UNIVERSE’S LOSS A
SCIENCE FICTION ARTIST FRANK KELLY FREAS, 1922-2005 Frank Kelly Freas, the most prolific science fiction artist in the world, died in his sleep on January 2, 2005. Freas stood out from other artists of his generation not simply because he illustrated stories by many of the giants, including Isaac Asimov, Robert Heinlein, Arthur C. Clarke, A. E. Van Vogt, Poul Anderson, and Frederik Pohl, but because of his decision to move away from obvious SF imagery of rayguns and flying saucers. His ability to create brilliant thematic images that elevated these stories to new levels truly influenced the SF community, and as a result he was the first person to receive ten Hugo Awards—the World Science Fiction’s version of the “Oscars”— for Best Professional Artist.
Born in 1922 in Hornell, New York, Freas was raised in Canada by his photographer parents. After spending time in college and the military, Freas gave up his pursuit of careers in medicine and engineering for the world of art, and soon enrolled in the Art Institute of Pittsburgh. In 1950 he was encouraged by a fellow student to submit an art class assignment to Weird Tales magazine. This picture of Pan dancing in the moonlight was his first professional sale and eventually led to his monumental Astounding Science Fiction cover that depicted a pleading, childlike robot holding a dead man’s body in its hand. “Freas’s long association with John W. Campbell and Astounding [which later became Analog] began with this poignant and powerful cover,” says Jim Vadeboncoeur, Jr. on the Bud Plant website. This hauntingly emotional painting so influenced popular culture that even the band Queen used this artwork in 1977 as the cover for their album News of the World, with a picture of the band replacing the body. “He was still painting covers for Analog as recently as June 2001,” Vadeboncoeur continues. “Forty-eight years is an incredible ten-
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COMIC-CON INTERNATIONAL: SAN DIEGO