John Berkey-SF Art Legend-RIP
This is quick, but John Berkey, one of the greatest masters of science fiction art, particularly from the 1970's and '8o's has passed away. He'd had lingering health issues for many years, surviving a brush with death due to a heart defect, years before. Some of my first exposure to fantastical art was from his hand. He used to do alot of movie work when posters were painted. Inparticular, his paintings for Dino DeLaurentiis' 1976 remake of KING KONG made the movie appear way better than it turned out, and added alot to the marketing hype because of their stunning look.
He produced a ton of covers too numerous to mention and had two volumes of his work done in the 90's and 2000's by Friedlander Publishing and Paper Tiger(cover, above), respectively. No one painted space hardware like he did. He often made his own paints, saying store-bought ones made the art look just that. He was unique in his vision. For some reason, SF fandom never really took his work to their hearts(generally speaking, as I do know people who love his work) and he was passed over for a much deserved Hugo Award in any of the given years he was so prolific. He did however win many prestigious Society of Illustrators Awards and was voted a Grand Master by SPECTRUM(the yearly volume of fantastic art and illustration) a few years ago.
My good friend Irene Gallo has a bit more about him and his incredible work, over at her blog:
Once again, it's a dark week for science fiction...
posted by Bob Eggleton (Zillabob) | 11:00 AM
2 Comments:
There is nothing I could say that would express my heartfelt sadness. I am absolutely inconsolable about this news....
It's sad, it certainly is. He was 75 and, we take comfort that he died in peace, with friends and family near him. But his work goes on in the form of re-licensed images for such publishers as Night Shade Books and others.
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