Frank Frazetta was a prolific world renowned American artist/illustrator. Born in Brooklyn, New York on February 9, 1928, by age 8, Frazetta was studying at the Brooklyn Academy of Fine Art. One of his key influences was Hal Foster, the great comic-strip artist whose “Tarzan” became a compass point for Frazetta’s own scenes of jungle peril. By his sixteenth birthday, Frazetta was working in the flourishing field of illustration in New York. He worked with Al Capp on “Li’l Abner” and on his own strip, “Johnny Comet” (later renamed “Ace McCoy“) in the early 1950s. He also illustrated comic books such as “The Shining Knight” and a western hero called “Ghost Rider.” But, Frazetta’s fame and magic would come to life with a paintbrush and in a more sensual sector when, in the 1960s, he began painting covers for paperbacks and magazines.
It was Frazetta’s covers for the “Conan” paperbacks of the 1960s that shaped a new vision of fantasy realms. When asked about the
motivation for the strange beasts, sullen warriors or buxom maidens that characterized the covers, he explained didn’t find them in the text of the books: “I didn’t read any of it. I drew him my way. It was really rugged. And it caught on. I didn’t care about what people thought. People who bought the books never complained about it.” Readers of the Conan books, and other books Frazetta illustrated, such as “Tarzan,” “John Carter Warlord of Mars,” and “Vampirella,” commented they found the words and pictures melded with a resonant power.
Through his works, Frazetta became known as the pioneer of fantasy and science fiction art works. A true genius of our time, Frazetta’s legendary creations have captured the imagination of the art world and garnered legions of loyal fans. His talent is on display in numerous paintings, book covers, comic book covers, movie posters, and album covers. Notable masterpieces include the Death Dealer and Conan series of paintings in the fantasy genre. His work graces the covers of books and comics such as Robert E. Howard’s Conan Series, Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Tarzan of the Apes, Creepy Comics, Glenn Danzig’s Verotik comics, and L’il Abner. His work has brought album covers to life for bands such as Molly Hatchet, Dust, Wolfmother, and Nazareth.
Hollywood recognized his vast talent after a caricature of Ringo Starr appeared on the back cover of Mad Magazine. As a result, he created a number of movie posters for movies including Clive Donner’s What’s New Pussycat, Mad Monster Party, Clint Eastwood’s The Gauntlet, Sid Caesar’s comedy The Busy Body, and Roman Polanski’s The Fearless Vampire Killers.
The Department of Defense in Ft. Hood Texas commissioned Frank Frazetta Jr. to recreate 2 life-size statues of Frazetta’s iconic painting The Death Dealer and one monumental larger than life size in bronze that now stands at the entrance to the army base. One of the three statues is fiberglass and is transportable and deployed with the soldiers to select battlefields to boost the morale of the troops.
Frazetta passed away on May 10, 2010. His final year was heart wrenching. His wife and partner, Ellie Frazetta, died 10 months earlier in July 2009. Frazetta’s estate, including the Frazetta Museum were purchased by his son, Frank Jr. and Frank Jr.’s wife, Lori, in 2013.
Frazetta passed away on May 10, 2010. His final year was heart wrenching. His wife and partner, Ellie Frazetta, died 10 months earlier in July 2009. Frazetta’s estate, including the Frazetta Museum were purchased by his son, Frank Jr. and Frank Jr.’s wife, Lori, in 2013. Frazetta’s legacy continues with the reopening of the Frazetta Art Museum in East Stroudsburg, Pa. and run by curators Frank Jr. and Lori. They provide private tours for visitors and welcome art institutions around the country to see and hear what separates Frazetta’s art from all the rest in the world: “My father was one of the few in history that could draw the human anatomy perfectly without references or models. This is why his art is flowing and never boring. He captures the essence of the precise moment in his paintings and illustrations and applied it so successfully. Few can draw outward from deep within their gut; very few can actually paint and draw man/woman sexual allure; nearly none can tell a story with oil paint that lets you know what is actually in the muscle and sinew of the artist.”
“He’s going to be remembered as the most renowned fantasy illustrator of the 20th century,” according to his eldest son, Frank Jr.
