Great Science-Fiction
& Fantasy Works
a critical list with discussions
Science-Fiction & Fantasy Art
"There are some pictures, which impress one, I know not how, with a conviction that they represent not the mere ideal shapes and combinations which have floated through the imagination of the artist, but scenes, faces, and situations which have actually existed."--Best Ghost Stories of J. S. Le Fanu, "Schalken the Painter",
J. S. Le Fanu
Some great science-fiction and fantasy books have illustrations inseparably associated with them, as Tenniel's for Lewis Carroll's "Alice" books. Some fantastic (or science-fictional) art is recognized as famous in its own right, as with Chesley Bonestell's gorgeous planetscapes. But there is a lot more out there, with fresh work being continually created.
Award Winners
One way to find out who's who in science-fiction and fantasy art is to see who has won which awards, and how often. There are several awards for such art work, and I here list what seem to be the major ones and their winners.
The Hugos
The "Hugo" award is presented by the World Science Fiction Society (WSFS). For art, the category of interest today is Best Professional Artist), but I also list winners in some now-defunct categories (which each seem to have existed for only a short time).
The winners, in alphabetical order, are:
- Bok, Hannes: (1) 1953 (co-winner as Cover Illustrator, now-defunct category)
- Burns, Jim: (3) 1987, 1995, 2005
- DiFate, Vincent: (1) 1979
- Dillon, Leo and Diane: (1) 1971
- Eggleton, Bob: (8) 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2004
- Emshwiller, Ed: (4) 1960, 1961, 1962, 1964 (also co-winner 1953 as Cover Illustrator, now-defunct category)
- Finlay, Virgil: (1) 1946 (as Interior Illustrator, now-defunct category)
- Frazetta, Frank: (1) 1966
- Freas, Frank Kelly: (8) 1951, 1959, 1970, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976
- Froud, Brian: (1) 1995 (as Original Artwork, now-defunct category)
- Gaughan, Jack: (3) 1967, 1968, 1969
- Gurney, James: (2) 1993, 1996 (both as Original Artwork, now-defunct category)
- Hickman, Stephen: (1) 1994 (as Original Artwork, now-defunct category)
- Krenkel, Roy G.: (1) 1963
- Maitz, Don: (2) 1990, 1993
- Sternbach, Rick: (2) 1977, 1978
- Whelan, Michael: (14) 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1992 (as Original Artwork, now-defunct category), 2000, 2002
The Chesleys
This award is named for science-fiction artist Chesley Bonestell, and is bestowed by the Association of Science Fiction & Fantasy Artists (ASFA). With this award, some care is needed, because Chesleys are given out in quite a number of categories; for simplicity, I have amalgmated all winners into one list, but these are not all awards for the same thing. More detailed lists are available, both of winners by year and category and even of all nominees by name.
The winners (all categories), in alphabetical order, and showing total number of Chesleys won, are:
- Alexander, Rob (1)
- Angeli, Kat (1)
- Aulisio, Janet (1)
- Barnett, Paul (1)
- Berry, Rick (2)
- Bober, Richard (1)
- Brom (1)
- Burnett, Cathy (1)
- Bush, Beryl (1)
- Canty, Thomas (8)
- Christensen, James C. (2)
- Clark, Alan M. (4)
- Craft, Kinuko Y. (3)
- Dashow, Michael (1)
- DiTerlizzi, Tony (1)
- Eggleton, Bob (12)
- Elneskog, Robert (1)
- Elwell, Tristan (1)
- Fate, Vincent Di (1)
- Fenner, Arnie (1)
- Fertig, Matt (2)
- Fishman, Marc (2)
- Foster, Brad (1)
- Frazetta, Frank (2)
- Freas, Frank Kelly (3)
- Froud, Brian (2)
- Gallo, Irene (4)
- Gephardt, Jan Sherrell (1)
- Giancola, Donato (9)
- Graham, Kim (1)
- Griffin, Suzanna (1)
- Gurney, James (7)
- Gustafson, Scott (1)
- Hamilton, Todd Cameron (1)
- Harris, Dell (2)
- Henriksen, Hap (1)
- Hescox, Richard (1)
- Hickman, Stephen (5)
- Honeck, Butch & Susan (1)
- Kelly, Richard (1)
- Kidd, Tom (6)
- Klukas, Johnna (2)
- Ledet, Joy Marie (1)
- Lee, Alan (2)
- Lee, Jody (1)
- Lee, Terry (1)
- Lindahn, Val Lakey (1)
- Lippincott, Gary (2)
- Lira, Sandra (1)
- Lockwood, Todd (12)
- Longendorfer, John (1)
- Lundgren, Carl (4)
- Lundgren, Michelle (1)
- Maitz, Don (10)
- Manzieri, Maurizio (1)
- Mattingly, David (1)
- McKee, Erin (1)
- Miller, Ian (1)
- Moore, Clayburn (4)
- Morrison, John A. (1)
- Morrissey, Dean (4)
- Munson, Don (1)
- Neilson, Ingrid (2)
- Northey, Lawrence (1)
- Palencar, John Jude (3)
- Pancake, David Lee (2)
- Parkinson, Keith (2)
- Patterson, Teresa (2)
- Persello, Gary (1)
- Picacio, John (1)
- Rayyan, Omar (2)
- Robins, Arlin (1)
- Schomburg, Alex (1)
- Shands, Davette (1)
- Shaw, Barclay (1)
- Siudmak, Wojtek (2)
- Snellings, Lisa (1)
- Spears, Ron (1)
- Sudworth, Anne (1)
- Surrette, Geoff (2)
- Targete, Jean-Pierre (1)
- Thompson, Ruth (1)
- Vess, Charles (1)
- Walters, Bob (3)
- Watson, Jeff (1)
- Weyland, Jennifer (1)
- Whelan, Michael (12)
- Willis, Drew (1)
- Wilson, Dawn (2)
- Wizards of the Coast (1)
- Wollheim, Betsy (2)
- Wurts, Janny (3)
- Youll, Jamie Warren (5)
- Zug, Mark (1)
The Gaughans
This award is named for fantasy illustrator Jack Gaughan, and is bestowed by the New England Science Fiction Association (NESFA).
The winners, in alphabetical order, are:
- Brom - 1999
- Daniele, Stephen - 2000
- Eggleton, Bob - 1988
- Fischer, Scott M. - 2006
- Giancola, Donato - 1998
- Harris, Dell - 1989
- Hescox, Richard - 1991
- Hickman, Stephen - 1986
- Jainschigg, Nicholas - 1993
- Jensen, Bruce - 1995
- Lang, Charles - 1996
- Lee, Jody - 1992
- Lindahn, Val Lakey - 1987
- Nielsen, Terese - 2002
- Parkinson, Keith - 1990
- Pilcerova, Martina - 2003
- Rex, Adam - 2005
- Snellings-Clark, Lisa - 1997
- Sweet, Justin - 2004
- Vallejo, Dorian - 1994
- Zug, Mark - 2001
Some OnLine Galleries and Exhibitions
There are numerous sites on which some extraordinary examples of art and illustration focussed on science fiction and fantasy can be seen. A rather complete list can be found at The Archive of Science Fiction and Fantasy Artists, a directory of official web sites of original sci-fi & fantasy artists. Meanwhile, the very limited "sampler" list below--neither exhaustive nor critically select, I'm not qualified to review art--should entertain you and get you started. Again: this list is not "selective". Also: the list is only of general galleries, meaning those not displaying solely the work of a particular artist--there are just too many of those, and you can look up individual artists of interest you. This list is simply in alphabetical order:
Science Fiction Weekly Art Gallery (there appear to be many dozens of such pages, all linked from this, the first one)
Science-Fiction and Fantasy Art Books
There are numerous published collections, but these are a few highlights. If you run your cursor over any of these links, an Amazon new-or-used preview box will pop up, and you can either click to open Amazon's page for the book (which will open in a new browser window), or just one-click put the book in your Amazon Shopping Cart.
The Encyclopedia of Fantasy and Science Fiction Art Techniques
Fantasy Art Masters: The Best Fantasy and Science Fiction Artists Show How They Work
More Fantasy Art Masters: The Best Fantasy and Science Fiction Artists Show How They Work
The Spectrum science-fiction and fantasy art series:
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