Rudolph Belarski (May 27, 1900 – December 24, 1983) was an American graphic artist known for his cover art depicting aerial combat for magazines such as ''Wings'', ''
Dare Devil Aces'', and ''War Birds''. He also drew science fiction covers for ''
Argosy'' in the 1930s and covers for mystery and detective novels.
[ Brosterman, Norman. (2000) ''Out of Time: Designs for the Twentieth-Century Future''. New York: Abrams. p. 93. ]
Early life
Belarski was born on May 27, 1900, in
Dupont, Pennsylvania
Dupont is a borough in the Greater Pittston area of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,536 as of the 2020 census.
History
The community was incorporated as a borough in 1917; it was originally called "Smithville," i ...
, a mining town, to immigrant parents from Galicia.
[ At the age of 12, he was legally allowed to quit school to work in the coal mines where he spent ten years of his life. During that time he took mail-order art classes at night from ]International Correspondence School
Penn Foster Career School is a U.S. for-profit, regionally and nationally-accredited distance education school offering career diploma programs and certificate programs. It was founded in 1890 as International Correspondence Schools, or ICS. Penn ...
. In 1922, he moved to New York City and studied at the Pratt Institute
Pratt Institute is a private university with its main campus in Brooklyn, New York (state), New York. It has a satellite campus in Manhattan and an extension campus in Utica, New York at the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute. The school was ...
in Brooklyn from which he graduated in 1926.[ From 1928 to 1933, Belarski taught at Pratt Institute.][
]
Career
Early career
Upon ending his five years teaching at Pratt Institute, he first began working at Dell Publishing
Dell Publishing Company, Inc. is an American publisher of books, magazines and comic books, that was founded in 1921 by George T. Delacorte Jr. with $10,000 (approx. $145,000 in 2021), two employees and one magazine title, ''I Confess'', and ...
doing covers and interiors of the adventure pulps. The subject matter was about World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
or "The Great War." Some of the titles included ''War Aces'', ''War Birds'', ''T. X. O'Leary's War Birds'', ''War Novels'', and ''War Stories.''[
Ending his two-year tenure at Dell Publishing; Belarski started painting pulp covers at ]Thrilling Publications
Thrilling Publications, also known as Beacon Magazines (1936–37), Better Publications (1937–43) and Standard Magazines (1943–55), was a pulp magazine publisher run by Ned Pines, publishing such titles as ''Startling Stories'' and ...
/Standard Publications in 1935 and became one Ned Pines' top artists.[ Some of the titles included ''Air War'', ''American Eagle'', ''Black Book Detective'', ''Detective Novels'', ''G-Men Detective'', ''Lone Eagle'', ''Mystery Book'', ''The Phantom Detective'', ''Popular Detective'', ''Sky Fighters'', ''Startling Stories'', ''Thrilling Adventures'', ''Thrilling Detective'', ''Thrilling Mystery'', and ''Thrilling Wonder''.][
Also during this time, he would paint pulp covers for Munsey which included ''All-American Fiction'', ''Argosy'', ''Big Chief'', ''Cavalier Classics'', ''Detective Fiction Weekly'', ''Double Detective'', and ''Red Star Adventures''. He also worked for ]Fiction House
Fiction House was an American publisher of pulp magazines and comic books that existed from the 1920s to the 1950s. It was founded by John B. "Jack" Kelly and John W. Glenister.Saunders, David"JACK BYRNE (1902-1972),"Field Guide to Wild American ...
working on pulp covers which included ''Aces'', ''Air Stories'', ''Lariat Stories'', and ''Wings''.[
]
World War II and post war
During World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, Belarski was considered too old for service, but joined the USO
The United Service Organizations Inc. (USO) is an American nonprofit-charitable corporation that provides live entertainment, such as comedians, actors and musicians, social facilities, and other programs to members of the United States Armed F ...
in which he drew portraits for hospitalized servicemen in New York and London. Following the war, he would become the cover top cover artists for Ned Pines and Popular Library
Popular Library was a New York paperback book company established in 1942 by Leo Margulies and Ned Pines, who at the time were major pulp magazine and newspaper publishers. The company's logo of a pine tree was a tribute to Pines, and another P ...
[ until 1951 while working for various men's magazines until 1960 which included ''Adventure'', ''Argosy'', ''For Men Only'', ''Man's Conquest'', ''Man's Illustrated'', ''Man's World'', ''Men'', ''Outdoor Life'', ''Stag'', and ''True Adventure''.][
]
Late career and death
In 1954, Belarski moved to Westport, Connecticut
Westport is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, along the Long Island Sound within Connecticut's Gold Coast. It is northeast of New York City. The town had a population of 27,141 according to the 2020 U.S. Census.
History
...
and become a correspondence art instructor for Famous Artists School
Famous Artists School is an art Distance education, correspondence course institution, in operation since 1948. The school was founded by members of the New York Society of Illustrators, principally Albert Dorne and Norman Rockwell.
History
T ...
.[ He remained an instructor until his retirement in 1972. On Christmas Eve 1983; he died of complications due to ]colitis
Colitis is swelling or inflammation of the large intestine ( colon). Colitis may be acute and self-limited or long-term. It broadly fits into the category of digestive diseases.
In a medical context, the label ''colitis'' (without qualification) ...
.[
]
References
Further reading
*Gunnison, John P. (2007) ''Rudolph Belarski: Pulp Art Masters''. Silver Spring: Adventure House.
External links
PulpCovers.com - Rudolph Belarski
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Belarski, Rudolph
1900 births
1983 deaths
American illustrators
Aviation artists
Pulp fiction artists
Science fiction artists
People from Westport, Connecticut
People from Luzerne County, Pennsylvania
Artists from Pennsylvania