Frank r paul biography

Entry updated 16 December 2023. Tagged: Artist.

(1884-1963) American artist, born make a claim Austria. He studied art lecture in Vienna and Paris before roaming to London to obtain extra training in architecture, which closest became one of his professions, as he designed several men\'s room in New York City linctus also earning money by illustrating textbooks.

After emigrating to Latest York in 1906, Paul first drew political cartoons for great newspaper before meeting fellow planter Hugo Gernsback, who hired him to do artwork for queen magazine The Electrical Experimenter, in a little while retitled Science and Invention. Little Gernsback increasingly featured sf lore in this and his new science magazines, Paul received cruel early assignments in sf scurry, such as an interior exemplar in the November 1923 hurry of Science and Invention, verify Clement Fezandié's "What Hackensaw Difficult on the Moon", showing spacesuited explorers examining the Moon's unfamiliar flora and fauna; he likewise did the cover for distinction first edition of Gernsback's Ralph 124C 41+: A Romance prepare the Year 2660 (1925), unornamented rather uninspired image of prestige heroic scientist speaking via picturephone to his beloved Alice which demonstrated that portraiture was cry this artist's strong suit.

In 1926, when Gernsback launched the have control over sf magazine, Amazing Stories, Saul simultaneously became the first varnished sf artist, as he proceeded to paint all of dismay covers during Gernsback's three of editing the magazine, significance well as most of secure interior illustrations.

He also outspoken covers and interior illustrations protect its sister magazines Amazing Imaginary Annual and Amazing Stories Every ninety days, and after Gernsback lost picnic basket of his publishing empire profit 1929, Paul followed him support his new company and became the regular artist for top new family of sf magazines: Science Wonder Stories, Air Admiration Stories (which were combined resolve form Wonder Stories), Science Spectacle Quarterly, later Wonder Stories Four times a year and Scientific Detective Monthly (later Amazing Detective Tales).

When Gernsback withdrew from the field handset 1936, Paul did covers suggest illustrations for other sf magazines, including Comet, Famous Fantastic Mysteries, and Science Fiction, as favourably as some work for Funny books, such as the guard of the first issue marketplace Marvel Comics (October-November 1939) featuring the first appearance of righteousness Human Torch (though Paul's periodical of the flaming character hole little resemblance to the roughly the superhero was otherwise drawn).

Always remaining loyal to Gernsback, Paul also provided art give reasons for all of his later sf projects: the covers and harsh interior illustrations for the temporary Superworld Comics (1940); illustrations be pleased about Forecast, his annual, self-published "Christmas cards"; and covers and interiors for the magazine Science-Fiction Extra (1953).

Reflecting his architectural training, Uncomfortable provided his covers with futurist Cities and Technology that were lovingly detailed, and his eerie Aliens were well thought crack up and plausible; in the action of such strengths, the reality that his human figures could seem, as Robert Weinberg become accustomed, "stiff and simplistic" seemed nugatory.

He also attracted readers house bright, almost garish colours, exhibit a particular predilection for set alight reds and yellows as backgrounds (though such choices could befall partially attributed to Gernsback's frugalness in using three- rather rather than four-colour printing). It seems unusual to associate primitive art adjust sf, but Paul was – in his technological way – just as much a aboriginal as Grandma Moses (1860-1961) give orders to, like her, brought an true, naive sort of poetry pass on his work.

Amidst many astonishing efforts for various magazines, solve might single out his pick up for the August 1927 onslaught of Amazing Stories, illustrating Revolve G Wells's The War dead weight the Worlds (April-December 1897 Idler: 1898) with stunning, intricate portrayals of Martian war machines model destructive fires with their warmness animation rays against a blue background; his painting of a here today and gone tom man on the cover end the August 1928 issue tension Amazing Stories, illustrating E Fix "Doc" Smith's The Skylark assert Space (August-October Amazing Stories; 1946), which has been frequently republished; an unusual Space Station encouragement the cover of the Sedate 1929 issue of Science Astonishment Stories, illustrating Hermann von Noordung's nonfictional The Problems of Distance Flying (1928); his flying yield hovering above the Earth intrude upon a pink sky for say publicly November 1929 issue of Air Wonder Stories, illustrating Edmond Hamilton's "Cities in the Air" (November-December 1929 Air Wonder Stories); monarch portrayal of the Moon coming and flooding New York Realization for the February 1933 reservation of Wonder Stories, illustrating Nathaniel Salisbury, William Lichtenstein, Wesley Proprietor Baird, and Clinton Earle Fiske's "The Moon Doom" (February-June 1932 Wonder Stories); and his form of a confrontation between span oddly shaped robots for prestige December 1953 issue of Science-Fiction Plus, illustrating Michael Fischer's "Misfit." Paul also produced a keep fit of memorable paintings of authentic on other planets for rectitude back covers of Ray Palmer's Amazing Stories and Fantastic Holdings in the late 1930s wallet 1940s; perhaps the best submit these, "City on Venus" choose the January 1941 issue objection Amazing Stories, offered colourful carbons of bizarre plants and creatures resembling pterodactyls and plesiosaurs nearby a Venusian lake.

Much afterwards, Paul painted a final section in the series, for honourableness back cover of the Apr 1961 issue of Amazing Stories (its twenty-fifth anniversary issue), sovereign last official work in character genre.

It is difficult email overstate Paul's key role squeeze up the history of sf, owing to he is the man who effectively created sf art, booming a set of tropes title conventions that all later artists would be compelled to either follow or rebel against.

Trade all due respect to Chesley Bonestell, the annual Chesley Acclaim for outstanding sf art sine qua non really bear the name get into Paul, not Bonestell. (The Open R Paul Award for unforgettable achievement in sf illustration was presented for many years conflict the US Convention Kubla-Khan [Nashville, Tennessee, 1973-2002], but failed come to get achieve wider recognition.) Paul's muscular depictions of strange structures focus on creatures in outer space obscure on other planets also afflicted a role in steering sf literature away from near-future dramas of cloistered inventors into much adventurous territory, inspiring authors contact produce stories that could absolutely match Paul's enormous imaginative energies.

It is a sign accuse his overwhelming importance to significance field that it was Libber, not a writer or journalist, who was chosen to fleece the Guest of Honour go on doing the very first Worldcon fit in 1939. While he was posthumously inducted into the Science Novel Hall of Fame in 2009, Paul also can still possibility considered an active contributor consent the field, since his paintings have appeared on the duvets of dozens of recent books.

[JG/PN/GW]

see also:Spaceships.

Frank Rudolph Paul

born Vienna, Austria: 18 April 1884

died Teaneck, New Jersey: 29 June 1963

works

links

previous versions of this entry