Artists on Art: From the XIV to the XX Century ed. by Robert Goldwater and Marco Treves (review)

78 Book .Y Cambodia, Thailand and Indonesia; of Tibet. Nepal and Afghanistan; to Pre-Colombian architecture in America; and . . . to the "Modern Movement" and its international evolution since the First World War.' This edition contains over 3300 illustrations, of which over 400 are of new subjects, and 35 maps. all of which have been redrawn. The glossary has been revised extensively and extended. One Hundred Years of Science Fiction Illustration, 1840 1940. Anthony Frewin. Granada. London, 1975. I2X pp.. illus. Paper. f2.50. Reviewed by David A. Hardy* The last few years have seen a huge upsurge of interest in science fiction art, both modern and 'vintage'; magazines from the IY3Os and 40s change hands for several pounds per copy. This book will give anyone with a developing interest in the subject quite a feast at a more modest price. (However. one needs to examine the title page in order to discover that i t is limited to the period 1840-1940, so one nitist hope for a further volume to till the deficiency for the very important period up to date.) The author commences his history with two Frenchmen. lsidore Grandville and Albert Robida. These artists were not, of course. iiware that they were producing 'SF' illustrations. bince the term 'science fiction' was not coined until 1929 (by Hugo Gcrnsback). with the advent in the U.S.A. of 'pulp' magazines. I feel that rather too many pages have been devoted to Grandville's grotesque creatures and fantasies: Robida's technological prophecies fit better into the SF mould. Frewin apparently felt that the space was better tilled by these less well known artists than by including the work of. say. Bosch. Martin or Durer. Certainly :I claim can be made that the latter are part of the ancestry of SF art. but, as author. i t is Frcwin's prerogative to choose those artists and illustrations he considers most representative. assing fairly quickly over the illustrators o f Jules Verne, and H. G . Wells' stories. such as Hildibrand and Warwick Goblc. the author reaches the real substance of his book the early pulp cover artists. He has an obvious predilection for the bark of Frank R. Paul, who. admittedly, was the major contributor to the first science fiction magazine, Arrruzi~rgSfor.ic.s. As I have suggested elsewhere, though. most of these early covers were garishly coloured and often crude artistically [cf. Painting: The lnipact of Astronautics and Science Fiction on M y Work, Lrorrudo 9, Y5 (lY76)I. Certainly Paul produced a huge number of eye-catching and imaginative covers, but he was at his best with architecture (having trained in this field) and mechanical creations; his tigurcs tended to be wooden and unconvincing and his aliens often unintentionally amusing. And to state. as Frewin does. that his work 'had a painstaking and elaborate attention to the smallest detail that one could equate with John Martin' seems soiiie\\hat extravagant. He quite rightly includes the work of Hans Wcssolowski ('Wesso') and Honard V. Brown and admits. for instance, that Brown's technique was 'more polished and his handling of colour more restrained and thoughtful' than Paul's, but the choice of illustrations can hardly be called balanced. A representative selection of other artists' work is, however. included. A number o f pages are printed in violet ink. giving the impression of a spirit duplicator and the distorted. undulating typc of the chapter headings does not make for easy reading. The text is brief but informative and. overall. this book can bc recommended, for the price. to the \tudent of science fiction art and its history. .Artists on /\rt: From the XIV to the XX ('entury. 3rd ed. Robert Goldwater and Marco Treves, eds. Pantheon. Ncn Yorh. IY77. SO0 pp., illus. Paper. 55.95. Reviewed by .\mold Herleant* . i Iliis i\ ;I well-hnown anthology of statements by painter5 and \culptor\ rellecting on their experience as artists. The collec- *99 Southam Rd.. Hall Green, Birmingham BZX OAB, England. **25 Highlield Kd..(ilen Cove, N Y 11547. CJ.S.I\. p .: tion is restricted, as far as possible, to the written opinions of artists from the end of the Middle...