FRANK FRAZETTA

ARTIST BIOGRAPHY

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.

FRAZETTA'S INFLUENCE

Guillermo del Toro, the Oscar-nominated co-writer of “Pan’s Labyrinth,” which he also directed along with the “Hellboy” films, said that Frazetta was nothing less than “an Olympian artist that defined fantasy art for the 20th century.” In New Zealand where he was working on a two-film adaptation of “The Hobbit,” Guillermo del Toro said Frazetta’s influence is difficult to explain to people outside the fantasy world, just as Norman Rockwell would be an elusive figure to define for someone unfamiliar with the U.S. heartland. “He gave the world a new pantheon of heroes,” the filmmaker said by e-mail. “He took the mantle from J. Allen St. John and Joseph Clement Coll and added blood, sweat and sexual power to their legacy…. He somehow created a second narrative layer for every book he ever illustrated.”

In discussing Frazetta, Clint Eastwood said: “I've been a huge fan of Franks most of my life and I was thrilled when he agreed to do the Movie poster for my film the Guantlet.”

Sylvester Stallone was over whelmed by Frazetta’s master piece, "The Cat Girl" and offered 100's of thousands of dollars for it. Frazetta declined the kind offer.

Frazetta’s Conan the Berserker was sold for $1,000,000 to a private collector in 2009.

Frazetta's Conan the Destroyer was sold for $1,500,000 to a private collector in 2010.

George Lucas owns many of Frazetta’s Sci-Fi oil paintings and it has been said that Frazetta Buck Rogers covers from the 1950’s was the primary inspiration for Lucas development of the characters and the theme for the epic series of Star Wars.

Frank Frazetta was Arnold Schwartzenager’s sargent according to an article in Forbes magazine in 2007 and why Arnold’s career blossomed in his role as Conan the Barbarian directed by John Milius.

John Milius, the screenwriter whose credits include “Apocalypse Now,” “Clear and Present Danger“ and “Red Dawn,” was the director and co-writer of “Conan the Barbarian,” the 1982 film that was based on the warrior character created by pulp writer Robert E. Howard in 1932. Milius said that it was Frazetta’s muscular paintings of Conan that defined the character for him and modern generations of fans. “Not that I could ever redo Frazetta on film — he created a world and a mood that are impossible to simulate — but my goal in ‘Conan the Barbarian’ was to tell a story that was shaped by Frazetta and Wagner,” Milius said. “Frazetta’s work is classified as illustration and there’s a connotation that goes with that, that it’s somehow lesser, but I think there are few artists in recent generations — especially painters — whose work really stays with you. I would compare Frazetta to Maxfield Parrish or Frederic Remington. These are the kinds of artists who work goes forward. The number of imitators alone speak to their talent.”

Lance Laspin and Cinemachine, makers of the documentary film “Frazetta: Painting with Fire.” the first and only film dedicated to the life and career of my father.