FRANK R. PAUL: FATHER OF SCIENCE FICTION ART

"Born in 1884, Frank R. Paul was slated to study for the priesthood; instead, he studied art and architectural and mechanical drafting. The impact of these studies are evident in his brilliant and original science-fiction artwork. 

In 1914 Paul met Hugo Gernsback and began illustrating for Gernsback's Electrical Experimenter and Science and Invention. By 1926 when Gernsback's Amazing Stories was born Paul was ready: a talented calligrapher, Paul not only created the magazine's famed comet logo, but also the front cover painting and all of the interior black and white illustrations. Subsequently, over the span of his career, Paul was to paint over 200 published sci-fi covers and in excess of 1,000 black and white interiors. 

To say that Frank R. Paul is the father of science-fiction illustration is an understatement: his fertile imagination, amply demonstrated by the paintings and drawings in this book, speak for themselves and his legacy continues to influence the field today. 

Here, in this giant compendium, is the very first collection ever published showcasing many of Paul's full-color science-fiction artwork along with appreciations and critical essays by Sir Arthur C. Clarke and by Stephen Korshak; Jerry Weist and Roger Hill; Sam Moskowitz; Gerry de la Ree; Forrest J. Ackerman; and Frank Wu."

Artwork for Life On Neptune, from the back cover of Fantastic Adventures,
March 1940.

Cover painting from Science Fiction, December 1939 depicting
Planet Of The Knob-Heads by Stanton A. Coblentz.

The book erroneously credits the above painting as appearing on the cover of Wonder Stories, June 1931, in fact it appeared on the cover of Science Fiction, December 1939.

ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF SCIENCE FICTION ILLUSTRATION

Jupiter Books hardback, 1974. Cover painting by Frank R. Paul illustrating
Life On Uranus for Fantastic Adventures magazine.

This book covers ground from roughly 1884 and like Brian Aldiss' book Science Fiction Art - The Fantasies Of SF (1975) there is heavy bias towards pulp artwork, in particular those from the 1930's; the most contemporary piece of artwork I found was from an issue of Fantastic Adventures dated 1940. Paul's cover illustration was accompanied by the following text:

"The inhabitant of Uranus lives on a rigorous planet indeed. He is confronted with tremendous gravity, dense atmosphere, poison gases, and great storms."

Cover for Astounding Science Fiction, April 1938 by Howard V. Brown.

Cover for Astounding Science Fiction, November 1938 by Howard V. Brown.

Cover for Amazing Stories, August 1927 by Frank R. Paul.

Cover for Fantasy - Thrilling Science Fiction #1, 1939 by by S. R. Drigin.

Cover for Fantasy - Thrilling Science Fiction #2 by S. R. Drigin.

SCIENCE FICTION ART - THE FANTASIES OF SF

NEL softcover, 1975. Central image (girl & alien) by Edd Cartier.

Painting by Malcolm Smith, on the cover of Imagination, June 1954.

Illustration by Hannes Bok, from his book The Sorcerer's Ship

Illustration by Henry Sharp, for William Tenn's The Last Bounce, from Fantastic Adventures,
September, 1950.

Illustration by Henry Sharp for Robert Adams' Empire Of Evil, from Amazing Stories, January 1951.

Illustration by Virgil Finlay for Abraham Merritt's The Snake Mother, from
Fantastic Novels, November 1940.

Illustration by Virgil Finlay for Leigh Brackett's The Big Jump, from
Space Stories, February, 1953.

The Man From Mars - painting by Frank R. Paul, from the rear cover of
Fantastic Adventures, 1939.

The 'key' to Frank R. Paul's The Man From Mars.