Donato Giancola is an American artist specializing in narrative realism with

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

and

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...

content.

Biography

Donato Giancola was born and raised in

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian. Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colches ...

, near

Burlington Burlington may refer to: Places Canada Geography * Burlington, Newfoundland and Labrador * Burlington, Nova Scotia * Burlington, Ontario, the most populous city with the name "Burlington" * Burlington, Prince Edward Island * Burlington Bay, no ...

, in the state of

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

. He currently resides in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

with his wife and two daughters.Troy, Jeanne (July 18, 2007). "Sci-fi painter Donato Giancola's work on display at SVAC", ''

Bennington Banner ''The Bennington Banner'' is a daily newspaper published in Bennington, Vermont. The paper covers local, national, and world news. It is distributed throughout Southwestern Vermont and eastern New York (Rensselaer and Washington Counties). The pa ...

''. Giancola first majored in electrical engineering at the

University of Vermont The University of Vermont (UVM), officially the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont. It was founded in 1791 and is amon ...

, but left for

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...

to seriously pursue painting in 1989. He graduated with a BFA in 1992. Giancola describes himself and his work as a 'classical-abstract-realist working with science fiction and fantasy' and lists

Hans Memling Hans Memling (also spelled Memlinc; c. 1430 – 11 August 1494) was a painter active in Flanders, who worked in the tradition of Early Netherlandish painting. He was born in the Middle Rhine region and probably spent his childhood in Mainz. He ...

Jan van Eyck Jan van Eyck ( , ; – July 9, 1441) was a painter active in Bruges who was one of the early innovators of what became known as Early Netherlandish painting, and one of the most significant representatives of Early Northern Renaissance art. Ac ...

, Velázquez,

Caravaggio Michelangelo Merisi (Michele Angelo Merigi or Amerighi) da Caravaggio, known as simply Caravaggio (, , ; 29 September 1571 – 18 July 1610), was an Italian painter active in Rome for most of his artistic life. During the final four years of hi ...

Vermeer Johannes Vermeer ( , , see below; also known as Jan Vermeer; October 1632 – 15 December 1675) was a Dutch Baroque Period painter who specialized in domestic interior scenes of middle-class life. During his lifetime, he was a moderately succe ...

Piet Mondrian Pieter Cornelis Mondriaan (), after 1906 known as Piet Mondrian (, also , ; 7 March 1872 – 1 February 1944), was a Dutch painter and art theoretician who is regarded as one of the greatest artists of the 20th century. He is known for being ...

Rembrandt Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (, ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), usually simply known as Rembrandt, was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker and draughtsman. An innovative and prolific master in three media, he is generally consid ...

Rubens Sir Peter Paul Rubens (; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish artist and diplomat from the Duchy of Brabant in the Southern Netherlands (modern-day Belgium). He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque traditio ...

and

Titian Tiziano Vecelli or Vecellio (; 27 August 1576), known in English as Titian ( ), was an Italians, Italian (Republic of Venice, Venetian) painter of the Renaissance, considered the most important member of the 16th-century Venetian school (art), ...

as his favorite artists. Giancola has illustrated cards for the ''

Magic: The Gathering ''Magic: The Gathering'' (colloquially known as ''Magic'' or ''MTG'') is a Tabletop game, tabletop and Digital collectible card game, digital Collectible card game, collectable card game created by Richard Garfield. Released in 1993 by Wizards ...

'' collectible card game. He has been described as a "cult hero" among fantasy

collectible card game A collectible card game (CCG), also called a trading card game (TCG) among other names, is a type of card game that mixes strategy game, strategic deck building elements with features of trading cards, introduced with ''Magic: The Gathering'' in ...

players. In 2008, the ''

'' referred to him as "arguably the most popular and successful sci-fi/fantasy artist working today". In 2021 U.S. Postal Service announced that a "three ounce" stamp featuring

Ursula K. Le Guin Ursula Kroeber Le Guin (; October 21, 1929 – January 22, 2018) was an American author best known for her works of speculative fiction, including science fiction works set in her Hainish universe, and the '' Earthsea'' fantasy series. She was ...

would be issued later that year, featuring a portrait of Le Guin based on a 2006 photograph, against a background scene from "The Left Hand of Darkness", created by Giancola and art director Antonio Alcalá.

Honors

Giancola's work has won many awards and accolades with highlights including: * Hamilton King Award for Excellence, Society of Illustrators, 2008. *

World Fantasy Award The World Fantasy Awards are a set of awards given each year for the best fantasy literature, fantasy fiction published during the previous calendar year. Organized and overseen by the World Fantasy Convention, the awards are given each year a ...

: Best Artist, 2004. * Eighteen

Chesley Awards The Chesley Awards were established in 1985 by the Association of Science Fiction and Fantasy Artists to recognize individual artistic works and achievements during a given year. The Chesleys were initially called the ASFA Awards, but were later r ...

from the Association of Science Fiction & Fantasy Artists (ASFA) including their award for Artistic Achievement in 2002. * Several Silver and Gold Awards as well as Honorable Mention from Spectrum's Best of Contemporary Fantastic Art. *

Hugo Award for Best Professional Artist The Hugo Award for Best Professional Artist is given each year for artists of works related to science fiction or fantasy released in the previous calendar year. The award has been given annually under several names since 1955, with the except ...

, 2006, 2007, 2009; also nominated six times. * Several Awards of Merit, Society of Illustrators, 'Our Own Show' exhibitions. * Two Best of Shows Award and Best Professional Artist, Lunacon Science Fiction Convention *

Art Renewal Center The Art Renewal Center (ARC) is a non-profit, educational organization, which hosts an online museum dedicated to realist art. The ARC was founded by New Jersey businessman, author, and art collector Fred Ross. Particular emphasis is given to ...

, International Salon 2004, first place, figurative category.First International ARC Salon Competition
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Art exhibitions

* Donato Giancola: From Middle Earth to Outer Space and Beyond, Huntsville (Alabama) Museum of Art, 2013-2014. * Magical Adventures: Fantasy Art from The Frank Collection,

University of Maryland, College Park The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of Mary ...

, 2004. * Illustrators
The Society of Illustrators
Annual Exhibition of Illustration, 128 East 63rd Street, New York, New York. 1999-2004. * The Art of 'The Lord of the Rings', Exhibition of book cover and interior illustration, Bailey/Howe Library,

, 2002.

References

External links

Donato Giancola Official website
*
Donato Giancola page at ''The Association of Science Fiction & Fantasy Artists''

SF Artists: Donato Giancola
wiki profile with list of covers * *
Donato Giancola's Gallery
with biography and artbooks on Inside Your ART {{DEFAULTSORT:Giancola, Donato 20th-century American painters 21st-century American painters American illustrators American male painters American speculative fiction artists Analog Science Fiction and Fact people Fantasy artists Game artists Hugo Award-winning artists Living people Role-playing game artists Science fiction artists Syracuse University alumni World Fantasy Award-winning artists Year of birth missing (living people)