Elaine Duillo | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | (1928-07-28)July 28, 1928[1] Brooklyn, New York,[3] U.S. |
| Died | July 30, 2021(2021-07-30) (aged 93)[2] |
| Occupation(s) | Illustrator, painter |
| Spouse | John Duillo |
Elaine I. Duillo (July 28, 1928 – July 30, 2021) was anAmerican painter and illustrator known for herromance fiction book covers. She was inducted into theSociety of Illustrators Hall of Fame in 2003.
Elaine studied at theHigh School of Music and Art in Manhattan, where she met John Duillo, who became anadventure fiction illustrator and gallery painter. She graduated fromPratt Institute in Brooklyn. She began her career in 1959, illustrating adventure story magazines andGothic novels.[1]
Duillo is known for her prolific, eye-catching, realism painting[4] for romance paperback covers. Her painting style is one of "characteristically flawless draftsmanship, evocative mood and compositional power",[1] and uses "layer upon layer of transparent acrylic washes to achieve a luminous effect".[5] She is credited not only with breaking through into a male-dominated field in the early 1960s,[3] but with redefining romance art at the end of the 1970s and early 1980s, introducing more men and male nakedness into her cover art,[6] and influencing other illustrators who followed her style. She is also credited with aiding the rise to fame of the modelFabio Lanzoni when she began using him as a model, first on theclinch cover illustration forJohanna Lindsey'sHearts Aflame.[7][8][9]
She worked for paperback publishers includingAce, Airmont,Avon, Balcourt Art Service,Bantam,Berkley, Crescent,Dell,Fawcett Gold Medal,Lancer,Penguin USA,Playboy Press,Pocket Books,New American Library andZebra Kensington.[3]
She retired from book cover illustration in early 2003.[1] In her acceptance speech for her induction to the Society of Illustrators Hall of Fame, she summarized her career saying, "[T]his field has been rewarding to me and in return I've tried to elevate romance illustration to an art form. At least I hope I've been influential in changing the look of the genre… My work is mainly about creating fantasy – fantasy people, fantasy situations and fantasy settings. It is realistic, but upon closer inspection, my paintings portray a highly glamorized version of already attractive people and places that goes beyond realism."