Fantasy art, that colorful blend of myth, muscle and sexy maidens, took off in 1923 with the launch of Weird Tales magazine, was reinvigorated in the 1960s with The Lord of the Rings, Conan the Barbarian paperbacks with Frank Frazetta covers, and the late ’60s emergence of fantasy psychedelia. It went big in the ’70s with the role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons, the brilliant French magazine Métal Hurlant, and the first Star Wars film. The number of active artists peaked in that decade, but a new generation of fans discovered the genre through fantasy trading card games in the ’90s, leading to a massive interest in the art form today. Frank Frazetta’s oil paintings—when they infrequently come to market—have sold for more than $13 million in recent years. Fans line up at Comic-Cons to meet Julie Bell, Boris Vallejo, Rodney Matthews and Michael Whelan, and memorialize dead icons HR Giger, Jeffrey Catherine Jones, Greg Hildebrandt, and Frazetta. Imagine how eagerly they’ll welcome TASCHEN’s Masterpieces of Fantasy Art, including all the artists listed above and more. This tome features original paintings, contextualized by preparatory sketches, sculptures, calendars, magazines, and paperback books for an immersive dive into this dynamic, fanciful genre. Insightful bios go beyond Wikipedia to give a more accurate and eye-opening look into the life of each artist. In short, a collection that will reign as the most exquisite and informative guide to this popular subject for years to come.
