
Illustration for Mark Twain, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (New York: The
Heritage Press, 1936), frontispiece
Farnsworth Art Museum, Rockland, Maine; Bequest of Mr. Clifford Smith
 172. NORMAN ROCKWELL (1894-1978)
The Land of Enchantment, 1934
Oil on canvas, 37 Xx 76 in. (94 x 193 cm)
into pictures which are complete and perfect down to the last detail.”’* In chapter nine,
Illustration for the Saturday Evening Post,
late one night when all are asleep, Tom climbs out the window of his bedroom in Aunt December 22, 1934
Polly’s house. He is roused by Huck’s “melancholy caterwauling,” or meowing, which was The New Rochelle Public Library,
New York
their signal to sneak offto the graveyard.” In creating his illustrations for the book, Rock-
well selected scenes, such as this one, that he felt would make effective paintings. Rockwell
and his brother Jarvis had been mischievous in their youth, and many of the boys who
appear in his illustrations appear to have been modeled on Twain’s aesthetic.
The Land of Enchantment, another Rockwell flight of fancy inspired by works of clas-
sic fiction, appeared in the December 22, 1934, issue of the Saturday Evening Post, though
it was not originally intended for publication (plate 172). Conceived for a commission
Rockwell received from a man who wished to hang the picture over the mantel in his
children’s room, the project was curtailed when the financial crash of1929 forced the cli-
ent to cancel his order. But the Post encouraged Rockwell to develop the idea—his first
double-page spread for the magazine, which could be clipped out for framing. At the
time, Rockwell lived in New Rochelle, New York, and displayed the painting in the town’s
library, where it continues to hang for public enjoyment.
In this rare mural-size painting, Rockwell contrasts the worlds offantasy and reality by
surrounding two children, boldly painted in the foreground, engrossed in their books,
against a paler backdrop of slowly emerging storybook characters. He further distin-
guishes figures from background by echoing the children’s posture with two strong diag-
onal thrusts, subtly designed, that begin just above their heads and flow outward to the
lower corners of the art. Carefully inscribed around the canvas perimeter are the names

Fantastical Rockwell 201

A
173. NORMAN ROCKWELL (1894-1978)
Art Critic, 1955 of many beloved characters from fairy tales and fantasy fiction, from Old King Cole to Rip
Oil on canvas, 39% x 3614 in. Van Winkle, Alice in Wonderland to Little Red Riding Hood, Robinson Crusoe to the Cat
(100.3 X 92.1 cm)
Cover illustration for the Saturday
and the Fiddle, and many more.
Evening Post, April 16, 1955 Decades later at the Post, whimsy was still the order of the day, as evinced in the 1955
Norman Rockwell Museum, Stockbridge, cover illustration Art Critic (plate 173). In a recurring Rockwell motif, fantasy and real-
Massachusetts
ity exchange places as paintings in a gallery literally come to life. Despite Rockwell's use
a of what is referred to in cinematography as “deep focus””® —when foreground and back-
174. NORMAN ROCKWELL (1894-1978)
ground objects take on equal clarity to create a sense of hyperrealism—the artist’s imag-
Art Critic, 1955
Pencil and charcoal on paper, 38 x 36 in. ination has clearly taken the lead. Rockwell once said he envied students who swooned
(96.5 X 91.4 cm) when viewing the Mona Lisa, because he never felt such passion.” Perhaps he viewed
Cover study for the Saturday Evening Post,
himselfas a more analytical artist, like the one examining a seventeenth-century portrait
April 16, 1955
Norman Rockwell Museum, Stockbridge, in Art Critic. With typical humor, he replaced the indignant woman portrayed in his char-
Massachusetts; Norman Rockwell Art coal study (plate 174) with one more alluring—inspired by a drawing Peter Paul Rubens
Collection Trust
made ofhis first wife, Isabella Brant, and by Rockwell’s photography ofhis own wife, Mary
Barstow Rockwell. To further enliven the piece, a quiet landscape in the background has
been supplanted by a group of Dutch cavaliers, who seem to express concern over the stu-
dent’s close proximity to the art.

202 STEPHANIE HABOUSH PLUNKETT

 LSP ICSE oe RS SESE TAIT SRT R= ere i EN sn

175. NORMAN ROCKWELL (1894-1978)

The lighthearted nature ofthis 1955 work belies Rockwell’s own reality. During an emo- Framed, 1946
tional year, Mary modeled for the painting’s portrait while under treatment for alcohol- Oil and graphite on canvas, 422 x 33 in.
(108 x 83.8 cm)
ism and depression. In addition, the couple’s youngest son, Peter, was severely injured in Cover illustration for the Saturday
a fencing accident at college; after four days at the hospital, Rockwell wrote with relief: Evening Post, March 2, 1946
Taubman Museum ofArt, Roanoke,
“Peter out of danger.’ An art student at the time, oldest son Jarvis posed as the young man
Virginia; Acquired with funds provided by
looking a bit too intently at the flirtatious portrait. Art Critic is one Rockwell’s most pop- the Horace G. Fralin Charitable Trust
ular and extensively analyzed works. His photographer Bill Scovill asserted that it “gave
him the most trouble and .. . agony of any. He had a terrible time finishing it.””” At least A
176. NORMAN ROCKWELL (1894-1978)
thirteen different charcoal and color studies preceded the finished painting. Fireman, 1944
Similarly themed, Rockwell’s 1946 painting Framed invites the viewer to ponder what Oil on canvas, 34 X 27 in. (86.4 x 68.6 cm)
Cover illustration for the Saturday
happens when patrons vacate museums, and artworks are left to their own devices Evening Post, May 27, 1944
(plate 175). In this painting, a security guard has inadvertently framed himself, as Impres-
sionist and historical paintings look on from the wall behind him. Fireman also relies
upon this favorite Rockwell pictorial device, utilizing a frame within a frame to convey a
layered message. Published on the cover ofthe Post in 1944—the year after a catastrophic
fire destroyed his Arlington, Vermont, studio, complete with his costume, reference, and
prop collections—Fireman plays a visual trick on the viewer (plate 176). Using trompe

Fantastical Rockwell 203

177. NORMAN ROCKWELL (1894-1978)
Mermaid, 1955
Oil on canvas; 45 X 36 in. (114.3 X 91.4 cm)
Cover illustration for the Saturday
Evening Post, August 20, 1955
Private collection

Yoeil techniques, Rockwell releases a stream of smoke from a smoldering cigar left on the
mantel below, to the dismay ofthe 1890s-era firefighter, who is trapped within his frame.
On the lookout for props, Rockwell purchased an antique gilt frame for a dollar in a junk
shop. “It was empty,’ he said. “I felt I had to fill it.... So, you see, the frame's in the picture,
and the picture's in the frame.””°
Legends of mermaids and mermen have enchanted humans for millennia. In the jour-
nal Christopher Columbus kept during his voyage of 1492-93, he recorded testimony
from a crew member who claimed to have seen mermaids. English explorer Henry Hud-
son’s 1608 logbook contains a similar account. These wonders of the sea, long a staple
in literature, surfaced frequently in the golden age of illustration (1880s-1920s), in the
works ofsuch artists as Howard Pyle, Edmund Dulac, and Arthur Rackham, all of whom
Rockwell admired. Rockwell’s Mermaid, a whimsical fantasy—and his only nude for
publication—builds upon the tradition (plate 177).

204 STEPHANIE HABOUSH PLUNKETT

 178. NORMAN ROCKWELL (1894-1978)
Lunch Break with a Knight, 1962
Oil on canvas, 34 x 32 in. (86.4 x 81.3 cm)
Cover illustration for the Saturday Evening
Post, November 3, 1962
National Museum of American Illustration,
Newport, Rhode Island

tt VULAMA
Caw ACA

During his student years, Rockwell sometimes escaped to the seaside resort of
Provincetown, Massachusetts, where he studied with painter Charles Webster Haw-
thorne, and took the opportunity to work directly from nature. The idea for Mermaid
formed from memories ofthese early experiences. Following his previous Saturday Eve-
ning Post cover, of aprim bride-to-be and her fiancé in a somber New England town hall,
Mermaid, with its sea breezes, white sand, and rosy-cheeked nymph, was a refreshing
diversion. Walter E. Merchant, an eighty-one-year-old Gloucester, Massachusetts, lobs-
terman, posed for the painting (his initials appear on the the lobster trap), but imagining
the turmoil that might ensue if a neighbor were to appear as his nude female protag-
onist, Rockwell wisely hired a professional model from New York. For the fish tail, he
purchased a twelve-pound pollack from the Berkshire Fish Company and, after photo-
graphing it, gave it to neighbor John Malumphy, who served it in his restaurant for two
days.

Fantastical Rockwell 205

 Rockwell was disappointed with the reproduction ofhis paint-
ing, which graced the cover of the Post's August 20, 1955, issue.
His wispy clouds, designed to give the picture a mystical effect,
were lost in the printing. Some readers called the cover obscene,
but most found it humorous and delightful. Completely suspend-
ing disbelief, perhaps due to Rockwell's convincing portrayal,
one noted an “egregious error, explaining: “It is well known to
all competent marine biologists that the species (aquahomo sapi-
ens) to which the mermaids belong is warm blooded and mam-
malian, in contradistinction to fishes, which are neither. As would
be expected, a mermaid’s tail is very similar to that of any other
marine mammal, such as a seal, and has a smooth skin covered
with soft fur, not scales.””
In Lunch Break with a Knight, Rockwell’s final narrative cover
illustration for the Saturday Evening Post, the lines between fact
and fiction are again creatively crossed (plate 178). Published in
1962, when the magazine sought to present itself as a modern
publication in changing times, this witty, anecdotal work was a
refreshing reminder of an aesthetic that had all but passed. Nes-
tled among the mounted knights in a museum's hall of arms and
armor, a weary night watchman, bathed in moonlight, his feet
dangling from his perch, takes time out for a dinner break. Little
does he know that he is being warily observed by the grand horse
on whose pedestal he rests.
179. NORMAN ROCKWELL (1894-1978) In the 1960s, the world was changing, and television, a relatively new medium, reflected
The Law Student, 1927
the speed and tenor ofthe times. Struggling to keep up and to retain its advertisers and
Oil on canvas, 36 x 26% in.
(91.4 X 67.3 cm) readership, the magazine that Rockwell once considered to be the greatest show window
Cover illustration for the Saturday in America for an illustrator began introducing photographic covers, at first published
Evening Post, February 19, 1927
Norman Rockwell Museum, Stockbridge,
as a variant to narrative and humorous illustrations by such contributors as Rockwell,
Massachusetts George Hughes, Amos Sewell, Constantin Alajalov, John Falter, and Richard Sargent. Pol-
iticians, statesmen, celebrities, and current events were captured on film by Yousuf Karsh,
John Burns, Edward Clark, and others, and by 1964, the covers of the Post were solely
photographic. Seeing the writing on the wall, Rockwell left the publication in 1963, after
forty-seven years, bringing his storytelling abilities to Look, where he took on current
events and topics ofsocial and national concern. There, notes art historian Dave Hickey,
he began “his tenure as a member ofthe nation’s new, therapeutic, power elite,” general-
izing particulars “in the manner of a social scientist.”
Throughout Rockwell’s years at the Saturday Evening Post and other publications,
fantasy and mythology took many forms in his art. Abraham Lincoln, whom he greatly
admired, was the model of the Horatio Alger story of rags-to-riches achievement. Pic-
tured in photographs pinned to a wall in Rockwell's illustration The Law Student, Lincoln
was the archetype of the small-town man who, without the benefit of formal education,

206 STEPHANIE HABOUSH PLUNKETT

 |
4
oy
2

4
~s

K
180. NORMAN ROCKWELL (1894-1987)
Cobbler Studying Doll’s Shoe, 1921
through hard work, came to national prominence (plate 179). The Post's reliance on illus-
Oil on canvas, 27% x 22% in.
trations featuring figures from the past established a comforting, popular, and at times (69.8 X 57.1 cm)
fictionalized version of American history that became a stabilizing force in changing and Cover illustration for the Literary Digest,
April 30, 1921
uncertain times.
Norman Rockwell Museum, Stockbridge,
Rockwell painted The Law Student, featuring a store clerk reading his law books, to Massachusetts; Gift of Jane and Jack
commemorate Lincoln’s birthday in 1927. Though Lincoln had been a clerk at a general Fitzpatrick

store he bought with a partner in 1832, it was not until two years later, as a representative A
in the Illinois General Assembly, that he began to study law. Symbolic of the American 181. NORMAN ROCKWELL (1894-1987)
Doctor and Doll, 1929
dream, the painting presents the notion that, with diligence, a person of meager means
Oil on canvas, 32 x 264 in.
can aspire to greatness. In fact, Rockwell's own persistence was leading him to finan- (81.3 X 66.7 cm)
cial success and illustration fame. That year, he was a member oflocal yacht and coun- Cover illustration for the Saturday
Evening Post, March 9, 1929
try clubs, drove a canary-yellow Apperson Jack Rabbit touring car, and built a nicely
Private collection
appointed studio next to his recently acquired New Rochelle home.
Rockwell enjoyed working with children as models for his art because he felt they were
less self-conscious and freer to act out feelings and emotions. His early work for Boy’s Life,
The Country Gentleman, and the Saturday Evening Post, and for such children’s publica-
tions as St. Nicholas and The Youth's Companion, frequently explored the idylls and fan-
tasies of youth. The magic of childhood is conjured in Rockwell's Cobbler Studying Doll's

Fantastical Rockwell 207

 Shoe (1921) and Doctor and Doll (1929), which place profes-
sional expertise at the service of youth and its boundless,
hopeful dreams (plates 180 and 181). These and other works
created throughout his career reflect Rockwell’s idealism and
his faith in the wisdom and vision of younger generations.
Rockwell entwined a sense of longing and desire in his wist-
ful images of hardworking Americans who dream of some-
thing more. Charwomen in Theater empathically portrays
two female custodians who take a moment to read the play-
bill and envision the splendid production that they likely will
not have the chance to experience firsthand (plate 182). Of the
illustration’s relatable characters, George Lucas observed: “It’s
more to them than just a job. They’re interested in the place
they work. You can imagine them sneaking up and watch-
ing shows” and “being proud that they work in the theater.’
In making the viewer witness to this quiet flight of fantasy,
Rockwell also invites us to imagine what spectacle has been
brought to life, onstage and in the women’s minds. Like Lunch
Break with a Knight, this work offers an intimate if imaginary
glimpse into the lives ofthose toiling behind the scenes.
The setting of Just Married seems an obvious one for Rock-
well, who traveled often for assignments and pleasure and
stayed at hotels frequently (plate 183). Rites of passage were
popular themes in his art, and here, an element of fantasy is
A employed as two hotel maids daydream about a newly married couple’s wedding night,
182. NORMAN ROCKWELL (1894-1978) based on the telling evidence that has been left behind: a single shoe, a celebratory banner,
Charwomen in Theater, 1946 and a dustpan full of confetti. Life’s turning points were common ground for most people,
Oil on canvas, 42.5 x 33 in. (108 x 84 cm)
Cover illustration for the Saturday and Rockwell’s art related to the theme invited comparison with the viewer's own, some-
Evening Post, April 6, 1946 times embellished, memories. The painting also drew upon the artist’s own experiences;
Private collection
Rockwell was a newlywed three times.
> During the American twentieth century, the profusion of print media supported the
183. NORMAN ROCKWELL 1894-1978 work of numerous talented illustrators who, in concert with the literary and commercial
Just Married, 1957
establishments, were purveyors of imagination and fantasy. Many of these artists recog-
Charcoal on paper, 38 x 34% in.
(96.5 x 87.6 cm) nized the importance of being active commentators in an ongoing visual dialogue with
Cover study for the Saturday Evening Post, their publics and of conveying a personal voice in their art. Rockwell’s ability to look
June 29, 1957
Norman Rockwell Museum, Stockbridge,
beyond the surface of things into the hearts, minds, and imaginations of his readers, in
Massachusetts; Norman Rockwell Art concert with his exceptional directorial and technical proficiency, offered a vision that set
Collection Trust
him apart. The artist’s beliefin the ability of images to speak about and to humanity was
at his core, and his vision has inspired generations oftalented storytellers working across
mediums to capture and reflect our deepest desires.

208 STEPHANIE HABOUSH PLUNKETT

 Nee) LES

ENCHANTED: 9. J. F. Bierlein, Parallel Myths art/hero-literary-and-cultural- Leslie S. Klinger (New York:

A HISTORY OF FANTASY (Random House: New York, figure. Liveright Publishing, 2014), 3.
ILLUSTRATION 1994), 267; Jung, Collected 17. Campbell, The Power of Myth, 30. Ibid., 124.
Works, vol. 9, pt. 1, 58. 104. Bik Leslie S. Klinger, foreword, The
Introduction
10. William H. Prescott, The 18. Ibid., 137. New Annotated H.P. Lovecraft,
Ursula K. Le Guin, The Conquest of Mexico, vol. 1 (New 19. Stephen Mitchell, Gilgamesh ed. Leslie S. Klinger (New York:
Language of the Night: Essays York: Henry Holt, 1922), 40, 42. (New York: Atria, 2004). Liveright Publishing, 2014).
on Fantasy and Science Fiction ll. Armstrong, A Short History of 20. Campbell, The Power of Myth, BQ. Ibid.
(New York: Putnam, 1979), 58. Myth, 77. 181. 33- Campbell, The Power of Myth,
Carl Jung, The Collected Works 12. Bierlein, Parallel Myths, 31; 21. Jacobus de Voragine, Aurea 167.
of Carl Jung, vol. 9, pt. 1: The Campbell, The Power of Myth, Legenda, vol. 3, trans. William 34. J. M. Barrie, Peter and Wendy
Archetypes and the Collective 254 Caxton, ed. F. S. Ellis (London: (New York: Charles Scribner’s
Unconscious, trans. R. F. C. 1 Jeremy Black and Anthony J. M. Dent, 1900), 58. Sons, 1911), 76.
Hull (Princeton, NJ: Princeton Green, Gods, Demons, and 22. Campbell, The Power of Myth, 35. Charles Perrault, The Fairy
University Press, 1969), 77. Symbols of Ancient Mesopotamia 239. Tales of Charles Perrault, trans.
George Sylvester Viereck, (London: British Museum 23° Jung, Collected Works, vol. 9, pt. Robert Samber (London: Folio
“What Life Means to Einstein,” Press, 1992), 147. 1420> Society, 1998), 31.
Saturday Evening Post, October 14. Campbell, The Power of Myth, 24. Campbell, The Power of Myth, 36. Jack Zipes, ed., The Original
26, 1929, 117. any, 53. Folk & Fairy Tales ofthe
Jung, Collected Works, vol. 9, pt. 15. Hope B. Werness, ed., The 25. Marinus Willem de Visser, The Brothers Grimm, (Princeton,
1512, Continuum Encyclopedia of Dragon in China and Japan NJ: Princeton University Press,
Carl Jung, Carl Jung Letters, vol. Animal Symbolism in Art (New (Amsterdam: J. Muller, 1913), 2014), introduction.
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trans. R. F. C. Hull (London 2003), 433-34; The Mahabharata 26. Campbell, The Power of Myth, Magic, and Mystery (Boulder,
Routledge, 1990), 611. of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, 45. CO: Roberts Rinehart
Karen Armstrong, A Short vol. 3: Vana Parva, sect. 167, 27h The I Ching, ed. F. Max Muller, Publishers, 1996), 7.
History of Myth (Edinburgh: trans. Pratap Chadra Roy trans. James Legge (New York: 38. Zipes, Original Folk & Fairy
Canongate Books, 2005), 44. (Calcutta: Oriental Publishing, Dover Publications, 1963), 59. Tales of the Brothers Grimm,
Joseph Campbell, The Power of 1889), 356. 28. Philip Wilkinson, Myths introduction.
Myth (New York: Anchor Books, 16. Encyclopedia Britannica e& Legends (New York: DK 39. Ibid., 39.
1991), 212. Online, s.v. “Hero,” October 19, Publishing, 2019), 32, 87. 40. Jung, Collected Works, vol. 9, pt.
Armstrong, A Short History of 2016, accessed February 7, 2020, 29. H. P. Lovecraft, The New is231.
Myth, 14. https://www.britannica.com/ Annotated H.P. Lovecraft, ed. 41. Hearn, Myth, Magic, and
Mystery, 9.

211
42. Susan E. Meyer, A Treasury 59. Jesse Kowalski, “Inside 72. Adam Holisky, “World of psychiatric facility perhaps bet-
of the Great Children’s Book Pulp Magazines: Detective Warcraft Reaches 12 Million ter known as Bedlam.
Illustrators (New York: Harry Mysteries, Weird Tales, Players,” Engadget, October 7, William Paley, Natural
N. Abrams, 1983), 72. and Fantastic Adventures,” 2010, https://www.engadget. Theology; or, Evidences of the
43. Campbell, The Power of Myth, Illustration History, Norman com/2010/10/07/world-of- Existence and Attributes of
107. Rockwell Museum, January warcraft-reaches-12-million- the Deity Collected from the
44. Jesse Kowalski, Never Abandon 11, 2018, https://www. players/; Olivia Grace, Appearances of Nature (Boston:
Imagination: The Fantastical
Art illustrationhistory.org/essays/ “100,000,000 World of Warcraft Gould, Kendall and Lincoln,
of Tony DiTerlizzi (Stockbridge, inside-pulp-magazines- Accounts Infographic,” 1837), 295.
MA: Norman Rockwell detective-mysteries-weird-tales- Engadget, January 28, 2014, Charles Kingsley, New
Museum, 2017), 1. and-fantastic-adventu. https://www.engadget. Miscellanies (Boston: Ticknor
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46. Karl Kilinski II, Classical Myth The Wizard of ‘Star Wars,” world-of-warcraft-accounts- Although Richard Doyle’s
in Western Art: Ancient through Rolling Stone, August 25, 1977, infographic/; Jonathan Leack, beautifully illustrated In
Modern (Dallas, TX: Meadows https://www.rollingstone.com/ “World of Warcraft Leads Fairyland: A Series of Pictures
Museum and Gallery, Southern movies/movie-news/george- Industry with Nearly $10 Billion from the Elf-World was issued
Methodist University, 1985), 20. lucas-the-wizard-of-star- in Revenue,” GameRevolution, in December 1869, London
47. William Wordsworth, preface, wars-2-232011/. January 26, 2017, https:// publisher Longmans, Green,
Lyrical Ballads, with Other 61. Jesse M. Kowalski, Heroes e& www.gamerevolution.com/ Reader, and Dyer postdated the
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Longman and O. Rees, 1800), of Alex Ross (Pittsburgh: Andy warcraft-leads-industry-with- Richard Doyle, A Journal Kept
XXXiil. Warhol Museum), 17. nearly-10-billion-in-revenue#/ by Richard Doyle in the Year
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September 19, 2019, accessed . Friedrich Nietzsche, Basic ON THE SIDE William Shakespeare, Romeo
February 7, 2020, https:// Writings of Nietzsche, trans. OF THE ANGELS and Juliet, act 1, scene 4.
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publishing. Modern Library, 1992), 335. and the Prometheans,” History Catalogue of the Pictures in
49. Hearn, Myth, Magic, and 65. Stephen Prince, “Through the Today, August 2006, 42. the National Gallery (London:
Mystery, 4. Looking Glass: Philosophical John Ruskin, Notes by Mr. National Gallery, 1901), 131.
50. Rufus Jarman, “Profiles: U.S. Toys and Digital Visual Effects,” Ruskin on Samuel Prout and ll. Richard Dadd, “Elimination
Artists—II,” New Yorker, March Projections, Winter 2010, 29. William Hunt (London: Fine ofa Picture and Its Subject—
24, 1945, 36. 66. Jerry Beck, The 50 Greatest Arts Society, 1879-80), 28. called The Fellers’ Master
Sis (Corryn Kosik], “Arthur Cartoons: As Selected by 1,000 Victoria C. Gardner Coates, Stroke” (n.p., Broadmoor,
Rackham,” Illustration History, Animation Professionals Kenneth D. S. Lapatin, and 1865), Wikisource, https://
Norman Rockwell Museum, (Atlanta: Turner Publishing, Jon L. Seydl, The Last Days of en.wikisource.org/wiki/
accessed February 7, 2020, 1994), 30, 37; 45, 49. Pompeii: Decadence, Apocalypse, Elimination_of_a_Picture_%26
https://www.illustrationhistory. . Dr. Robert R. Hieronimus, Resurrection (Los Angeles: J. its_Subject%E2%80%g4called_
org/artists/arthur-rackham. Inside the Yellow Submarine Paul Getty Museum, 2013), 132. The_Fellers%27_Master_Stroke.
52. Hearn, Myth, Magic, and (lola, WI: Krause, 2002), 28. Beginning in the 1820s, John 12. James Higgins Cassedy,
Mystery, 15. 68. Ibid., 312. Martin invested large amounts “Doctor Charles V. Chapin
53. Ibid., 19. 69. Jim Korkis, “If at First You of money on proposals aimed at and the Modern Public Health
54. [Corryn Kosik], “Violet Oakley,” Don’t Succeed... Call Peter revamping London’s transpor- Movement” (PhD diss., Brown
Illustration History, Norman Jackson,” Jim Hill Media, June tation and sewage systems. His University, 1959), 96.
Rockwell Museum, accessed 24, 2003, http://jimhillmedia. finances were further compro- ae “Arthur Rackham: Mr. Inness’s
February 7, 2020, https://www. com/alumni1/b/jim_korkis/ mised (along with his reputa- Impressions of the Famous
illustrationhistory.org/artists/ archive/2003/06/25/1087.aspx. tion) when his brother Jonathan Illustrator,’ New York Times,
violet-oakley. 70. James Gurney, e-mail to Jesse set fire to York Minster cathedral April 5, 1914.
55. Hearn, Myth, Magic, and Kowalski, January 19, 2020. in 1829. Eyewitnesses reported 14. Although Rackham was cor-
Mystery, 23. Fis Billy O’Doury, “1o of the Most that the conflagration resem- rect to recognize his influence
56. Ibid., 18. Expensive Pieces of Horror bled one of Martin’s paintings. in the Cottingley fairy photo-
57: Ibid., 27. Movie Memorabilia Ever Sold Martin paid for his brother’s graphs, they were actually cop-
58. David Saunders, “J. Allen at Auction,” Richest, November legal defense, which was suc- ied from the work of one ofhis
St. John,” Pulp Artists (2012), 22, 2019, https://www.therichest. cessful given the circumstances. imitators, illustrator Claude
accessed February 7, 2020, com/movies/horror-movie- Jonathan escaped the gallows Arthur Shepperson (1867-1921).
https://www.pulpartists.com/ memorobilia-sold-auction- and spent the remainder of his The girls waited sixty-six years
StJohn.html. most-expensive/. life in Bethlem Royal Hospital, a before revealing the source of

212 Notes
 their inspiration and admitting ROBERT E. HOWARD Peter Schjeldahl, “A Kind Word 14. Rockwell, My Adventures, 334.
that they had faked the photos Mrs. T. A. Burns, “Robert E. for Norman Rockwell; New 15. Mark Twain, The Adventures
by using cardboard cutouts. The Howard as a Boy,’ Cross Plains Yorker, November 5, 2013. of Tom Sawyer (New York and
fairies, they maintained, were (TX) Review, July 10, 1936. Erik Erikson, “Summary London: Harper and Brothers,
real. Howard to H. P. Lovecraft, of Contacts with Norman 1920), 81.
15. Arthur Conan Doyle, The ca. July 1933, The Collected Rockwell,” dictated July 15, 16. Mecklenburg, Telling Stories,
Coming of the Fairies (New Letters of Robert E. Howard, 1953, Austin Riggs Center, 2O7:
York: George H. Doran vol. 3, 1933-1936 (n.p.: Stockbridge, MA. 17. Linda Szekeley Pero, American
Company, 1921), 57, 58. The Robert E. Howard Ann Hornaday, “The Lord of Chronicles: The Art of Norman
16. When Morse was perfect- Foundation Press, 2008), 81-82. the Light Side” Washington Post, Rockwell (Stockbridge, MA:
ing his telegraphic sys- Howard to Clark Ashton Smith, August 10, 2008, Ms. Norman Rockwell Museum,
tem, doubters equated his December 14, 1933, ibid., vol. 3, Norman Rockwell and Tom 2007), 168.
work with Mesmerism and 151. Rockwell, My Adventures as 18. Norman Rockwell’s 1955
the “tricks of animal mag- Larry Richter, “The Least of an Illustrator: The Definitive appointment book, courtesy of
netism.” Morse, Bound vol- Bob Howard,” The Dark Man: Edition (New York: Abbeville Thomas Rockwell.
ume, 15 January-8 June 1884, The Journal of Robert E. Howard Press, 2019), 262. 19. “Memories of the Old
Manuscript/Mixed Material, Studies 7, no. 2 (2014): 86, 87, Alexxa Gotthardt, “Why Corner House and Norman
Samuel Finley Breese Morse 87-88, Norman Rockwell Matters,” Rockwell,” Bill Scovill and
Papers, 1793 to 1944: General Robert E. Howard, “The Hour Artsy, June 1, 2018, https://www. Louie Lamone interviewed by
Correspondence and Related of the Dragon,” The Bloody artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial- David Wood, October 30, 1987,
Documents, Library of Crown of Conan (New York: Del norman-rockwell-matters. Norman Rockwell Museum
Congress, Washington, DC. Rey Books, 2003), 83. Ron Schick, Norman Rockwell: Moving Image Collection,
17. Emanuel Swedenborg, Robert E. Howard, “Spear Behind the Camera (New York: RC.2010.11.1.17, Norman
A Treatise Concerning the Last and Fang,” Pictures in the Fire Little, Brown, 2009), 30. Rockwell Museum Archival
Judgment (Boston: Hilliard, (n.p.: The Robert E. Howard “I Like to Please People,” Time, Collections, Norman Rockwell
Gray, Little & Wilkins, and Foundation Press, 2018), 50. June 21, 1943, 41. Museum, Stockbridge, MA.
Adonis Howard, 1828), 31. 10. Mrs. Edward V. Earl (Elsie 20. Norman Rockwell, The Norman
Swedenborg had a formative — FANTASTICAL ROCKWELL Earl), Upper Darby, PA, letter to Rockwell Album (New York:
influence on William Blake, George Lucas, interview by Norman Rockwell, n.d., in ref- Doubleday, 1961), 45.
although the artist eventually Virginia M. Mecklenburg erence to Saying Grace. Norman 21. George W. Price, letters to the
repudiated some of the philos- and Laurent Bouzereau, at Rockwell Museum Collection, editor, Saturday Evening Post,
ophy central to Swedenborg’s Skywalker Ranch, California, st1976.20029.7.112. September 24, 1955.
beliefs. September 12, 2008, in Virginia ll. Perceval E. Dean of Lexington, 22. Dave Hickey, “The Kids Are
18. Frank E. Schoonover, “Howard M. Mecklenburg, Telling Stories: KY, letter to Norman Rockwell, All Right: After the Prom,” in
Pyle,’ Art and Progress 6, no. Norman Rockwell from the November 20, 1951, in refer- Norman Rockwell: Pictures
12 (1915): 432. www.jstor.org/ Collections of George Lucas and ence to Saying Grace. Norman for the American People, ed.
stable/20561547. Steven Spielberg (New York: Rockwell Museum Collection, Maureen Hart Hennessy and
19. Ibid., 432-33. Abrams, in association with st1976.20028.6.1. Ann Knutson (New York: Harry
the Smithsonian American Art 12. Rockwell, My Adventures, 42. N. Abrams, 1999), 124.
Museum, 2010), 25. iy, Peter Messent, “Tom Sawyer 23 . Mecklenburg, Telling Stories, 131.
Peter Schjeldahl, “Reading the and American Cultural Life:
Mind of Norman Rockwell’s Anxieties and Accommodations
Undecided Voter,’ New Yorker, in Mark Twain, in Mark Twain
November 4, 2016. (Palgrave, London: Macmillan
Modern Novelists, 1997). 65.

Notes 213
 aS JRO meine EH SEG

FICTION . Something Wicked This Way Clarke, Susanna. Jonathan Strange L'Engle, Madeleine. A Wrinkle in
Alighieri, Dante. The Divine Comes. New York: Simon and and Mr. Norrell. New York: Time. New York: Farrar, Straus,
Comedy. New York: Penguin Schuster, 2017. Bloomsbury, 2004. and Giroux, 1962.
Books, 2003. Bradley, Marion Zimmer. The Mists Coats, J. Anderson. The Green Frade, B. A., and Stephanie True
Andersen, Hans Christian. The of Avalon. New York: Alfred A. Children of Woolpit. New York: Peters. Swamp Scarefest. New
Annotated Hans Christian Knopf, 1982. Simon and Schuster, 2019. York: Little, Brown, 2016.
Andersen. Edited by Maria Tatar. Brom. The Child Thief. New York: Cooper, Susan. The Dark Is Rising. Gaiman, Neil. Coraline. New York:
New York: W. W. Norton, 2008. EOS, 2009. New York: Simon and Schuster, HarperCollins, 2002.
Barker, Clive. The Books of Blood. Brooks, Terry. The Sword of 1973. . The Graveyard Book. New
New York: Berkley Books, 1984. Shannara Trilogy. New York: Crane, Walter. Beauty and the Beast. York: HarperCollins, 2008.
. The Great and Secret Show. Del Rey, 2002. London: George Routledge and . Neverwhere. London: BBC
New York: Harper and Row, Bulfinch, Thomas. Bulfinch’s Sons, 1875. Books, 1996.
1989. Mythology. San Diego, CA: Dahl, Roald. The BFG. New York: . Stardust. New York:
Barrie, J. M. The Annotated Peter Canterbury Classics, 2014. Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 1982. HarperCollins, 1999.
Pan. Edited by Maria Tatar. New Burroughs, Edgar Rice. The Land . Charlie and the Chocolate Goldman, William. The Princess
York: W. W. Norton, 2011. That Time Forgot Trilogy. Factory. New York: Alfred A. Bride. New York: Harcourt
Baum, L. Frank. The Wonderful Norwalk, CT: Easton Press, Knopf, 1964. Brace Jovanovich, 1973.
Wizard of Oz. Chicago: George 2012. . James and the Giant Peach. Grimm, Jacob, and Wilhelm
M. Hill, 1900. —.. Mars Trilogy: A Princess of New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1961. Grimm. The Annotated Brothers
Beagle, Peter S. The Last Unicorn. Mars, The Gods of Mars, The ——.. The Witches. New York: Grimm. Edited by Maria Tatar.
New York: Viking Press, 1968. Warlord of Mars. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 1983. New York: W. W. Norton, 2004.
Becker, Aaron. Journey. Somerville, Simon and Schuster, 2012. Davidson, Avram, ed. Magic for Sale. Grossman, Lev. The Magicians. New
MA: Candlewick Press, 2013. —.. The Master Mind of Mars. New York: Ace Science Fiction York: Viking, 2009.
Beowulf. Translated by Frederick Chicago: A. C. McClurg, 1928. Books, 1983. Gygax, Gary. Advanced Dungeons
Rebsamen. Norwalk, CT: ——.. Tarzan of the Apes. New York: DiTerlizzi, Tony, and Holly Black. e& Dragons, Monster Manual:
Easton Press, 2017. Dover Publications, 2020. The Spiderwick Chronicles. New Special Reference Work. Lake
Bradbury, Ray. From the Caine, Rachel. Glass Houses. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2004. Geneva, WI: TSR Hobbies, 1977.
Dust Returned: A Family York: New American Library, Doyle, Arthur Conan. The Lost . Tomb of Horrors. Lake
Remembrance. Norwalk, CT: 2006. World. New York: Hodder and Geneva, WI: TSR Games, 1978.
Easton Press, 2001. Carroll, Lewis. The Annotated Stoughton, 1912. Gygax, Gary, and Dave Arneson.
——. The Halloween Tree. New Alice. Introduction and notes Dulac, Edmund. Sindbad the Dungeons & Dragons: Rules for
York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1972. by Martin Gardner. New York: Sailor and Other Stories from Fantastic Medieval Wargames
Bramhall House, 1960. the Arabian Nights. London: Campaigns Playable with Paper
Hodder and Stoughton, 1914. and Pencil and Miniature

214
 Figures. Lake Geneva, WI: . The Screwtape Letters: Pratchett, Terry. The Colour of . The Hobbit, or There and
Tactical Studies Rules, 1974. Annotated Edition. New York: Magic. New York: St. Martin’s Back Again. London: George
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. A Wonder HarperOne, 2013. Press, 1983. Allen and Unwin, 1937.
Book. Garden City, NY: Garden Lovecraft, H. P. The New Annotated Pullman, Philip. His Dark Materials. ——.. The Return ofthe King.
City Publishing, 1922. H. P. Lovecraft. Edited by Leslie New York: Alfred A. Knopf, London: George Allen and
Heaney, Seamus. Beowulf: A New S. Klinger. New York: Liveright 2007. Unwin, 1955.
Verse Translation. New York: Publishing, 2014. Pyle, Howard. The Story of the Grail . The Two Towers. London:
Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 1999. . The New Annotated H. P. and the Passing of Arthur. New George Allen and Unwin, 1954.
Hood, Tom. Fairy Realm: A Lovecraft: Beyond Arkham. York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, Toro, Guillermo del, and Cornelia
Collection of the Favourite Old Edited by Leslie S. Klinger. New 1910. Funke. Pan’s Labyrinth: The
Tales. London: Ward, Lock, and York: Liveright Publishing, 2019. Pyle, Katharine. Where the Wind Labyrinth of the Faun. New
Tyler, 1866. Malory, Sir Thomas. The Boy’s King Blows. New York: R. H. Russell, York: Katherine Tegen Books,
Howard, Robert E. Bran Mak Morn: Arthur: Sir Thomas Malory’s 1902. 2019.
The Last King. New York: Del History of King Arthur and His Rice, Anne. The Vampire Chronicles. Travers, P. L. Mary Poppins. New
Rey, 2005. Knights of the Round Table. New York: Ballantine Books, York: Harcourt Brace, 1934.
. The Coming of Conan the Edited by Sidney Lanier. New 1997. Twain, Mark. The Adventures of
Cimmerian. New York: Del Rey, York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, Riordan, Rick. Percy Jackson and the Tom Sawyer. New York: Heritage
2003. 1880. Olympians. New York: Disney Press, 1936.
. The Conquering Sword of Martin, George R. R. A Game of Hyperion Books, 2014. White, T. H. The Once and Future
Conan. New York: Del Rey/ Thrones. New York: Bantam Rowling, J. K. Harry Potter and King. New York: G. P. Putnam’s
Ballantine Books, 2005. Books, 1996. the Sorcerer’s Stone: New York: Sons, 1958.
. Kull: Exile of Atlantis. New . A Storm of Swords. New York: Scholastic, 1997. Witwer, Michael. Empire of
York: Del Rey, 2006. Random House, 2020. Roy, John F. A Guide to Barsoom. Imagination: Gary Gygax
. The Savage Tales of Solomon McCaffrey, Anne. Dragonflight. New New York: Ballantine Books, and the Birth of Dungeons &
Kane. New York: Del Rey, 2004. York: Ballantine Books, 1968. 1976. Dragons. New York: Bloomsbury
Hull, Eleanor. The Northmen in Mead, Richelle. Vampire Academy. Rushdie, Salman. Haroun and the USA, 2015.
Britain. New York: Thomas Y. New York: Razorbill, 2007. Sea of Stories. New York: Granta Zelazny, Roger. The Great Book of
Crowell, 1913. Miller, Olive Beaupré. My Book Books, 1990. Amber: The Complete Amber
Irving, Washington. Rip Van Winkle. House: In Shining Armor. Sanderson, Brandon. The Way of Chronicles, 1-10. New York:
London: William Heinemann, Chicago: Book House for Kings. New York: Tor Books, Avon Books, 1999.
1905. Children, 1932. 2010.
Jackson, Shirley. The Haunting of Milton, John. Paradise Lost. Sapkowski, Andrzej. The Last NONFICTION
Hill House. New York: Viking London: Penguin Books, 2003. Wish: Introducing The Witcher. Bierlein, J. F. Parallel Myths.
Press, 1959. Mitchell, Stephen. Gilgamesh: A Translated by Danusia Stok. Random House: New York,
Jacques, Brian. Redwall. New York: New English Version. New York: New York: Orbit, 2017. 1994.
Philomel Books, 1986. Atria, 2004. Saunders, Louise. The Knave of Campbell, Joseph. The Hero with
Jakes, John. The Planet Wizard. New Morgenstern, Erin. The Night Hearts. New York: Charles a Thousand Faces. Princeton,
York: Ace Books, 1969. Circus. New York: Doubleday, Scribner’s Sons, 1925. NJ: Princeton University Press,
Jemisin, N. K. The Hundred 2011. Schiitze, Sebastian, and Maria 2004.
Thousand Kingdoms. New York: Nesbit, Edith. The Enchanted Castle. Antonietta Terzoli. William ——.. The Power of Myth. New
Orbit, 2010. London: T. Fisher Unwin, 1907. Blake: Dante’s “Divine Comedy”; York: Anchor Books, 1991.
Jordan, Robert. The Eye of the Ovid. Metamorphoses. Translated by The Complete Drawings. Canemaker, John. Winsor McCay:
World. New York: Tom Doherty Rolfe Humphries. Bloomington: Cologne, Germany: Taschen, His Life and Art. New York:
Associates, 1990. Indiana University Press, 2018. 2014. Abbeville Press, 1987.
King, Stephen. The Dead Zone. New Paolini, Christopher. The Shelley, Percy Bysshe. The Sensitive Fleischer, Richard. Out of the
York: Viking Press, 1979. Inheritance Cycle. New York: Plant. London: Printed for the Inkwell: Max Fleischer and
. The Shining. Garden City, Alfred A. Knopf, 2008. Guild of Women-Binders, 1899. the Animation Revolution.
NY: Doubleday, 1977. Perrault, Charles. The Fairy Tales of Spenser, Edmund. The Faerie Lexington: University Press of
Kingsley, Charles. The Water-Babies. Charles Perrault. Translated by Queene. London: Penguin Kentucky, 2011.
New York: Dodd, Mead, 1916. Robert Samber. London: The Books, 1979. Hearn, Michael Patrick. Myth,
Le Guin, Ursula K. The Books Folio Society, 1998. Stoker, Bram. The New Annotated Magic, and Mystery: One
of Earthsea: The Complete Porter, Jane. The Scottish Chiefs. Dracula. Edited by Leslie Hundred Years of Children’s
Illustrated Edition. New York: New York: Charles Scribner’s S. Klinger. New York: W. W. Book Illustration. Boulder, CO:
Saga Press, 2018. Sons, 1921. Norton, 2008. Rinehart Publishing, 1996.
Lewis, C. S. The Chronicles Powers, Tim. On Stranger Tides. Tolkien, J. R. R. The Fellowship of Hieronimus, Dr. Robert R. Inside
of Narnia. New York: New York: Ace Books, 1987. the Rings. London: George Allen the Yellow Submarine. lola, WI:
HarperCollins, 2006. and Unwin, 1954. Krause, 2002.

Further Reading 215

Howard, Robert E. The Collected Blizzard Entertainment. San Jones, Jeff. Jeffrey Jones: A Life NJ: Dynamite Entertainment,
Letters of Robert E. Howard. 3 Rafael, CA: Insight Editions, in Art.San Diego, CA: IDW 2019.
vols. N.p.: Robert E. Howard 2013. Publishing, 2010. Peppin, Brigid. Fantasy: The Golden
Foundation Press, 2008. Cox, Palmer. The Brownies around Klugerman, Barry. Roy G. Krenkel, Age of Fantastic Illustration.
Hudson, Derek. Arthur Rackham: the World. London: T. Fisher Father of Heroic Fantasy. San New York: Watson-Guptill, 1975.
His Life and Work. New York: Unwin, 1894. Diego, CA: IDW Publishing, Phillpotts, Beatrice. The Faeryland
Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1960. Dini, Paul. Zatanna. Burbank, CA: 2019. Companion. New York: Barnes
Jung, Carl. The Collected Works DC Comics, 2017. Kowalski, Jesse. Never Abandon and Noble Books, 1999.
of Carl Jung, vol. 9, pt. 1: The DiTerlizzi, Tony, and Holly Black. Imagination: The Fantastical Art Raymond, Alex. Flash Gordon:
Archetypes and the Collective Arthur Spiderwick’s Field Guide of Tony DiTerlizzi. Stockbridge, On the Planet Mongo. London:
Unconscious. Translated by to the Fantastical World around MA: Norman Rockwell Titan Books, 2012.
R. F.C. Hull. Princeton, NJ: You. New York: Simon and Museum, 2017. Rex, Adam. Frankenstein Makes
Princeton University Press, Schuster, 2005. Lapetino, Tim. Art of Atari. a Sandwich. Orlando, FL:
1969. Doyle, Arthur Conan. The Coming Mount Laurel, NJ: Dynamite Harcourt, 2006.
Kilinski, Karl II. Classical Myth in of the Fairies. London: Hodder Entertainment, 2016. . Frankenstein Takes the Cake.
Western Art: Ancient through and Stoughton, 1922. Lee, Alan. The Lord of the Rings Orlando, FL: Harcourt, 2008.
Modern. Dallas, TX: Meadows Doyle, Richard. In Fairyland: A Sketchbook. Boston: Houghton Roach, David, and Frank Frazetta.
Museum and Gallery, Southern Series of Pictures from the Elf- Mifflin, 2005. The Art of Vampirella: The
Methodist University, 1985. World. London: Longman, McAllister, Angela, and Grahame Warren Years. Runnemede, NJ:
La Croix, Horst de, and Richard G. Green, Reader and Dyer, 1870. Baker-Smith. Leon and the Dynamite Entertainment, 2013.
Tansey. Gardner’s Art through Ellis, Douglas, Ed Hulse, and Robert Place Between. Somerville, MA: Robinson, Frank M., Robert E.
the Ages. New York: Harcourt Weinberg. The Art of the Pulps: Templar Books, 2009. Weinberg, and Randy Broecker.
Brace Jovanovich, 1976. An Illustrated History. San Manchess, Gregory. Above the Art of Imagination: 20th Century
Le Guin, Ursula K. The Language Diego, CA: IDW Publishing, Timberline. New York: Saga Visions of Science Fiction,
of the Night: Essays on Fantasy 2017. Press, 2017. Horror, and Fantasy. Portland,
and Science Fiction. New York: Foster, Hal. Prince Valiant, vols. Mecklenburg, Virginia M. Telling OR: Collectors Press, 2002.
Putnam, 1979. 1-3: 1937-1942. Seattle, WA: Stories: Norman Rockwell from Ross, Alex, and Paul Dini. Shazam!:
Rockwell, Norman, and Thomas Fantagraphics Books, 2017. the Collections of George Lucas Power of Hope. New York: DC
Rockwell. My Adventures as an Froud, Brian, and Alan Lee. Faeries. and Steven Spielberg. New York: Comics, 2000.
Illustrator. Garden City, NY: New York: Abrams, 1978. Abrams, in association with Ross, Frederick C., and Kara
Doubleday, 1960. Giancola, Donato. Middle-Earth: the Smithsonian American Art Lysandra Ross. William
. My Adventures as an Journeys in Myth and Legend. Museum, 2010. Bouguereau: The Essential
Illustrator: The Definitive Milwaukie, OR: Dark Horse Meseldzija, Petar. The Art of Petar Works. Woodbridge, Suffolk,
Edition. New York: Abbeville Books, 2019. MeseldZija. Breda, Netherlands: UK: ACC Art Books, 2018.
Press, 2019. ——. Middle-Earth: Visions of a Dark Dragon Books, 2013. Russell, P. Craig, and Richard
Modern Myth. Nevada City, CA: . The Book of Giants. Santa Wagner. The Ring of the
ILLUSTRATION/ART Underwood Books, 2010. Cruz, CA: Flesk Publications, Nibelung. Milwaukie, OR: Dark
Alinger, Brandon, Wade Lageose, Gianni, Gary. The Prince Valiant 2015. Horse Comics, 2002.
and David Mandel. Star Wars Page. Santa Cruz, CA: Flesk Meyer, Susan E. A Treasury of Sanderson, Ruth. The Twelve
Art: Ralph McQuarrie. New Publications, 2008. the Great Children’s Book Dancing Princesses. Boston:
York: Abrams, 2016. Gurney, James. Dinotopia: The Illustrators. New York: Harry N. Little, Brown, 1990.
Baum, L. Frank, Eric Shanower, and World Beneath. New York: Abrams, 1983. Seeley, Tim, and Steve Seeley. The
Skottie Young. The Marvelous HarperCollins, 1995. Mignola, Mike. Hellboy Omnibus, Art of He-Man and the Masters
Land of Oz. New York: Marvel, Haber, Karen. Masters of Science vol. 1: Seed of Destruction. of the Universe. Milwaukie, OR:
2010, Fiction and Fantasy Art: A Milwaukie, OR: Dark Horse Dark Horse Books, 2015.
Beck, Jerry. Animation Art: From Collection of the Most Inspiring Books, 2018. Sendak, Maurice. Where the Wild
Pencil to Pixel; The History of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Moebius, Dave Gibbons, Florence Things Are. New York: Harper
Cartoon, Anime, and CGI. New Gaming Illustrators in the Breton, Claire Champeval, and Row, 1963.
York: HarperCollins, 2004. World. Beverly, MA: Rockport and Brandon Kander. Moebius Siegel, Jerry, and Joe Shuster.
. The 50 Greatest Cartoons: Publishers, 2011. Library: The World of Edena. Superman Archives, vol. 1. New
As Selected by 1,000 Animation Harris, John. The Art of John Harris: Milwaukie, OR: Dark Horse York: DC Comics, 1989.
Professionals. Atlanta, GA: Beyond the Horizon. London: Books, 2016. Simone, Gail, Walter Geovani, and
Turner Publishing, 1994. Titan Books, 2014. Monge, Jean-Baptiste. Celtic Faeries. Jack Jadson. The Complete Gail
Brom. The Art of Brom. Santa Cruz, Hildebrandt, Greg. Greg and Tim Morlaix, France: Au Bord des Simone Red Sonja Omnibus.
CA: Flesk Publications, 2013. Hildebrandt: The Tolkien Years, Continents, 2007. Mount Laurel, NJ: Dynamite
Carpenter, Nick, Samwise Didier, expanded edition. New York: Parrillo, Lucio. The Dynamite Art Entertainment, 2019.
and Chris Metzen. The Art of Watson-Guptill, 2001. of Lucio Parrillo. Mount Laurel,

216 Further Reading

Smith, Jessie Willcox. The Jessie Drew Struzan. London: Titan, Vallejo, Boris, and Julie Bell. . June 29, 1999. New York:
Willcox Smith Mother Goose. 2010. Dreamland. New York: Harper Clarion Books, 1992.
New York: Colgate, 1914. Thomas, Frank, and Ollie Johnston. Design, 2014. Willis, Jeanne, and Gwen Millward.
Spurlock, J. David. Fantastic The Illusion of Life: Disney Vehlmann, Fabien, and Kerascoét. The Bog Baby. New York:
Paintings of Frazetta. Lebanon, Animation. New York: Disney Beautiful Darkness. Montreal: Schwartz and Wade Books,
NJ: Vanguard Productions, Editions, 1981. Drawn and Quarterly, 2013. 2008.
2020. Thomas, John Rhett, Roy Thomas, Way, Gerard. The Umbrella Witwer, Michael, Kyle Newman,
Stalenhag, Simon. The Electric State. and Mike Allred. The Marvel Art Academy, vol. 1: Apocalypse Jon Peterson, and Sam Witwer.
New York: Skybound Books, of Conan the Barbarian. New Suite. Milwaukie, OR: Dark Dungeons & Dragons Art and
2018. York: Marvel Worldwide, Inc., Horse Books, 2008. Arcana: A Visual History.
Struzan, Drew, David J. Schow, and 2019. Wiesner, David. Flotsam. New York: Berkeley, CA: Ten Speed Press,
Frank Darabont. The Art of Clarion Books, 2006. 2018.

Further Reading 217

 EXT
PB PON: Giri Gils ase

THE HERO’S JOURNEY J. ALLEN ST. JOHN HAL FOSTER BASTIEN LECOUFFE DEHARME
(American, 1875-1957) (Canadian-American, 1892-1982) (French, b. 1982)
> Knights
In Shining Armor, 1932 Prince Valiant panel, ca. 1969 Dub, 2019
HOWARD PYLE Oil on canvas, 24 x 22 in. Pen and ink on Bristol board, Digital print on paper, 16 x 20 in.
(American, 1853-1911) (61 X 55.9 cm) 11 X 8 in. (27.9 x 20.3 cm) (40.6 X 50.8 cm)
Sir Galahad Cometh with the Hermit Cover illustration for Olive Beaupré Matt McKeeby Illustration for game card,
of the Forest, 1910 Miller, My Book House: In Shining Magic: The Gathering
Pen and ink on paper, 3 x 7 in. Armor (Chicago: Book House for HAL FOSTER (Wizards of the Coast)
(7.6 X 17.8 cm) Children, 1932) (Canadian-American, 1892-1982) Collection of the artist
Illustration for Howard Pyle, The On loan from the Bantly Collection Prince Valiant panel, ca. 1969
+> Dragon-Slayers
Story of the Grail and the Passing Pen and ink on Bristol board,
of Arthur (New York: Charles NORMAN ROCKWELL 11 X 8 in. (27.9 x 20.3 cm) GUILLAUME COURTOIS
Scribner’s Sons, 1910), 67 (American, 1894-1978) Matt McKeeby (Italian, 1628-1679)
Robert and Lynne Horvath The Land of Enchantment, 1934 St. Michael Vanquishing Lucifer,
Oil on canvas, 37 x 76 in. MICHAEL WHELAN 1600S
N. C. WYETH (94 x 193 cm) (American, b. 1950) Red chalk, pen and brown ink,
(American, 1882-1945) Illustration for the Saturday Evening The Way of Kings, 2010 brown wash, over traces of black
Bruce on the Beach, 1921 Post, December 22, 1934 Acrylic, 24 x 40 in. (61 x 101.6 cm) chalk, heightened with white
Oil on canvas, 39 x 32 in. The New Rochelle Public Library, Cover illustration for Brandon gouache, on paper, 16 x 10% in.
(99.1 X 81.3 cm) New York Sanderson, The Way of Kings (New (40.6 X 27.3 cm)
Illustration for Jane Porter, The York: Tor Books, 2010) The Morgan Library and Museum,
Scottish Chiefs (New York: Charles HAL FOSTER Dragonsteel Fine Art Collection New York; Gift of Mr. Frederick B.
Scribner’s Sons, 1921), 386 (Canadian-American, 1892-1982) Adams Jr., 1982.1
The Kelly Collection of American Prince Valiant, 1969 DAN Dos SANTOS
Illustration Pen and ink on Bristol board, (American, b. 1978) WILLEM VAN MIERIS
34¥8 X 2414 in. (87.9 x 62.2 cm) Rose Red, 2013 (Dutch, 1662-1747)
The Ohio State University Billy Oil on board, 16 x 12 in. Apollo Slaying the Python, 1690
Ireland Cartoon Library and (40.6 X 30.5 cm) Point of brush and black ink,
Museum, Columbus; Gift of Hal Cover illustration for Fables, no. 136, gray wash, over faint traces of
Foster 2013 graphite, on paper, 4% x 6% in.
Ingrid Neilson (11.4 X 15.9 cm)
The Morgan Library and Museum,
New York; Purchased by Pierpont
Morgan (1837-1913) in 1909, III, 234

218
HENRY CLARENCE PITZz Roy KRENKEL ERNIE CHAN BASTIEN LECOUFFE DEHARME
(American, 1895-1976) (American, 1918-1983) (Filipino-American, 1940-2012) (French, b. 1982)
Dark Water, ca. 1920 John Carter of Mars, ca. 1950 Conan comic strip, 1978 The Sentinel of the Eternal Watch,
Ink on paper, 17 x 10% in. Pen and ink on paper, 13% x 11% in. Ink on paper, 5% x 17 in. 2015
(43.2 X 27.3 cm) (34.3 X 29.2 cm) (14 X 43.2 cm) Digital print on paper, 24 x 16% in.
The Kelly Collection of American Matt McKeeby The Ohio State University Billy (61 X 42.2 cm)
Illustration Ireland Cartoon Library and Illustration for the character’s card,
AL WILLIAMSON Museum, Columbus; Marc J. Magic: The Gathering (Wizards of
N. C. WYETH (American, 1931-2010) Cohen and Rose Marie McDaniel the Coast)
(American, 1882-1945) FRANK FRAZETTA Collection Collection ofthe artist
Legends of Charlemagne, 1923-25 (American, 1928-2010)
> Epic Adventure
Oil on canvas, 24 x 25% in. Untitled, 1953 GARY GIANNI
(61 X 64.8 cm) Pen and ink on paper, 22 x 15 in. (American, b. 1954) THE BROTHERS HILDEBRANDT
The Lucas Museum of Narrative (55.9 X 38.1 cm) Bran Mak Morn, 2000 (American; Tim, 1939-2006;
Art, Los Angeles Cover illustration for Weird Fantasy, Oil on canvas, 40 x 30 in. Greg, b. 1939)
no. 21, September—October 1953 (101.6 X 76.2 cm) The Siege of Minas Tirith II, 2000
HANNES BOK Jim Halperin, Heritage Auctions Illustration for Robert E. Howard, Acrylic on board, 37 x 67 in.
(American, 1914-1964) Bran Mak Morn: The Last King (94 X 107.2 cm)
Siegfried and the Dragon, 1942 FRANK FRAZETTA (London: Wandering Star, 2001) Illustration for Greg Hildebrandt,
Oil on canvas, 312 x 24% in. (American, 1928-2010) Collection ofthe artist Greg and Tim Hildebrandt: The
(80 x 62.2 cm) The Brain, 1967 Tolkien Years, expanded edition
Robert K. Wiener Oil on canvas, 21 x 18 in. GREGORY MANCHESS (New York: Watson-Guptill, 2001)
(53-3 X 45.7 cm) (American, b. 1955) Greg Hildebrandt and spiderwebart.
DONATO GIANCOLA Cover illustration for Eerie, no. 8, The Creek, 2005 com
(American, b. 1967) March 1967 Oil on linen, 30 x 22 in.
St. George and the Dragon, 2010 Jim Halperin, Heritage Auctions (76.2 X 55.9 cm) PETAR MESELDZIJA
Oil on panel, 30 x 20 in. Illustration for Robert E. Howard, (Serbian, b. 1965)
(76.2 X 50.8 cm) JEFF JONES The Conquering Sword of Conan Gandalf, 2001
R. Cat Conrad and Roxanne Conrad (American, 1944-2011) (New York: Del Rey/Ballantine Oil on canvas, 28 x 20 in.
The Planet Wizard, 1969 Books, 2005) (71.1 X 50.8 cm)
> Modern Heroes
Oil on canvas, 29 x 19% in. Arnie and Cathy Fenner On loan from the Bantly Collection
J. ALLEN ST. JOHN (73-7 X 49.5 cm)
(American, 1875-1957) Cover illustration for John Jakes, JUSTIN SWEET JESPER EJSING
The Master Mind of Mars, 1928 The Planet Wizard (New York: Ace (American, b. 1969) (Danish, b. 1973)
Oil on canvas, 25%4 x 18% in. Books, 1969) Kull of Valusia, 2006 Descent: Journeys in the Dark, 2005
(65.4 X 46.4 cm) Robert K. Wiener Oil on canvas, 44 x 34 in. Acrylic on canvas, 15 x 28 in.
Cover illustration for Edgar Rice (111.8 x 86.4 cm) (38.1 X 71.1 cm)
Burroughs, The Master Mind of FRANK FRAZETTA Illustration for Robert E. Howard, Cover illustration for board game
Mars (Chicago: A. C. McClurg, (American, 1928-2010) Kull: Exile ofAtlantis (New York: Descent: Journeys in the Dark
1928) Escape on Venus, 1972 Del Rey, 2006) (Fantasy Flight Games)
Douglas Ellis and Deborah Fulton Oil on board, 20 x 15% in. Arnie and Cathy Fenner Greg Obaugh
(50.8 x 40 cm)
JOHN COLEMAN BURROUGHS The Lucas Museum of Narrative MARK ZUG SCOTT BRUNDAGE
(American, 1913-1979) Art, Los Angeles (American, b. 1959) (American, b. 1981)
John Carter of Mars comic strip, A Princess of Mars, 2012 Stacy McGee Takes on the Horror,
December 7, 1941 BORIS VALLEJO Oil on canvas, 22 x 15 in. 2013
Tearsheet, ink on paper, 9 x 14 in. (Peruvian, b. 1941) (55.9 X 38.1 cm) Watercolor, gouache, ink, and
(22.9 x 35.6 cm) John Carter of Mars, 1976 Cover illustration for Edgar Rice digital, 19 x 13 in. (48.3 x 33 cm)
The Ohio State University Billy Acrylic, 41 X 30 in. (104.1 x 76.2 cm) Burroughs, Mars Trilogy: A Princess Collection ofthe artist
Ireland Cartoon Library and Cover illustration for John F. Roy, of Mars, The Gods of Mars, The
Museum, San Francisco Academy of A Guide to Barsoom (New York: Warlord of Mars (New York: Simon DONATO GIANCOLA
Comic Art, Columbus Ballantine Books, 1976) & Schuster, 2012) (American, b. 1967)
Paul DeDomenico Greg Obaugh Bag End: Shadows of the Past, 2013
Oil on panel, 24 x 36 in.
(61 X 91.4 cm)
Collection ofthe artist

Exhibition Checklist 219

Nico DELORT TYLER JACOBSON JESSIE WILLCOX SMITH JEAN-BAPTISTE MONGE
(French-Canadian, b. 1981) (American, b. 1982) (American, 1863-1935) (French, b. 1971)
The Path ofFaith, 2014 Mummy’s Mask, 2014 Peter, Peter, Pumpkin-Eater, 1914 The Kensington Lovers, 2006
Ink on clayboard, 11% x 22% in. Digital print on paper, 13 x 14 in. Oil on illustration board, Watercolor, gouache, and
(28.9 x 58.1cm) (33 X 35.6 cm) 261% X 3234 in. (67.3 X 83.2 cm) graphite on paper, 15% x 12% in.
Courtesy of Galerie Daniel Maghen, Cover illustration for Pathfinder Illustration for Jessie Willcox Smith, (40 X 31.1 cm)
Paris Adventure Card Game: Mummy’s The Jessie Willcox Smith Mother Illustration for Jean-Baptiste Monge,
Mask (Paizo Publishing) Goose (New York, Colgate, 1914) Celtic Faeries (Morlaix, France: Au
KARLA ORTIZ Collection ofthe artist The Eisenstat Collection; Courtesy Bord des Continents, 2007)
(Puerto Rican, b. 1986) of Alice A. Carter and J. Courtney Norman Rockwell Museum,
Liliana and the Eternal Army, 2019 ERIC VELHAGEN Granner Stockbridge, Massachusetts; Gift of
Digital print on paper, 24 x 16 in. (American, b. 1963) the artist, NRM.2019.09
(61 X 40.6 cm) Maelstrom, 2015 ROSE O’ NEILL
Product packaging for Magic: The Oil on linen, 27 x 36 in. (American, 1874-1944) PIOTR JABEONSKI
Gathering expansion set War of the (68.6 X 91.4 cm) The Kewps Now Vie in Antics Various (Polish, b. 1987)
Spark (Wizards ofthe Coast, 2019) On loan from the private collection to Make the Fairy Queen Hilarious, Great Tree People, 2016
Collection ofthe artist of Jason and Tina Rak 1916 Digital print on paper, 13% x 24 in.
Pen and ink on paper, 18%4 x 12% in. (34.3 X 61cm)
> Villains
SCOTT BRUNDAGE (47.6 X 32.7 cm) Concept art for video game
JAMES GURNEY (American, b. 1981) Illustration for Rose O’Neill, “The Dishonored 2 (Arkane Studios)
(American, b. 1958) Swamp Scarefest, 2016 Kewpies and Their Fairy Cousin,” Collection ofthe artist
Skeleton Pirate, 1987 Ink, watercolor, Acryla gouache, Good Housekeeping, July 1916, 89
Oil on board, 17 x 11 in. and digital, 19 x 13 in. (48.3 x 33 cm) Norman Rockwell Museum, OMAR RAYYAN
(43.2 X 27.9 cm) Illustration for B. A. Frade and Stockbridge, Massachusetts; Gift (Jordanian, b. 1968)
Cover illustration for Tim Powers, Stephanie True Peters, Swamp of The Rose O’Neill Foundation, Allegory, ca. 2016
On Stranger Tides (New York: Ace Scarefest (New York: Little, Brown, NRM.2018.12.15 Oil on canvas, 24 x 18 in.
Books, 1987) 2016) (61 X 45.7 cm)
Collection ofthe artist Collection ofthe artist BRIAN FROUD Ingrid Neilson
(British, b. 1947)
LARRY ELMORE FAIRY TALES Fir Darrig, 1977 LAUREN A. MILLS
(American, b. 1948) Watercolor on board, 18% x 12% in. (American, b. 1957)
> Fey Creatures
Eyes of Autumn, 1989 (47.6 X 32.7 cm) Dawn Faeries, 2018
Oil on canvas, 19 x 13 in. RICHARD DOYLE Illustration for Brian Froud and Oil on canvas, 11 X 14 in.
(48.3 x 33 cm) (British, 1824-1883) Alan Lee, Faeries (New York: (27.9 X 35.6 cm)
Cover illustration for Dragon Two Elves, ca. 1870 Abrams, 1978) Collection of the artist
Magazine, no. 150, October 1989 Pen and black ink on paper, Tony and Angela DiTerlizzi
Collection ofthe artist 4 X 3% in. (10.2 X 9.2 cm) ANNIE STEGG GERARD
The Morgan Library and Museum, Tony DITERLIZZI (American, b. 1982)
KELLY FREAS New York; Bequest of Gordeon N. (American, b. 1969) Herald of the Night, 2018
(American, 1922-2005) Ray, 1987, 1986.2549 Common House Boggart, 2005 Oil on panel, 12 x 24 in.
From the Dust Returned, 2001 Acryla gouache on Bristol board, (30.5 x 61cm)
Acrylic on board, 17 x 10% in. PALMER Cox 18% xX 12 in. (47 x 30.5 cm) C. K. Gyllerstrom
(43. x 27.3 cm) (Canadian, 1840-1924) Illustration for Tony DiTerlizzi and
> Stories
for Children
Frontispiece for Ray Bradbury, Brownies at Waterloo, 1894 Holly Black, Arthur Spiderwick’s
From the Dust Returned: A Family Ink on paper, 5% x 7% in. Field Guide to the Fantastical World ARTHUR RACKHAM
Remembrance (Norwalk, CT: (14.1 X 19.1 cm) around You (New York: Simon & (British, 1867-1939)
Easton Press, 2001) Illustration for Palmer Cox, Schuster, 2005) Storyteller, ca. 1905
The Peter and Elaine Guiffreda The Brownies around the World Tony and Angela DiTerlizzi Watercolor, brown ink, and pen on
Science Fiction Collection (London: T. Fisher Unwin, 1894) paper, 10!4 x 6% in. (26 x 17.1 cm)
Delaware Art Museum, Wilmington; Illustration for Washington Irving,
Gift of Helen Farr Sloan, 1978 Rip Van Winkle (London: William
Heinemann, 1905)
Fred and Sherry Ross

220 Exhibition Checklist

WINSOR McCay SCOTT GUSTAFSON HENRY DARGER MYTHOLOGY
(American, 1869-1934) (American, b. 1956) (American, 1892-1973)
-> Fantastic Creatures
Little Nemo in Slumberland, A Mad Tea Party— 175 at Jennie Richee. Everything Is
May 20, 1906 Alice in Wonderland, 1993 Allright though Storm Continues, ELIHU VEDDER
Ink and blue pencil on paper, Oil on panel, 32 x 26 in. mid-2o0th century (American, 1836-1923)
28 x 21% in. (71.1 X 54.9 cm) (81.3 X 66 cm) Watercolor, pencil, carbon tracing, The Lair of the Sea Serpent, 1864
The Ohio State University Billy Collection ofthe artist and collage on pieced paper, Oil on canvas, 211% x 36% in.
Ireland Cartoon Library and 24 X 108% in. (61 x 275 cm) (54.6 x 93 cm)
Museum, Columbus; Philip Sills THOMAS BLACKSHEAR American Folk Art Museum, New Museum of Fine Arts, Boston;
Collection (American, b. 1955) York; Museum purchase © Kiyoko Bequest of Thomas Gold Appleton,
Beauty and the Beast, 1994 Lerner, 2001.16.2A 84.283
MAXFIELD PARRISH Oil and gold leaf on canvas,
(American, 1870-1966) 35 X 2614 in. (88.9 x 67.3 cm) JAMES WARHOLA LAURENCE HOUSMAN
Lady Violetta and the Knave, 1924 Collection ofthe artist (American, b. 1955) (British, 1865-1959)
Oil on board, 20% x 16% in. Magic Shop, 1985 Pan Covetous, 1899
(51.1 X 41.6 cm) WILLIAM STOUT Oil on canvas board, 28 x 20 in. Pen on paper, 7 x 3% in.
Illustration for Louise Saunders, (b. 1949) (71.1 X 50.8 cm) (17.8 X 9.8 cm)
The Knave of Hearts (New York: Glinda the Good Witch, 1999 Cover illustration for Magic for Sale, Illustration for Percy Bysshe Shelly,
Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1925) Ink and watercolor on board, ed. Avram Davidson (New York: Ace The Sensitive Plant (London:
The Lucas Museum of Narrative 14 X 9 in. (35.6 X 22.9 cm) Science Fiction Books, 1983) Printed for the Guild ofWomen-
Art, Los Angeles Collection ofthe artist Collection ofthe artist Binders, 1899)
The Eisenstat Collection; Courtesy
IaAIn McCaAIG MIRANDA MEEKS DAVID WIESNER of Alice A. Carter and J. Courtney
(American, b. 1957) (American, b. 1988) (American, b. 1956) Granner
The Proposal, 1988 Little Red, 2014 June 29, 1999, 1992
Watercolor on paper, 14 x 11 in. Digital print on paper, 14 x 11 in. Watercolor on paper, 10% x 20% in. HERBERT JAMES DRAPER
(35.6 X 27.9 cm) (35.6 X 27.9 cm) (26.7 X 52.1cm) (British, 1863-1920)
IX Arts Collection ofthe artist Illustration for David Wiesner, June A Deep Sea Idyll, 1902
29, 1999 (New York: Clarion Books, Oil on canvas, 5314 x 30% in.
GREG HILDEBRANDT LINDSEY LOOK 1992) (135.3 X 77-5 cm)
(American, b. 1939) (American, b. 1985) Collection ofthe artist Fred and Sherry Ross
The Mock Turtle, 1990 Deliverance, 2015
Acrylic on board, 21 x 16 in. Oil on board, 30 x 20 in. JEFF ECHEVARRIA ORSON LOWELL
(53.3 X 40.6 cm) (76.2 X 50.8 cm) (American, b. 1953) (American, 1871-1956)
On loan from the Bantly Collection Collection ofthe artist Beauty among the Beasts, 2019 The Submarine Menace Again!, 1918
Illustration for Lewis Carroll, Graphite and charcoal powder, Pen on paper, 16 X 29 in.
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland Cory GODBEY PanPastel on paper, 18 x 24 in. (40.6 X 73.7 cm)
(London: Unicorn Publishing, (American, b. 1983) (45.7 X 61 cm) Illustration for Judge, September 7,
1990); and Greg Hildebrandt, Greg Snow White, 2019 On loan from the Bantly Collection 1918
Hildebrandt’s Magical Storybook Brown Col-Erase pencil on Graphic The Kelly Collection of American
Treasury (Philadelphia, PA: natural white paper, 13 x 26 in. ALESSANDRA PISANO Illustration
Courage Books, 2004) (33 X 66 cm) (American, b. 1989)
Collection ofthe artist Eternal Bond, 2019 J. C. LEYENDECKER
RUTH SANDERSON Oil on wood panel, 24 x 37 in. (German-American, 1874-1951)
-> Into the Unknown
(American, b. 1951) (61 X 94 cm) Pan, 1920s
The Princesses Hurried down a JOSEPH CLEMENT COLL Aram Compeau Gouache and graphite on board,
Lamp-Lit Path, 1990 (American, 1881-1921) 9 in. (22.9 cm) diam.
Oil on canvas, 17 x 34 in. The Lost World, 1912 The Eisenstat Collection; Courtesy
(43.2 x 86.4 cm) Pen and ink on paper, 16 x 12% in. of Alice A. Carter and J. Courtney
Cover illustration for Ruth (40.6 X 32.4 cm) Granner
Sanderson, The Twelve Dancing Illustration for Arthur Conan Doyle,
Princesses (Boston: Little, Brown, The Lost World (New York: Hodder
1990) & Stoughton, 1912)
Norman Rockwell Museum, The Eisenstat Collection; Courtesy
Stockbridge, Massachusetts; of Alice A. Carter and J. Courtney
Gift of Mark N. Bursari and Ruth Granner
Sanderson, NRM.2012.08.05

Exhibition Checklist 221

ROCKWELL KENT DENNIS NOLAN BoB EGGLETON BERTHA CORSON Day
(American, 1882-1971) (American, b. 1945) (American, b. 1960) (1875-1968)
Phoenix, 1928 Pan, 1993 The Crypt of Cthulhu, 2020 Perseus, 1902
Pen and ink on board, 4% x 84 in. Bronze, 17 X 10 X 7 in. Oil on linen, 30 x 24 in. Gouache, watercolor, ink, and
(11.4 X 21 cm) (43.2 X 25.4 X 17.8 cm) (76.2 X 61cm) crayon on illustration board,
Advertising illustration for Marcus Collection ofthe artist Collection ofthe artist 19 X 12% in. (48.3 X 31.9 cm)
and Company Illustration for Katharine Pyle,
The Eisenstat Collection; DENNIS NOLAN DANIEL CHUDZINSKI (b. 1985) Where the Wind Blows (New York:
Courtesy of Alice A. Carter and (American, b. 1945) Evasive Species, 2020 R. H. Russell, 1902)
J. Courtney Granner Message in a Bottle, 2009 Mixed media (steel, silicone, Delaware Art Museum, Wilmington;
Watercolor on paper, 15 x 20 in. epoxy, foam, resin, fur, hair, Gift of Mrs. J. Marshall Cole, 1988
RUDOLF CHRISTIAN FREUND (38.1 x 50.8 cm) moss, driftwood, acrylic,
(American, 1915-1969) Collection ofthe artist and glass), 34 X 36 X 42% in. HERBERT PAUS
Manticore, 1951 (86.4 X 91.4 X 108.6 cm) (American, 1860-1944)
Pen and colored ink on board, JEAN-BAPTISTE MONGE Collection ofthe artist Pyramus, Ca. 1910
11¥%8 X 12 in. (29.5 x 30.5 cm) (French, b. 1971) Gouache and ink on board, 8 x 5 in.
> Legendary Figures
Illustration for “Mythical Monsters,” Ragnarok, 2012 (20.3 X 12.7 cm)
Life, April 23, 1951 Oil on canvas, 15 x 48 in. PAUL CESAIRE GARIOT The Eisenstat Collection; Courtesy
Norman Rockwell Museum, (38.1 X 121.9 cm) (French, 1811-1880) of Alice A. Carter and J. Courtney
Stockbridge, Massachusetts; Collection ofthe artist Pandora’s Box, ca. 1877 Granner
Gift of Susan Freund Borden, Oil on panel, 18 x 14% in.
NRM.2018.21.06 TYLER JACOBSON (45.7 X 37.5 cm) HERBERT PAUS
(American, b. 1982) Dahesh Museum ofArt, New York; (American, 1860-1944)
DavipD C. SUTHERLAND III Red Dragon, 2014 1996.25 Thisbe, ca. 1910
(American, 1949-2005) Digital print on paper, 10% x 24 in. Gouache and ink on board, 8 x 5 in.
Untitled, 1977 (27.3 X 61cm) JULES JOSEPH LEFEBVRE (20.3 X 12.7 cm)
Acrylic on board, 24% x 22 in. Collection ofthe artist (French, 1836-1911) The Eisenstat Collection; Courtesy
(62.5 X 55.9 cm) Diana, 1879 of Alice A. Carter and J. Courtney
Cover illustration for the first JULIE BELL Oil on panel, 12 x 10% in. Granner
Dungeons & Dragons Basic Set (American, b. 1958) (30.5 X 26.7 cm)
(TSR, 1977) Pegasus Befriends the Muses, 2018 Dahesh Museum ofArt, New York; Morris MEREDITH WILLIAMS
Wizards ofthe Coast Oil on wood, 48 x 60 in. 1996.19 (British, 1881-1973)
(121.9 X 152.4 cm) The Viking Shieldmaiden Lagertha
DavID A. TRAMPIER The Bennett Collection of Women WILLIAM-ADOLPHE BOUGUEREAU (Lathgertha, Ladgerda), wife of
(American, 1954-2014) Realists (French, 1825-1905) Ragnar Lodbrok, 1913
Pseudo-Dragon, 1977 Amour a laffut (Love on the Look Pen and ink on paper, 23 x 20 in.
Permanent marker on bond paper, CHARLES VESS Out), 1890 (58.4 x 50.8 cm)
14% X 13 in. (36.8 x 33 cm) (American, b. 1951) Oil on canvas, 46 x 30% in. Illustration for Eleanor Hull, The
Illustration for Gary Gygax, Here There Be Dragons, 2018 (116.8 x 76.8 cm) Northmen in Britain (New York:
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, Colored inks on paper, 26 x 37 in. Fred and Sherry Ross Thomas Y. Crowell, 1913), 16
Monster Manual: Special Reference (66 x 94 cm) The Eisenstat Collection; Courtesy
Work (Lake Geneva, WI: TSR Cover illustration for Ursula K. HENRI GODET of Alice A. Carter and J. Courtney
Hobbies, 1977) Le Guin, The Books of Earthsea: The Abduction of Psyche, ca. 1896 Granner
Tony and Angela DiTerlizzi The Complete Illustrated Edition Bronze, 332 X 12 X 11 in.
(New York: Saga Press, 2018) (85.1 X 30.5 X 27.9 cm) GERVASIO GALLARDO
JEFF EASLEY Collection of the artist Dahesh Museum of Art, New York; (Spanish, b. 1934)
(American, b. 1954) 1995.30 The Sword in the Stone, 1973
The Big Red Dragon, 1991 JUSTIN GERARD Oil on canvas, 14% x 17% in.
Oil on illustration board, 30 x 40 in. (American, b. 1980) (36.8 X 45.1 cm)
(76.2 X 101.6 cm) Lair of the Sea Serpent, 2019 Cover illustration for Sanders Anne
Cover illustration for The New Easy- Watercolor on paper, 18 x 12 in. Laubenthal, Excalibur (New York:
to-Master Dungeons & Dragons (45.7 x 30.5 cm) Ballantine, 1973)
Game (TSR, 1991) Collection of the artist The Eisenstat Collection; Courtesy
Benny Hsieh of Alice A. Carter and J. Courtney
Granner

222 Exhibition Checklist

GLEN ORBIK ERIC VELHAGEN HOWARD PYLE ANTHONY PALUMBO
(American, 1963-2015) (American, b. 1963) (American, 1853-1911) (American, b. 1980)
Untitled, ca. 2001 Mulan, 2018 He Was Standing at an Open Angel Token, 2011
Acrylic, 37 x 27 in. (94 x 68.6 cm) Oil on cradled panel, 24 x 24 in. Window, 1895 Oil on illustration board, 30 x 20 in.
Cover illustration for The Mighty (61 X 61 cm) Black and white oil on illustration (76.2 X 50.8 cm)
Thor, no. 41, November 2001 On loan from the Bantly Collection board, 12% x 9% in. (31.1 x 23.5 cm) Illustration for token card for
Paul DeDomenico Illustration for Howard Pyle, The Magic: The Gathering expansion
GARY GIANNI Garden behind the Moon: A Real set Avacyn Restored (Wizards ofthe
TERRY DODSON (American, b. 1954) Story of the Moon Angel (New York: Coast, 2012)
(b. 1970) Daenerys Targaryen, 2019 Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1895) Collection ofthe artist
Rachel Dodson (b. 1969) Pen and ink on paper, 14 x 11 in. Delaware Art Museum, Wilmington;
Untitled, 2007 (35.6 X 27.9 cm) Museum Purchase, 1915, 1915-56 ANNA DITTMANN
Ink on paper, 19 x 13 in. Illustration for George R. R. Martin, (American, b. 1994)
(48.3 x 33 cm) A Storm of Swords (New York: CHARLES ZACHARIE LANDELLE I Dreamt I Could Fly, 2017
Preliminary cover illustration for Random House, 2020) (French 1821-1908) Digital print on paper, 12 x 12 in.
Wonder Woman, no. 13, December Collection of the artist An Angel Holding a Chalice, ca. 1900 (30.5 X 30.5 cm)
2007 Oil on canvas, 24 x 19% in. Collection ofthe artist
Collection of the artist VicTo NGAI (61 X 49.5 cm)
(Chinese, b. 1988) Fred and Sherry Ross SCOTT FISCHER
TERRY DODSON (b. 1970) The Green Children of Woolpit, 2019 (American, b. 1971)
Rachel Dodson (b. 1969) Digital and mixed media, DEAN CORNWELL Serra Angel, 2018
Untitled, 2013 18 X 124 in. (45.7 X 31.1 cm) (American, 1892-1960) Oil on canvas, gold leaf, 30 x 36 in.
Ink on paper with digital color, Cover illustration for J. Anderson The Other Side, 1918 (76.2 X 91.4 cm)
19 X 13 in. (48.3 x 33 cm) Coats, The Green Children of Oil on canvas, 34% x 25% in. Illustration for the character’s card,
Variant cover illustration for Woolpit (New York: Simon & (87.6 x 64.8 cm) Magic: The Gathering (Wizards of
Superman Unchained, no. 2, Schuster, 2019) The Kelly Collection of American the Coast)
September 2013 Collection ofthe artist Illustration Justin Zhao
Collection ofthe artist
> Evil
VicTo NGAI TRACY PORTER RUDD
Nico DELORT (Chinese, b. 1988) (Austrian, 1887-1974?) RICHARD VAN ORLEY
(French-Canadian, b. 1981) The Hand of the Queen, 2019 Winsome Angel, ca. 1923 (Belgian, 1663-1732)
The Blessing of Athena, 2015 Digital and mixed media, Charcoal on paper, 192 x 12% in. The Fall of the Rebellious Angels,
Ink on clayboard, 16 x 12 in. 16 X 1234 in. (40.6 X 32.4 cm) (49.5 X 31.8 cm) ca. 1690
(40.6 X 30.5 cm) Collection of the artist Illustration for Brookes More, Etching, 33% x 24% in.
Private collection; Courtesy of The Ring of Love and Other Poems (85.1 X 62.9 cm)
Galerie Daniel Maghen, Paris GODS AND MONSTERS (Boston: Cornhill, 1923), 182 Ackland Art Museum, University
The Peter and Elaine Guiffreda of North Carolina at Chapel Hill;
->Good
ScoTT MURPHY Science Fiction Collection Burton Emmett Collection, 58.1.134
(b. 1984) HENDRICK GOLTZIUS
Cernunnos, 2016 (Dutch, 1558-1617) JAMES GURNEY JOHN MARTIN
Oil on sealed watercolor paper, Creation of the Four Elements, 1589 (American, b. 1958) (British, 1789-1854)
18 X 11 in. (45.7 X 27.9 cm) Engraving, 8% x 114 in. Garden of Hope, 1995 Satan in Council, 1827
Card illustration for Modern (21.3 X 29.2 cm) Oil on canvas mounted to plywood, Mezzotint on laid paper,
Spellcasters Tarot (Woodbury, MN: Plate 1 from Ovid, Metamorphoses 46 X 34 in. (116.8 x 86.4 cm) 10% x 14% in. (26.7 x 36.9 cm)
Llewellyn Publications, 2016) Ackland Art Museum, University Illustration for James Gurney, Plate from John Milton, Paradise
Collection of the artist of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Dinotopia: The World Beneath (New Lost (1667-74), book 2, line 1
Burton Emmett Collection, 58.1.815 York: Harper Collins, 1995) Sterling and Francine Clark
YOANN LOSSEL Collection of the artist Art Institute, Williamstown,
(French, b. 1985) Massachusetts; 1987.60
Grendel’s Mother, 2017 THOMAS BLACKSHEAR
Mixed media on Arches paper, (American, b. 1955) GUSTAVE DORE
graphite, hydrangea petals, and gold Preparing to Sound the Alarm, 2011 (French, 1832-1883)
leaf, 16 x 12 in. (40.6 x 30.5 cm) Oil on canvas, 25 X 20 in. The Black Eagle of Prussia, 1871
Illustration for Beowulf, trans. (63.5 X 50.8 cm) Oil on canvas, 51 X 76% in.
Frederick Rebsamen (Norwalk, CT: Collection of the artist (129.5 X 194.9 cm)
Easton Press, 2017) Dahesh Museum ofArt, New York;
Ingrid Neilson 2002.60

Exhibition Checklist 223

BRITISH ADAM REx GREGORY MANCHESS ALLEN WILLIAMS
As Spring-Heeled Jack Appeared (American, b. 1973) (American, b. 1955) (American, b. 1965)
a Terrific Explosion Shook the Frazzled Warthag, 2006 Deeelicately, 2015 The Enochian, 2019
Building, 1904 Watercolor on paper, 15 x 12 in. Oil on gesso, 12 x 12 in. Pencil and powdered graphite on
Mechanical reproduction, magazine (38.1 x 30.5 cm) (30.5 X 30.5 cm) paper, 17 X 14 in. (43.2 X 35.6 cm)
cover illustration, 9% x 6% in. Collection ofthe artist Collection ofthe artist Leslie Jordan
(24.8 x 15.9 cm)
-> Between Two Worlds
The Ohio State University Billy Adam Rex BROM
Ireland Cartoon Library and (American, b. 1973) (American, b. 1965) MIKE MIGNOLA
Museum, San Francisco Academy of Speckled Crone, 2006 The Night Mare, 2017 (American, b. 1960)
Comic Art, Columbus Watercolor on paper, 15 X 12 in. Oil on linen, 46 x 54 in. Untitled, 2009
(38.1 X 30.5 cm) (116.8 x 137.2 cm) Ink on paper, 17 X 11 in.
COLES PHILLIPS Collection ofthe artist IX Arts (43.2 X 27.9 cm)
(American, 1880-1927) Cover illustration for Hellboy: The
Vampire Girl, ca. 1924 DaviD PALUMBO (b. 1982) WAYNE BARLOWE Wild Hunt, no. 4, March 2009
Watercolor on paper, 30 x 24 in. The Fallen, 2014 (American, b. 1958) Collection of the artist
(76.2 X 61 cm) Oil on panel, 40 x 30 in. Demon Minor, 2018
The Kelly Collection of American (101.6 X 76.2 cm) Acrylic on illustration board, BEN OLIVER (British, b. 1972)
Illustration D. Eric Lewis 14 X 12 in. (35.6 X 30.5 cm) Untitled, 2019
Collection ofthe artist Pencil, spray paint, acrylic, and
VIRGIL FINLAY PETER DE SEVE gouache, 17 x 11 in. (43.2 x 27.9 cm)
(American, 1914-1971) (American, b. 1958) WESLEY BURT Cover illustration for Vengeance of
Seven Footprints to Satan, 1939 Something Familiar, 2014 (American, b. 1982) Vampirella, no. 2, November 2019
Pen and ink on paper, 8 x 5% in. Watercolor and ink on paper, Judith, the Scourge Diva, 2019 Dean Abraham
(20.3 X 14 cm) 15 X 11 in. (38.1 X 27.9 cm) Digital print on paper, 11 x 14 in.
Douglas Ellis and Deborah Fulton Collection ofthe artist (27.9 X 35.6 cm)
Illustration for the character’s card,
JEAN LEON HUENS Magic: The Gathering (Wizards of
(Belgian, 1921-1982) the Coast)
The Book of Three, 1980 Collection ofthe artist
Watercolor on hot-press illustration
board, 9% x 6 in. (24.8 x 15.2 cm)
Cover illustration for Lloyd
Alexander, The Book of Three (New
York: Dell, 1980)
Tony and Angela DiTerlizzi

224 Exhibition Checklist

 eo OU) Tr AUTHORS

Rusty Burkkz is considered one of the foremost scholars on Robert E. Howard and his
work. He edited a number ofearly chapbooks for Necronomicon Press, was founding edi-
tor of The Dark Man: The Journal of Robert E. Howard Studies, and was series editor for
the Wandering Star, Del Rey, and Bison Books editions of Howard’s work. He has written
numerous articles, essays, and introductions about Howard and compiled several refer-
ences for Howard scholars. He annotated Howard’s Collected Letters for the Robert E.
Howard Foundation Press, and with S. T. Joshi and David Schultz was editor/annotator
for the two-volume A Means to Freedom: The Letters of H. P. Lovecraft and Robert E.
Howard, from Hippocampus Press. Burke serves as President and Chairman of the REH
Foundation. Originally from Knoxville, Tennessee, he lives in Washington, DC.

ALICE A. CARTER is cofounder and Professor Emeritus of San Jose State University’s
award-winning Animation/Illustration program. She is the former Co-Director of Edu-
cation at the Walt Disney Family Museum and currently President of the Board of Trust-
ees at the Norman Rockwell Museum, as well as visiting faculty for the University of
Hartford's low-residency MFA in Illustration. Carter earned her BFA at the University of
the Arts, Philadelphia, and her master’s degree at Stanford University. Academic honors
include San Jose State’s Outstanding Professor award; a Fulbright Fellowship in Cairo,
Egypt; the New York Society of Illustrators’ Distinguished Educator in the Arts award;
and the Umhoefer Prize for Achievement in the Humanities.
Carter’s illustration clients have included LucasFilm Ltd., Rolling Stone magazine, the
New York Times, and ABC Television. Her work has been exhibited in galleries and muse-
ums throughout the country, including the New York Society of Illustrators’ Museum of
American Illustration, the Norman Rockwell Museum, the Art Institute of Houston, and
the New Britain Museum. Carter’s publications include The Art of National Geographic:

obs
One Hundred Years ofIllustration; The Red Rose Girls: AnUncommon Story of Art and
Love; The Essential Thomas Eakins; and Cecilia Beaux: A Modern Painter in the Gilded
Age. Carter has curated exhibitions at the Woodmere Art Museum in Philadelphia; the
Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Massachusetts; and the Society of Illustra-
tors’ Museum of American Illustration in New York City. Carter is a member ofthe Hall
of Fame Committee at the New York Society ofIllustrators and is on the advisory board
of Spectrum Fantastic Art.

CraAIG CHALQUIST, PhD, is core faculty in East-West Psychology at the California Insti-
tute of Integral Studies. He is the author of Myths among Us: When Timeless Tales Return to
Life (2018) and several other books at the intersection ofpsyche, story, nature, and dream.
Visit his website at Chalquist.com.

ARNIE FENNER has worn a number of creative hats in his career, sometimes several
at once. He was a Senior Artist for Hallmark Cards for nineteen years and for the past
twenty-two has been the Senior Art Director for Andrews McMeel Publishing (a divi-
sion of Universal Press Syndicate). While working in the corporate world, he has also (as
time permitted) been a junior partner in the Jankus/Tiber advertising agency, served as
art director for Mark Ziesing Books and Underwood Books, been a small press publisher
(of both books and magazines), and worked as a freelance illustrator and designer. Fen-
ner has produced many CD and book covers over the years, for titles by everyone from
Stephen King to Harlan Ellison to Bob Dylan to R.E.M.; he has received two silver med-
als from the Society of Illustrators, certificates from Communication Arts and Arts & Let-
ters, ten Locus Awards, and two World Fantasy Awards. He has also been nominated for
the Eisner and Hugo Awards. Arnie has collaborated with his wife, Cathy Fenner, on a
number of art books (including retrospectives devoted to Frank Frazetta, Dave Stevens,
and Robert McGinnis, among others); the couple has appeared in the art documentaries
Frank Frazetta: Painting with Fire and MakingItand served as producers ofBetter Things:
The Life and Choices of Jeffrey Catherine Jones. The Fenners are perhaps best known as
the founders of the annual Spectrum: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art book series,
now in its twenty-seventh year.

JEssE Kowa tskl, exhibition curator, spent nearly two decades at the Andy Warhol
Museum in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, before joining the Norman Rockwell Museum's
staff as Curator of Exhibitions in 2015. He has organized several popular exhibitions on
the art of Andy Warhol that have traveled around the globe, including Andy Warhol: Por-
traits; The Prints ofAndy Warhol: FromA to B and Back Again; and Andy Warhol: 15 Min-
utes Eternal—the largest Warhol exhibition to tour Asia. In addition, he has curated two
exhibitions on the work ofcomic bookartist Alex Ross— Heroes & Villains and Superheroes
e& Superstars—as well as Hanna-Barbera: The Architects ofSaturday Morning; Inventing
America: Rockwell and Warhol; Never Abandon Imagination: The Fantastical Art of Tony
DiTerlizzi; and The Art & Wit ofRube Goldberg, among others.

226 About the Authors

Creating a moment that communicates emotionally with the viewer is the essence of
the artwork of GREGORY MANCHEssS. His hallmark brushwork has been awarded in
both mainstream and science fiction and fantasy illustration fields, and his oil paintings
have been showcased on numerous book covers and in magazine features for National
Geographic, Time, Atlantic Monthly, Omni, and Rolling Stone, to name a few. Manchess’s
recent US Postal Service commissions include the Mark Twain Forever stamp, the 1963
March on Washington stamp, and the upcoming Great Outdoors series. The Coen Broth-
ers showcased six paintings and twenty-one of his drawings in their 2018 film The Ballad
of Buster Scruggs. His first visual novel, Above the Timberline, which he wrote and illus-
trated, was released to stellar reviews and was the subject of a major show at the Norman
Rockwell Museum in 2019.

LaurIE NorTON MorerattT is Director and CEO of the Norman Rockwell Museum in
Stockbridge, Massachusetts. A leading scholar of American illustration art, she authored
the Norman Rockwell catalogue raisonné and led the growth of the museum from a small
house in the artist’s hometown to its role as a global leader in illustration art exhibitions,
scholarship, and digital collections connectivity. She is a founder of the Rockwell Center
for American Visual Studies and has served as a cultural specialist to Ethiopia and Russia
with the US State Department. A national arts leader, Moffat has served on the boards of
the American Alliance of Museums and the Association of Art Museum Directors.

STEPHANIE HABOUSH PLUNKETT is Deputy Director/Chief Curator of the Norman

Rockwell Museum. She currently leads the Rockwell Center for American Visual Stud-
ies and has organized many illustration-based exhibitions, including Inventing America:
Rockwell and Warhol; Rockwell and Realism in an Abstract World; The Unknown Hopper:
Edward Hopper as Illustrator; William Steig: Love & Laughter; and Ephemeral Beauty:
Al Parker and the American Women’s Magazine, 1940-1960; as well as the international
traveling exhibition Enduring Ideals: Rockwell, Roosevelt & the Four Freedoms. Her most
recent publication is Drawing Lessons from the Famous Artists School: Classic Techniques
and Expert Tips from the Golden Age of Illustration.

About the Authors 227

 BiWeGelotG lkeleiD lies
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and all related names and likenesses (right). The Eisenstat Collection, (bottom), 164. Library of Congress, Sideshow Inc. used under license.
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rights reserved.) Alamy Stock 189. Douglas Ellis, p. 82 (© 1928, pp. 91, 156. Los Angeles County Pisano (© Alessandra Pisano),
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(clarkart.edu), pp. 38, 159. The p. 146 (bottom). James Gurney and Archives Division), 50-52, Boris Vallejo (© Boris Vallejo), p. 83.
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228
 INDEX
Italic page numbers refer to Baum, L. Frank, The Wonderful Burt, Wesley, Judith, the Scourge creation myth, 27, 30
illustrations. Wizard of Oz, 64-66 Diva, 112 creatures
Beatles, 104 Buscema, John, 179 fantastic, 44-47, 186
Beck, C. C., 96 Byron, Lord, 57 half-human, 47
Abrahamic religions, 34, 36 Beck, Jerry, 104 Cruikshank, George, 49, 61, 90
Ace Books, 177 Bell, Julie, 133 Cabanel, Alexandre, 161 Cruikshank, Isaac, 90
Achilléos, Chris, poster for Heavy Pegasus Befriends the Muses, 133 camera, 100 Vaccination against Small Pox,
Metal, 103 Bernhard, Ledl, poster for Das Campbell, Joseph, 22, 27-28, 34, 36, 90
Ackerman, Forrest J., 100 Cabinet des Dr. Caligari, 106 40, 42, 44, 48, 55, 182 Cthulhu monster, 85
Action Comics, 95 Bierlein, J. F., 57 Candy, John, 104 series/Mythos, 47-48, 135
Adam, 19 Black, William, 57 Captain Marvel, 96 Cupid, 36
Alajalov, Constantin, 206 Blackshear, Thomas, 131 Carroll, Lewis Cuvier, Georges, 155-56
Algonquin mythology, 30 Beauty and the Beast, 17 Alice’s Adventures in cycle or end of days, 186
Alice stories, 53 Preparing to Sound the Alarm, Wonderland, 52
Allen, Paul, 124 131 Through the Looking-Glass, and Dadd, Richard, 163
All-Story, 85 Blake, William, 153 What Alice Found There, 53 The Fairy Feller’s Master-Stroke,
American life, Rockwell’s observa- frontispiece of Europe: centaur, 47 161, 163
tion of, 193 A Prophecy, 155 children, imagination of, 171 daily world, 186
Amsel, Richard, 110 Blanc, Mel, 103 children’s book illustrations, 49 Dante, Inferno, 57
Andersen, Hans Christian, 48 Blue Book, 66 Chinese art, 45 Dark Horse, 100
The Little Mermaid, 47 Bok, Hannes, 89 Dragon, 46 Darwin, Charles, 160, 165
angels, 34, 37-39, 140 Sieg fried and the Dragon, 88 Christianity, 34 Day, Bertha Corson, 73
animals books, illustrations for, 49, 64 Cinderella, 50 for Katherine Pyle, Where the
helpful, 51-52. See also creatures Bosch, Hieronymus, 19 cinema, 85, 89, 106-10 Wind Blows, 68
animated films, 55 The Garden of Earthly Delights, Civil War, American, 55 DC Comics, 95
animation, flip-book, 100 19 Clampett, Bob, 103 Dean, Perceval, 196
antiheroes, 97-98 Bouguereau, William-Adolphe, 161 Clark, Edward, 206 Dee, John, 140
apocalypse, 186 Amour a laffut (Love on the Clarke, Harry, 50, 61 Degas, Edgar, 61
archetypes, 22, 27, 181 Look Out), 23 “T know what you want, said the Deharme, Bastien Lecouffe, 114
Archimedes, 32 Nymphs and Satyr, 159 sea witch,’ 59 Dark Pilgrimage, 118
Aristotle, 32 Brandywine School, 73 “They danced with shawls which Delacroix, Eugene, 57
Armstrong, Karen, 28, 32 Briggs, Austin, 66 were woven of mist and moon- Liberty Leading the People, 56
Arneson, Dave, 111 British art, As Spring-Heeled Jack shine; 60 Delort, Nico, 143
Artemis/Diana, 35, 36 Appeared a Terrific Explosion Clemens (Twain), Samuel The Blessing of Athena, 143
Art Students League, New York, 198 Shook the Building, 80 Langhorne, 199 The Path ofFaith, 143
Assyrian art, pendant with head of Brodax, Al, 104 Coll, Joseph Clement, 75 demons, 37
Pazuzu, 35 Brom, 114, 138 The Lost World, 76 Denslow, W. W., 64
Avery, Tex, 50, 103 The Night Mare, 138 collective unconscious, 22, 27, 30 The Monkeys Caught Dorothy,
Aztec mythology, 30 Bruegel, Pieter the Elder comic art, 90 66
The Fall of the Rebel Angels, 39 comic books, 85, 91-100 descents, 182
Babylonian art, cylinder seal with The Triumph of Death, 185 comic book superheroes, 55, 85 de Séve, Peter, 134
goddess Ishtar, 40 Brundage, Margaret, 179 Comic Monthly, 95 Something Familiar, 134
Bakshi, Ralph, 104-5 Brundage, Scott, Swamp Scarefest, Comics Code Authority, 96 Dickens, Charles, 155, 196-98
Barbour, Ralph Henry, “The Magic 190 Conan the Barbarian, 85, 91, 179 The Pickwick Papers, 197
Foot-ball,” 198-99 Buckland, William, 155 Conan the Barbarian (film, 1982), 89 dime novels, 80-89
Barlowe, Wayne, 133 Buddhism, 32 Constable, John, 155 Dinotopia series, 135
Demon Minor, 133 Burne-Jones, Edward, 58 Cornwell, Dean, 66, 75 Disney, Walt, 53, 103
Barrie, J. M., Peter and Wendy, 49 Burns, John, 206 Cox, Palmer, 75 Disney company, 53, 104
Barsoom, 82 Burroughs, Edgar Rice, 78, 85, 91 Brownies at Waterloo, 77 DiTerlizzi, Tony, 57, 114, 123, 124, 141
Bastien-Lepage, Jules, 168 Burroughs, John Coleman, 91 Crane, Walter, 50, 61 Common House Boggart, 141
Batman, 96, 98 John Carter of Mars, 94 “At last he turned to her and Dittmann, Anna, 151
Batman & Robin (film), 98 said, Am Iso very ugly?” 188 I Dreamt I Could Fly, 151

229
Dodson, Terry and Rachel Enlightenment, 57 Gerard, Annie Stegg, 146 Hellboy, 98
Superman Unchained, 97 Epic of Gilgamesh, 39, 40-42, 182 Herald of the Night, 146 series, 100
Wonder Woman, 97 Erikson, Erik, 193 Gerard, Justin, 142 Hellenistic period, 32-34
Doolin, Joseph, 179 eroticism, 161 Lair of the Sea Serpent, 142 Hera/Juno, 35
Doré, Gustave Euclid, 32 German Expressionist filmmak- Herakles/Hercules, 35, 36
The Black Eagle of Prussia, 145 Eve, 19, 182 _ ers, 106 Heritage Press, 199
“Oh, granny, your teeth are tre- German medieval art, St. Michael heroes, 182-83
mendous in size!” 50, 50 fairy tales, 48-53 and the Dragon, 43 and dragons, 42-44
Dorigny, Michel, Hercules and the Falter, John, 206 germ theory, 163 journeys of, 38-40
Hydra, 21 fantasy Gertie the Dinosaur (film), 100 heroines, 40, 186
“down the rabbit hole,” 52 defined, 17-19 Giancola, Donato, 124 Herschel, William, 155
Doyle, Arthur Conan, 164 history of, 22 Gianni, Gary, 91, 129, 179 Hickey, Dave, 206
Doyle, Richard “Dicky,” 64, 160-61 importance of, 22 Bran Mak Morn, 179 Hildebrandt, Greg, The Mock Turtle,
Asleep in the Moonlight, 159 fantasy art Daenerys Targaryen, 129 125
The Fairy Queen Takes an Airy considered an inferior art form, Solomon Kane, 176 Hildebrandt, Tim and Greg, 78
Drive, 159 123 gift-giving by gods, 31, 181-82 Lord of the Rings calendars, 125
In Fairyland: A Series of Pictures women artists making, 124 Gilgamesh, 39, 40-42, 182 The Siege of Minas Tirith II, 125
from the Elf-World, 160-61 Faraday, Michael, 155 Gilliam, Terry, 104 Hinduism, 32, 37
title page of Punch, 157 Fawcett Comics, 96 Gnome Press, 177 Homer
Dracula (film, 1931), poster for, by Fenner, Arnie and Cathy, 124 God, 27-28, 34, 37, 45, 153 Iliad, 39
unknown artist, 107 Fight Stories, 175 Godbey, Cory, 146 Odyssey, 39
dragons, 37-38, 42-48 films, 85, 89. See cinema Snow White, 146 Hornaday, Ann, 194
Draper, Herbert James, 58 fine art, 58-61 Gogh, Vincent van, 168 horror comics, 97
A Deep Sea Idyll, 169 vs. illustration, 59 golden age of illustration, 55, 64, 78 Housman, Laurence, Pan Covetous,
Drexel Institute of Art, 67 Fischer, Scott, 114 Goltzius, Hendrick, Creation of the 189
Dulac, Edmund, 50, 61, 64, 134, 204 Flash Gordon, 17, 91, 97 Four Elements, 28 Howard, Robert E., 85, 173-79
The Prince Is Taken Back to Flash Gordon (film, 1980), 89 Gothic writers, 58 The Hour of the Dragon (novel),
the Golden Palace by the Magic Fleischer, Max and Dave, 103, 105 Goya, Francisco, 58 179
Black Horse, 61 Fleischer Studios, Gulliver’s Travels, Saturn Devouring His Son, 57 Hudson, Henry, 204
du Maurier, Georges, 61 100 Greco-Roman art, 34 Hughes, George, 206
Dungeons & Dragons (game), 55, 111, Fleskes, John, 124 Hercules, 35 Human Torch, 96
114, 124 Foray, June, 103 Greece, ancient, 32 Humpty Dumpty, 52
Dunn, Harvey, 73 Foster, Hal, 91 Green, Elizabeth Shippen, 73
Diirer, Albrecht, 58 Prince Valiant, 93 Greenaway, Kate, 64 Icarus, 36
The Last Judgment, 33 Frazetta, Frank, 78, 89, 104-5, 177 Green Lantern, 97, 98 I-Ching (Book of Changes), 45
The Sea Monster, 59 The Brain, 86 griffin, 47 illustration
Dynamite Comics, 100 Egyptian Queen, 87 Griffin, Merv, 61 for books, 58-59
Freas, Kelly, From the Dust Grimm Brothers, 48, 49, 51 golden age of, 55, 64, 78
earth, in creation myths, 30 Returned, 184 Grosz, Karoly, poster for The narrative, 123
Easley, Jeff, 114 French Gothic, manuscript page Mummy, 107 a true art form, 61
The Big Red Dragon, 116 with angels, 37 Grot, Anton, poster for The Thiefof illustrators
Echevarria, Jeff, 129 Freud, Sigmund, 22 Bagdad, 106 American, 64-79
Beauty among the Beasts, 129 Frost, A. B., 134 Gudrun, 40 European, ofthe 1800s, 61
Edelmann, Heinz, 104 Froud, Brian Gurney, James, 105, 124 Illuxcon (IX), 124
Eden, 19 and Alan Lee, Faeries (book), Garden of Hope, 183 imagination, 186, 188
Edison, Thomas, 100 126 Skeleton Pirate, 135 Ingres, Jean-Auguste-Dominique, 57
Eggleton, Bob, The Crypt of Fir Darrig, 126 Gustafson, Scott, 131 Inness, George Jr., 163
Cthulhu, 135 Funnies on Parade, 95 A Mad Tea Party—Alice in innocence, 188
Egyptian art, Divine Mother Isis and Fuseli, Henry, The Nightmare, 57 Wonderland, 131 Iranian art, Sikandar and the
Her Son Horus, 185 Gutenberg, Johannes, 58 Dragon, 42
Egyptians, 39 Gaiman, Neil, 128 Gygax, Gary, 111 Iron Man, 97
Einstein, Alfred, 25 Game of Thrones, 124 Islam, 34
Elder Edda, 30 gaming, 111-21 Hawthorne, Charles Webster, 205 Iwerks, Ub, 103
Elmore, Larry, 114 Gariot, Paul Césaire, Pandora’s Box, Hearn, Michael Patrick, 75
Eyes of Autumn, 114 26, 31 Heavy Metal (animated film), 104 Jabtonski, Piotr, 114
Emerson, Ralph Waldo, 165 Gelett, Burgess, 78 hell, 19 Great Tree People, 118
enchantment, 188-90 George, Saint, 43

230 Index
Jacobson, Tyler, 89, 114 Lovecraft, H. P., 47-48, 85, 135, 177 monsters, 186 Pandora, 31, 181-82
Mummy’s Mask, 118 sketch of statue of Cthulhu, 48 Moore, Alan, Watchmen, 97 paperback novels, 89
Red Dragon, 144 Lucas, George, 91, 109, 124, 193, 208 Morse, Samuel F. B., 165 paradise lost, 28
Jacobus de Voragine, 43 Star Wars, 39 movie posters, 107 Parker, Al, 66
Jalabert, Charles-Francois, Nymphs Lumiere, Auguste and Louis, 100 movies. See cinema Parrish, Maxfield, 66, 75
Listening to the Songs of Mucha, Alphonse, 168 Lady Violetta and the Knave, 73
Orpheus, 171 Macy, George, 199 Mulan (in Chinese legend), 137 Pasteur, Louis, 163
Japan, 45 Mad magazine, 89 Murphy, Scott, Flumph Encounter, Pathfinder, 124
Joan of Arc, 40 magic, 167, 188 112 Paus, Herbert, 75
John Carter, 17, 82, 85 Magic: The Gathering (game), 111, mythology, 18, 22, 30, 35, 57, 153 Pyramus and Thisbe, 77
series, 78 124 images from, 181 Peak, Bob, 110
Jones, Chuck, 103 Maltese, Michael, 103 Pegasus, 47
Jones, Jeff, 78, 89 Manchess, Gregory, 89, 124, 179 narrative art, 167 Pennsylvania Academy ofArts, 67
The Planet Wizard, 89 The Creek, 174 Nast, Thomas, 90 penny dreadfuls, 80
Judaism, 32, 34 Martin, John, 153, 155-56 “A group of vultures waiting for periodicals, 64
Jung, Carl, 22, 27-28, 30, 49, 51, 181 Belshazzar’s Feast, 153 the storm to ‘Blow Over’ - ‘Let Us Perrault, Charles, 48, 49, 50
The Creation of Light, 28 Prey’? 91 Perseus, 20, 36
Karsh, Yousuf, 206 The Deluge, 155, 157 natural theology, 157 Peter Pan, 49, 73, 138
Keats, John, 57 The Last Judgement, 157 nature, 188 Pettee, Clinton, cover illustration
Kent, Rockwell, Phoenix, 182 Satan in Council, 38 Neoclassicism, 57 for All-Story, 81
Kilinski, Karl II, 57 Martorell, Bernat, Saint George and New Yorker covers, 134 phenakistoscope, 100
Kingsley, Charles, 157 the Dragon, 43 Ngai, Victo, 149 Phillips, Coles, 66, 78
The Water-Babies, 157 Marvel Comics, 96, 98, 179 The Green Children of Woolpit, cover ofLife, 67
Kinkade, Thomas, 105 The Mask of Zorro (film, 1998), 89 149 Phiz, aka Hablot Knight Browne, 64
Klinger, Leslie S., 48 McCaig, Iain, 110, 124 Nibelungs, 42-43 Picou, Henry-Pierre, Andromeda
knights, 44, 182 concept art based on The Jungle Nietzsche, Friedrich, 98 Chained to a Rock, 20
Kuniyoshi, Utagawa, Recovering . Book, 110 Nolan, Dennis, Pan, 190 Pierce, Tedd, 103
Stolen Jewel from the Palace concept art of Tinkerbell, from Norse mythology, 30 Pinkney, Jerry, 50
of the Dragon King (Ryugu Peter Pan, 110 nymphs, 36 Pisano, Alessandra, 150
Tamatori Hime no su), 45 Star Wars Classic Trilogy Eternal Bond, 150
Triptych, 109 Oakley, Thorton, 73 Plateau, Joseph, 100
Ladies’ Home Journal, 66 McCay, Winsor, 90, 100 Oakley, Violet, 73 polytheism, 32
Lancer Books, 177 Gertie the Dinosaur, 100 Lohengrin, 69 Potter, Beatrix, 64
Lang, Fritz, Die Nibelungen (film), Little Nemo in Slumberland, 93 O’Brien, Willis H., 103 Pre-Raphaelite movement, 58, 168
43 McCloskey, Robert, 59 Oliver, Ben, Untitled, cover illustra- Prescott, William H., 30
Last Judgment, 33, 37, 131 McCulley, Johnston, 85 tion for Vengeance of Vampirella, Prince Valiant, 91
Layard, Austen Henry, 40 McGinnis, Robert, 89 98 printing, 58
Lecouffe-Deharme, Bastien, 144 Medusa, 20 O’Neill, Rose, 78 Prometheus, 31
Dub, 144 Meeks, Miranda, 148 The Kewps Now Vie in Antics Prozoroy, Dmitry, Onyxia’s Lair, 121
The Sentinel of the Eternal Little Red, 148 Various to Make the Fairy Queen pulp magazines, 80-89, 173
Watch, 167 Méliés, Georges, 106 Hilarious, 78 Punch, 160
Leech, John, 61 Merchant, Walter E., 205 Orley, Richard van, The Fall of the Pyle, Chuck, 89
Lefebvre, Jules Joseph, Diana, 36 mermaids, 47, 204 Rebellious Angels, 31 Pyle, Howard, 64, 67, 75, 78, 104,
Le Guin, Ursula K., 22 mermen, 47 Ortiz, Karla, 114 165, 204
Leiber, Fritz, 179 Meseldzija, Petar, 138 Liliana and the Eternal Army, illustration for Howard Pyle,
Le Jeune, Henry, Cinderella, 51 Gandalf, 138 116 The Story of the Grail and the
Lesser, Ron, 89 Mesopotamia, 28, 34, 38 otherworld, 186 Passing of Arthur, 69
Levy, Eugene, 104 Mignola, Mike, 100 Outcault, R. F., advertisement for Why Seek Ye the Living, 24
Leyendecker, J. C., 66, 75, 78, 197 Untitled, cover illustration for The Yellow Kid in McFadden’s Pyramid Texts, 39
Pan, 73 Hellboy: The Wild Hunt, 99 Flats, 94 Pyramus and Thisbe, 35
Lincoln, Abraham, 206 Miller, Frank, Batman, 97 Ovid, 35
Little Nemo strip, 90 modern society, 57 Rackham, Arthur, 50, 61, 64, 78, 163-
Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth, Mogel, Leonard, 104 Paley, William, 157 64, 204
Evangeline, A Tale of Acadie, 73 Monet, Claude, 61 Palumbo, Anthony, Angel Token, 113 The Fish King and the Dog Fish:
Lossel, Yoann, Grendel’s Mother, 147 Monge, Jean-Baptiste, 141 Palumbo, David, 145 Its Head Was Patted Graciously,
Louinet, Patrice, 177 The Kensington Lovers, 141 The Fallen, 145 162
monotheism, 32 Pan, 47, 49, 189, 190 for Nathaniel Hawthorne, A

Index 231
 Wonder Book, 62, 64 Rubens, Peter Paul, 31, 202 Stout, William, 104 Vess, Charles, Here There Be
for Washington Irving, Rip Van Ruskin, John, 155 Glinda the Good Witch, 126 Dragons, 128
Winkle, 62 Struzan, Drew, 89, 110 villains, 44
radio dramas, 85 St. John, J. Allen, 78, 85 Stuart, Kenneth J. Sr., 194 virgin birth, 36
Rankin, Hugh, 179 In Shining Armor, 78 Sumerians, 38 Visser, Marinus Willem de, 45
“Rapunzel,” 50-51 The Master Mind of Mars, 83 superhero comics, 55, 85
Raymond, Alex, 66 Samber, Robert, 49 superheroes, 95, 97 Wagner, Richard, 42
realism, 193-94 Sanderson, Ruth, The Princesses antiheroes as, 98 Wang, Wei, Reign of the Lich King,
“Red Riding Hood,” 49-50 Hurried down a Lamp-Lit Path, female, 96 121
Red Rose Girls, 73 187 Superman, 85, 95, 98 Warhola, James, Magic Shop, 190
religion, 18-19, 27-38, 153 Sargent, John Singer, 168 supernatural, 153 Warner Bros., 103-4
Rembrandt, 58 Sargent, Richard, 206 Sutherland, David C. III, cover illus- water, in creation myths, 30
Renoir, Pierre-Auguste, 61 Satan, 37, 38, 42, 44 tration for the first Dungeons & Waterhouse, John William, 58
Revelation, Book of, 37 Saturday Evening Post, 66, 194, 205 Dragons Basic Set, 111 Hylas and the Nymphs, 58
Richter, Larry, 179 satyr, 47 Swedenborg, Emanuel, 165 Weird Tales, 47, 85, 89, 173-75, 1775
Rigveda, 37 Schaeffer, Mead, 66 Sweet, Justin, Kull of Valusia, 173 179 ;
RKO Radio Pictures, 107 Schjeldahl, Peter, 193 Syrian art, Relief with Two Heroes, 41 Weissmuller, Johnny, 85
Rockwell, Norman, 193-209 Schongauer, Martin, The Griffin, 46 Wei Wang, Reign of the Lich King,
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Schoonover, Frank, 73 Tarzan, 78, 85, 91 121
199 Schultz, Mark, 179 Tarzan of the Apes (film), 85 Wertham, Fredric, Seduction of the
Art Critic, 202, 203 science, 153 Tenggren, Gustaf, 103 Innocent, 96
on being an illustrator, 61 science fiction, 17 Tenniel, John, 52-53, 61, 64 Whelan, Michael, The Way of Kings,
Boy Reading Adventure Story, Scott, Sir Walter, 57 The Rabbit Scurried, 53 180, 184
196 Scovill, Bill, 203 Thayer, Abbott Handerson, 163 Wiesner, David, June 29, 1999, 187
Charwomen in Theater, 208 serials, 85 Winged Figure, 161 Williams, Allen, 140
Cobbler Studying Doll’s Shoe, 207 serpent, 44-48 theology, 157 The Enochian, 140
Doctor and Doll, 207 Sewell, Amos, 206 Tolkien, J. R. R., Lord of the Rings, Williams, Morris Meredith, 64
Fireman, 203, 203 The Shadow (film, 1994), 89 39, 104, 114 for Eleanor Hull, The Northmen
Framed, 203, 203 shadow (Jung), 44 Trampier, David A., 114 in Britain, 65
“I thought you were wrong,” he Shakespeare, 163 Pseudo-Dragon, 114 Wilshire, Patrick and Jeannie, 124
said in triumph, 198 Shazam (word), 96 trees, in creation myths, 30 winged beings, 37
Just Married, 208, 208 Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft, Tress, Arthur, photo of Frank witch, 181
The Land of Enchantment, 201- Frankenstein: or, The Modern Frazetta and his daughter Heidi, Wonder Woman, 96
2, 201 Prometheus, 58, 182 posing, 105 Wood, Grant, 168
The Law Student, 206-7, 206 Shelley, Percy Bysshe, 57, 163 troll, 47 Wordsworth, William, 57, 155
Lunch Break with a Knight, 192, Shuster, Joe, 95 True, Allen Tupper, 73 World of Warcraft, 121
205, 206 Siegel, Jerry, 95 Tschautsch, Albert, Snow White, 52 Wright, Elsie, Cottingley Fairies, 164
magazine illustration, 66 Siren, 47 TSR, 114 Wright, Farnsworth, 173
Mermaid, 204-5, 204 Smith, Barry, 179 Turner, J. M. W., 155 writing, 39
movie posters, 107 Smith, George, 40 Queen Mab’s Cave, 160, 163 Wyeth, N. C., 64, 66, 73-75, 104
My Adventures as an Illustrator Smith, Jessie Willcox, 50, 66, 73, 78 Twain, Mark (Samuel Clemens), 199 Bruce on the Beach, 70
(autobiography), 199 “Oh, don’t hurt me!” cried Tom Tweed, William “Boss,” 90 cover illustration for Popular
Saying Grace, 194-96, 195 “I only want to look at you,” 156 Magazine, 80
Tom Sawyer Whitewashing the Peter, Peter, Pumpkin-Eater, 70 unconscious, 186
Fence, 200 Snow White, 50 unicorn, 47 X-Men (film), 98
Trials, Tribulations, and Twain, Solomon Kane (film, 2009), 89
199 Sondheim, Stephen, 50 Vallejo, Boris, 78, 89, 133 Yeats, William Butler, 165
role-playing games, 55, 124 Song of the Nibelungs, 42-43 John Carter of Mars, 83 The Yellow Kid in McFadden’s Flats
Rolfe, Eugene M. E., 27 Spectrum Awards, 124 Vampirella, 98, 100 (first comic book), 95
Roman art, 61 sphinx, 47 van Gogh, Vincent, 168 Yellow Submarine (film), 104
Romans, ancient, religion of, 34 Spider-Man, 97 Velhagen, Eric, 137
Romantic artists, 57 Spielberg, Steven, 124, 193 Maelstrom, 137 Zeus/Jupiter, 35
Ross, Alex, 66 spiritualism, 165 Mulan, 137 Zorro, 85
Star Wars films, 18, 109, 110 Very, Lydia, 49 Zug, Mark, A Princess of Mars, 85
storytelling, 193-94

232 Index
JESSE KOWALSKI is Curator of Exhibitions at the
Norman Rockwell Museum. Previously, he spent
nearly two decades at the Andy Warhol Museum in
Pittsburgh. In addition to Enchanted: A History of
Fantasy Illustration, he has organized several pop-
ular exhibitions on the art of Andy Warhol that
have traveled around the globe. He has also curated
two exhibitions on the work of comic book artist
Alex Ross—Heroes & Villains and Superheroes &
Superstars—as well as Hanna-Barbera: The Archi-
tects ofSaturday Morning; Inventing America: Rock-
well and Warhol; Never Abandon Imagination: The
Fantastical Art of Tony DiTerlizzi; and The Art & Wit
of Rube Goldberg, among others.

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