I was thinking about portraits the other day, partly because of the “Making Faces” show currently going on at the Society of Illustrators, partly because I had just received a copy of Brian Movies that features Iain McCaig’s portrait of Harlan Ellison on the cover, partly because I noted the sale at auction recently of what, to me, was a not-terribly-good painting of Robert Silverberg by the late Ed Emshwiller.
What makes a successful portrait, particularly when the subject is a writer? The answer that immediately comes to mind is: personality. If the artist is able to capture something of who the writer is, not merely what they look like, and elicit responses from viewers and which prompts conversation… then there’s a good chance of creating art, not just a painted version of Glamour Shots.
Now, I’ve never really heard of any controversy surrounding a genre writer’s portrait; certainly nothing like the brew-ha surrounding John Singer Sargent’s painting of Madame Gautreau aka “Madam X.” The flip-side is that I’ve heard very few people say anything positive about some of the clever SFF writer portraits that have been done… so I think I’ll point out a few.
H.P. Lovecraft
H.P. Lovecraft has been drawn many times over the years, one of the earliest being the one above by Virgil Finlay. Moore recently by Matt Buck, John Picacio, and Roberto Parada below.
![Click to enlarge](https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/mattBuck_lovecraft.jpg)
![Click to enlarge](https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Roberto_Parada_Lovecraft.jpg)
Isaac Asimov
![Click to enlarge](https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Whelan_Asimovs-Monument-1.jpg)
Michael Whelan‘s portrait of Isaac Asimov. Since Asimov devised the Three Laws of Robotics, Isaac’s AI companion is appropriate.
Jules Verne
![Click to enlarge](https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/JulesVerne_MarkSummers.jpg)
Edgar Allan Poe
![Click to enlarge](https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/mark_summers_poe.jpg)
Above, a pair of scratchboard pieces by Mark Summers: Jules Verne and Edgar Allan Poe respectively. Below, Michael Deas‘s portrait of Edgar Allan Poe for the U.S. Postal Service won a Spectrum silver medal.
Theodore Sturgeon
Rowena Morrill’s painting of Theodore Sturgeon. Sturgeon joked at the time that she had made him look too puny.
Edgar Rice Burroughs
Below, a pair of portraits of Tarzan’s dad, Edgar Rice Burroughs; the first is by Reed Crandall, the second by Tom Lovell.
![Click to enlarge](https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/reed_crandall.jpg)
![Click to enlarge](https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/lovell_ERB.jpg)
Robert A. Heinlein
![Click to enlarge](https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/heinlein_Donato_jpg.jpg)
Donato’s and George Barr painting of Starship Trooper, Robert A. Heinlein
J.R.R. Tolkien
Greg and Tim Hildebrandt transported J.R.R. Tolkien to Middle-Earth for this painting.
![Click to enlarge](https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/gt_hildebrandt_tolkien.jpeg)
George R.R. Martin
![Click to enlarge](https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/GeoregRRMArtin_anita_kunz.jpg)
A Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin as painted by Anita Kunz.
Harlan Ellison
A pair of portraits of Harlan Ellison; the top a classic Bosch-inspired painting by Leo and Diane Dillon, the bottom is a mixed-media work by Iain McCaig.
![Click to enlarge](https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/LeoandDianeDillos_harlan1.jpg)
![Click to enlarge](https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/HarlanEllison_mccaig.jpg)
Neil Gaiman
Neil Gaiman, painted by life-long collaborator Dave Mckean.
Frank Herbert
Frank Herbert, author of Dune, by Greg Manchess.
Stephen King
Ursula K. Le Guin
Jonathan Lethem
Kurt Vonnegut
David Levin created hundreds of drawings for the New York Times Book Review like the ones seen above.
Mark Twain
Mark Twain, recently commemorated on a U.S. Postage stamp by Greg Manchess and earlier drawn by Leo and Diane Dillon.
![Click to enlarge](https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Dillons_mark_twain.jpg)
Anne Rice
Anita Kunz‘s painting of Anne Rice.
Ray Bradbury
And finally, the illustrated man, himself, Ray Bradbury as painted by Ed Emshwiller and Dean Ellis.
Expanded from the original article on Muddy Colors.
Arnie Fenner is the co-founder and editor of Spectrum: Fantastic Art.
I really do need to re-read this someday. Everyone, except me, seems to love it. To me, it felt too much like a thought experiment, rather than a novel – as if Lethem sat down one day and thought, “I wonder how Philip K. Dick would write a Raymond Chandler novel?”
I re-read this only just last year. When Lethem decides to write Science Fiction (which is all too seldom) he can be truly brilliant. I loved almost everything about this novel, which is to say that I can’t really think of anything I didn’t love about it. I especially like Joey the kangaroo mob tough-guy. Hilarious.
This isn’t my favorite Lethem book, but it’s an incredibly good one. And after reading this review, it makes me want to go home and reread it because I didn’t remember some of the details. So, thanks!
I do really love Lethem’s SF (although I think Motherless Brooklyn is awesome, too). I know some of his more recent novels still dabble with it (Fortress of Solitude, Chronic City), but I hope he goes all out again sometime soon, because it’s really a joy to read.
This is a fantastic novel, one that I’ve read a couple of times. Great review!
I was just looking at my copy of this and thinking I needed to re-read it. And now I shall move it to the top of the pile.
Wandering Ben @@@@@ 1: I’m sort of with you on this one. I liked the book, but I didn’t love it. I thought the characters were all very interesting and that the idea was a good one. I guess what lost me was the way it ended. Maybe I’ll change my mind upon a re-read, but I felt at the time I read it like the author wasn’t sure how to end the story, so he constructed whatever he could to resolve things. I liked the book over all, but the ending left me feeling a little flat.
Ms. Bear, I’m very pleased that Tor recruited you as a book reviewer. I’m enjoying your retro-reviews, and hope for many more. Welcome!
Cheers — Pete Tillman
http://www.sfsite.com/revwho.htm