Masterpieces of Fantasy Art. 40th Ed. - by Dian Hanson (Hardcover)

About the Book

Featuring Julie Bell, Philippe Druillet, Frank Frazetta, H.R. Giger, Jeffrey Catherine Jones, Rowena Morrill, and Boris Vallejo, among many others. This book combines original paintings with preparatory sketches, sculptures, calendars, magazines, and paperback books for an immersive dive into this dynamic, fanciful genre.

Book Synopsis

Fantasy art, that colorful blend of myth, muscle and sexy maidens, took off in 1923 with the launch of Weird Tales magazine, was reinvigorated in the 1960s with The Lord of the Rings, Conan the Barbarian paperbacks with Frank Frazetta covers, and the late '60s emergence of fantasy psychedelia. It went big in the '70s with the role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons, the brilliant French magazine Métal Hurlant, and the first Star Wars film. The number of active artists peaked in that decade, but a new generation of fans discovered the genre through fantasy trading card games in the '90s, leading to a massive interest in the art form today.

Frank Frazetta's oil paintings--when they infrequently come to market--have sold for more than $ 5 million in recent years. Fans line up at Comic-Cons to meet Boris Vallejo, Rodney Matthews, Greg Hildebrandt, Michael Whelan, and Philippe Druillet, and memorialize dead icons HR Giger, Jeffrey Catherine Jones, and Frazetta.

This book features original paintings, contextualized by preparatory sketches, sculptures, calendars, magazines, and paperback books, for an immersive dive into this dynamic, fanciful genre. Insightful bios go beyond Wikipedia to give a more accurate and eye-opening look into the life of each artist. This collection will reign as the most exquisite and informative guide to this popular subject for years to come.

Review Quotes

"A book at least as epic as its subject."-- "La Liberté"

"It was likely the first art you really enjoyed, discovered on a comic book, paperback, or record cover. You could almost feel the blood vessels expanding in your brain... absorbing the rich colors, the alien landscape, the idealized human figures."-- "Dian Hanson"