Frank Kelly Freas | |
|---|---|
 Freas on his 82nd birthday (2004) | |
| Born | (1922-08-27)August 27, 1922 Hornell, New York, U.S. |
| Died | January 2, 2005(2005-01-02) (aged 82) West Hills, California, U.S. |
| Resting place | Oakwood Memorial Park Cemetery |
| Pen name | Kelly Freas (occasional) |
| Occupation | Artist, illustrator |
| Period | c. 1950–2004[1] |
| Genre | Fantasy,science fiction |
Frank Kelly Freas (August 27, 1922 – January 2, 2005) was anAmerican artist known for his work inscience fiction andfantasy, with a career spanning more than 50 years. He was known as the "Dean of Science Fiction Artists" and he was the second artist inducted by theScience Fiction Hall of Fame.[2][a]
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He was born August 27, 1922, inHornell, New York, as Francis Sylvester Kelly.[3] After his parents divorced, his mother remarried in 1939, and he took on his stepfather's last name of Freas. Frank Kelly Freas (pronounced like "freeze") was the son of two photographers, and was raised in Canada.[4] He was educated atLafayette High School inBuffalo, where he received training from long-time art teacher Elizabeth Weiffenbach. He entered theUnited States Army Air Forces right out of high school (Crystal Beach, Ontario, Canada). He flew as camera man for reconnaissance in the South Pacific and painted bomber noses during World War II. He then worked for Curtiss-Wright for a brief period, then went to study atThe Art Institute of Pittsburgh and began to work in advertising. His first marriage was in 1948 to Nina Vaccaro,[5] though they later divorced. He later married Pauline (Polly) Bussard in 1952; they had two children, Jacqui and Jerry. Polly died of cancer in January 1987. In 1988 he married (and is survived by) Dr. Laura Brodian.
Freas began his work as a commercial artist in the late 1940s, mostly for television. His goal was to become a science fiction artist.[6]
The fantasy magazineWeird Tales published the first cover art by Freas on its November 1950 issue: "The Piper" illustrating "The Third Shadow" byH. Russell Wakefield. His second was a year later in the same magazine, followed by severalPlanet Stories orWeird Tales covers and interior illustrations for threeGnome Press books in 1952.[1] With his illustrating career underway, he continued to devise unique and imaginative concepts for other fantasy and science fiction magazines of that period. In a field whereairbrushing is common practice, paintings by Freas are notable for his use of bold brush strokes, and a study of his work reveals his experimentation with a wide variety of tools and techniques.
Over the next five decades, he created covers for hundreds of books and magazines (and much more interior artwork), notablyAstounding Science Fiction, both before and after its title change toAnalog, from 1953 to 2003.[1] He started atMad magazine in February 1957 and by July 1958 was the magazine's new cover artist; he painted most of its covers until October 1962 (featuring the iconic character,Alfred E. Neuman).[4][7] He also created cover illustrations for DAW, Signet,Ballantine Books, Avon, all 58 Laser Books (which are now collectors' items), and over 90 covers for Ace books alone. He was editor and artist for the first tenStarblaze books. He illustrated the cover ofJean Shepherd,Ian Ballantine, andTheodore Sturgeon's literary hoax,I, Libertine (Ballantine Books, 1956). That same year he drew cartoon illustrations forBernard Shir-Cliff'sThe Wild Reader.
Freas also painted insignia and posters forSkylab I;[4] pinup girls on bombers while in theUnited States Army Air Forces; comic book covers; the covers of theGURPS worldbooksLensman andPlanet Krishna; and more than 500 saints' portraits for theFranciscans executed simultaneously with his portraits ofAlfred E. Neuman forMad.[8][9] He was very active in gaming and medical illustration. His cover ofQueen's albumNews of the World (1977) was a pastiche of his October 1953 cover illustration forTom Godwin's "The Gulf Between" forAstounding Science Fiction magazine.[7][10]
Freas published several collections of his color and black-and-white artwork in the volumesFrank Kelly Freas: The Art of Science Fiction andFrank Kelly Freas: As Others See it, as well as in a spiral-bound collection of his black-and-white illustrations fromAstounding Science Fiction. He also frequently gave art presentations, and his work appeared in numerous exhibitions. He was among several of the inaugural recipients of theHugo Award for Best Artist in 1955 and was recipient under different names of the next three conferred in 1956, 1958, and 1959.[11][b] With six more Hugo awards to his name (1970 and 1972–76), he became the first person to receive tenHugo awards (he was nominated 20 times). No other artist in science fiction has consistently matched his record and output.
Freas was twice a Guest of Honor atWorldcon, atChicon IV in 1982 and atTorcon 3 in 2003, although a fall suffered shortly before the latter convention precluded him from attending.[12]
He died inWest Hills, California and is buried inOakwood Memorial Park Cemetery inChatsworth.
Freas's achievements include the Doctor of Arts,Art Institute of Pittsburgh, December 2003.[9] TheScience Fiction Hall of Fame inducted him in 2006, the second artist afterChesley Bonestell.[2][13][a]
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(KellyFreas.com)Biography and criticism
Bibliography and works