Early Life
Frank Frazetta was born in Brooklyn, New York on February 9, 1928. He was encouraged by his grandmother – who helped raise him and his 3 sisters – in all artistic ventures he pursued, beginning at the age of 2 years old.
“When I drew something, she would be the one to say it was wonderful and would give me a penny to keep going. Sometimes I had nothing left to draw on but toilet paper. As I got older, I started drawing some pretty wild things for my age. I remember the teachers were always mesmerized by what I was doing, so it was hard to learn anything from them. So I went to art school when I was a little kid, and even there the teachers were flipping out.”
– Frank Frazetta
In 1936, at the age of only eight years old, Frazetta began to study art at the prestigious Brooklyn Academy of Fine Arts.
Comic Work
When Frazetta turned 16 in 1944, the aspiring artist began to work as an artist for comic book illustrator Bernard Bailey at his art studio. The work produced out of this studio included entries into the super-hero genre with Hourman, and The Spectre.
“By the time I was a teenager, I knew I wanted to be an artist. I was a born draftsman and liked all forms of art, so I just knew that’s what I wanted to do.”
– Frank Frazetta
In 1947, Frazetta received the notice of comic book artist Graham Ingels, who arranged a job for Frazetta at Standard Comics. Frazetta’s career began to take off and through the rest of the 1940s and into the 1950s.
The artist drew comic book stories in a variety of genres. This included funny animals, Westerns, science-fiction. As well as historical dramas, for companies such as EC Comics and National Comics.
Some of the notable characters Frazetta worked on during this time included Li’L Abner, Flash Gordon, and Buck Rogers. He worked on the Li’l Abner daily strip, from 1952 until 1961.
In 1956 Frazetta married Eleanor Kelly in New York City. They would go on to have four children together, two boys and two girls. Kelly had a keen business sense, and would be instrumental in convincing Frank to retain his art work, rather than letting publishers hold the rights to them.
Movie Posters
In 1964, a painting Frazetta did of Ringo Starr for Mad magazine caught the attention of United Artists. The majority of his movie posters from the 1960s were for comedy movies, including What’s New Pussycat? (1965), The Secret of my Success (1965), and After the Fox (1966). A notable exception was the poster he created for The Fearless Vampire Killers starring Sharon Tate.
Frazetta’s poster output for movies dropped considerably in the 1970s. However, he did create the now iconic poster for The Gauntlet (1977). the artist’s final movie poster was for Fire and Ice (1983). This was an animated movie that had incorporated art that was inspired by Frazetta’s style.
Book and Album Covers
In addition to movie posters, Frazetta also produced paintings that were used as book covers. His most iconic featured Conan, Tarzan, and John Carter and his adventures that were contained in the Barsoom series.
Besides book covers, Frank Frazetta also produced several album covers for bands such as Molly Hatchet and Nazareth.
Later Life
In the 1990s, Frank Frazetta received numerous accolades from his peers, including induction into the Jack Kirby Hall of Fame, The Society of Illustrators Hall of Fame, and the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame.
“When it came to my art, I went my own way and did not follow the trends.”
– Frank Frazetta
In his later years, Frazetta had suffered several strokes that essentially paralyzed his right arm. Still, in the face of this incredible adversity, he had taught himself how to paint with his left hand.
Frazetta died of a stroke on May 10, 2010.
Legacy
Frazetta’s artwork continues to be extremely popular. His painting Egyptian Queen had sold for $5.4 million in 2019.
“He gave the world a new pantheon of heroes,…. He somehow created a second narrative layer for every book he ever illustrated.”
– Guillermo del Toro
Star Wars creator George Lucas owns several of Frazetta’s paintings. He plans to display four of them at the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in 2021.
“I’m a fan of comic art. I collect it. …There are quite a few (contemporary) illustrators in the science-fiction and science-fantasy modes I like very much. I like them because their designs and imaginations are so vivid. Illustrators like Frazetta, Druillet and Moebius are quite sophisticated in their style”.
– George Lucas
Frank Frazetta was a true master of art who could vary his style to fit the specific project he worked on. His legacy will last forever.
“I hope my work has inspired young artists. I have always tried to maintain my freedom as an artist and I feel it is one of the main reasons I have been successful.”
– Frank Frazetta
