New York-based artist George Gross got his start working for the pulp magazines in the 1940s and he was a prolific and in-demand artist for the next four decades. Along with painting covers for Action Stories, Detective Book Magazine, Jungle Stories and countless other magazines, Gross also painted covers for the popular Avenger and Nick Carter paperback series.
Today, the world was saddened to learn of the death of Leonard Nimoy. While Nimoy may have been best known for playing Mr. Spock on Star Trek, he was also an acclaimed photographer who published three collections — Shekhina, The Full Body Project, and Secret Selves — of his work. Nimoy’s work has been exhibited at the R. Michelson Galleries in Northampton, Massachusetts and the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art. Nimoy described himself as being primarily a conceptual artist and his work explored issues of body image and his own Jewish heritage.
Leonard Nimoy, R.I.P.
Celebrate Valentine’s Day with these classic retro romance covers by Harry Bennett! Born in New York and raised in Connecticut, Bennett served in World War II and later studied painting and illustration at Chicago’s American Academy of Art. Starting in the 1950s, Bennett was one of the premier illustrators of gothic romance paperbacks. After retiring from commercial illustration in his 60s, Bennett devoted himself to painting and exhibiting his own original work.
Bennett was responsible for a countless number of paperback covers. A small sampling of his work can be found below:
Starting in the late 1940s, many comic book companies tried to broaden their audience by publishing romance comic books. These comics told dramatic love stories in which young women had to deal with issues of cheating, divorce, jealousy, heartache, and the search for the one. With Valentine’s Day approaching, here are some classic romance comic book covers.
Despite with that cover says, this romance doesn’t seem to be ideal.
John certainly looks serious. I hope Doris Bigelow gave her some good advice.
I don’t know how anyone could stay square after seeing that facial hair.
Didn’t anyone in these comics get along with their sister?
Love can drive you crazy.
At least they have something in common.
Like Beyoncé says, put a ring on it…
I love the blue eyeshadow.
Love, fun, and commitment issues on the beach.
I hear Heart Break is lovely this time of year.
I don’t think this is going to work out.
Erik Johansson is a self-taught artist who creates his surreal images through a combination of photography and Photoshop. As he puts it on his website, “He doesn’t capture moments, he capture ideas.” Born in Sweden, he currently lives in Berlin. Among his influences: Salvador Dali, M.C. Escher, Rob Gonslaves, and growing up on the Swedish countryside.
Margarita Kareva is a Russian photographer who, in just three years, has made a name for herself with her fantasy-inspired art photography. Her website is in Russian but the images speak for themselves.
There’s not a lot of information available on the artist Richard Tennant Cooper. It’s known from 1910 to 1912 that he painted several paintings that were meant to show the effects of disease on the human body. In his paintings, disease was represented by skeletons and evil ghosts, which are often seen hovering above the sick. Cooper also served in the British Army during World War I and painted several pictures based on his experiences. The first five pictures below are examples of Cooper’s medical work while the final four were inspired by World War I.
The paintings below are by horror artist Chris Kuchta. Hailing for Lafayette, Indiana, Kuchta graduated from The American Academy of Art in 2000 and, in 2004, he opened the Kuchta Academy of Fine Art and Illustration. Along with being a freelance illustrator, he is also an art instructor. You can see more of his work and find out more about the artist at Horrorartist.com.
For more than 30 years, Michael Whelan has worked as an illustrator specializing in science fiction, fantasy, and horror cover art. His paintings have appeared 0n more than 350 book and magazine covers. You can see more of his work on his site.
Do you want to see something really scary? Check out these photographs from horror artist Joshua Hoffine. You can learn more about Joshua Hoffine and his work by visiting his web site.
Through the Shattered Lens