Frank Kelly Freas (August 27, 1922 – January 2, 2005) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

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 uni ...

and

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving 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 literature and d ...

artist with a career spanning more than 50 years. He was known as the "Dean of Science Fiction Artists" and he was the second artist inducted by the Science Fiction Hall of Fame.

Early life, education, and personal life

Born in

Hornell, New York Hornell is a city in Steuben County, New York, United States. The population was 8,259 at the 2020 census. The city is named after the Hornell family, early settlers. The City of Hornell is surrounded by Town of Hornellsville. Hornell is about ...

, Freas (pronounced like "freeze") was the son of two photographers, and was raised in Canada. He was educated at Lafayette High School in Buffalo, where he received training from long-time art teacher Elizabeth Weiffenbach. He entered the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

right out of high school (

Crystal Beach, Ontario Crystal Beach is a lakefront community in Fort Erie, Ontario, Canada. As of 2016, it had a population of 8,524. It was named for the "crystal clear" water conditions present when it was founded on the northeast shore of Lake Erie, across from ...

, Canada). He flew as camera man for reconnaissance in the South Pacific and painted bomber noses during World War II. He then worked for Curtiss-Wright for a brief period, then went to study at

The Art Institute of Pittsburgh The Art Institute of Pittsburgh was a private college in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Shortly before closing in 2019, it was purchased by Dream Center Education Holdings (in turn a division of The Dream Center, a Christian non-profit 501(c)(3) ...

and began to work in advertising. His first marriage was in 1948 to Nina Vaccaro, though they later divorced. He later married Pauline (Polly) Bussard in 1952; they had two children, Jacqui and Jerry. Polly died of cancer in January 1987. In 1988 he married (and is survived by) Dr. Laura Brodian.

Career

Freas began his work as a commercial artist in the late 1940s, mostly for television. His goal was to become a science fiction artist. Weird Tales November 1950

The fantasy magazine ''

Weird Tales ''Weird Tales'' is an American fantasy and horror fiction pulp magazine founded by J. C. Henneberger and J. M. Lansinger in late 1922. The first issue, dated March 1923, appeared on newsstands February 18. The first editor, Edwin Baird, pri ...

'' published the first cover art by Freas on its November 1950 issue: "The Piper" illustrating "The Third Shadow" by

H. Russell Wakefield Herbert Russell Wakefield (1888 – 2 August 1964) was an English short-story writer, novelist, publisher, and civil servant chiefly remembered today for his ghost stories. Life Wakefield was the third of four children of the clergyman Henry Rus ...

. His second was a year later in the same magazine, followed by several ''

Planet Stories ''Planet Stories'' was an American pulp science fiction magazine, published by Fiction House between 1939 and 1955. It featured interplanetary adventures, both in space and on some other planets, and was initially focused on a young readershi ...

'' or ''Weird Tales'' covers and interior illustrations for three

Gnome Press Gnome Press was an American small-press publishing company primarily known for publishing many science fiction classics. Gnome was one of the most eminent of the fan publishers of SF, producing 86 titles in its lifespan — many considered classic ...

books in 1952. With his illustrating career underway, he continued to devise unique and imaginative concepts for other fantasy and science fiction magazines of that period. In a field where

airbrush An airbrush is a small, Pneumatics, air-operated tool that Atomizer nozzle, atomizes and sprays various media, most often paint but also ink and dye, and Foundation (cosmetics), foundation. Spray painting developed from the airbrush and is c ...

ing is common practice, paintings by Freas are notable for his use of bold brush strokes, and a study of his work reveals his experimentation with a wide variety of tools and techniques. Over the next five decades, he created covers for hundreds of books and magazines (and much more interior artwork), notably ''

Astounding Science Fiction ''Analog Science Fiction and Fact'' is an American science fiction magazine published under various titles since 1930. Originally titled ''Astounding Stories of Super-Science'', the first issue was dated January 1930, published by William C ...

'', both before and after its title change to ''Analog'', from 1953 to 2003. He started at ''Mad'' magazine in February 1957 and by July 1958 was the magazine's new cover artist; he painted most of its covers until October 1962 (featuring the iconic character, Alfred E. Neuman). He also created cover illustrations for DAW, Signet,

Ballantine Books Ballantine Books is a major book publisher located in the United States, founded in 1952 by Ian Ballantine with his wife, Betty Ballantine. It was acquired by Random House in 1973, which in turn was acquired by Bertelsmann in 1998 and remains p ...

, Avon, all 58 Laser Books (which are now collectors' items), and over 90 covers for Ace books alone. He was editor and artist for the first ten ''Starblaze'' books. He illustrated the cover of

Jean Shepherd Jean Parker 'Shep' Shepherd Jr. (~July 21, 1921 – October 16, 1999) was an American storyteller, humorist, radio and TV personality, writer, and actor. With a career that spanned decades, Shepherd is known for the film ''A Christmas Story'' ...

, Ian Ballantine, and

Theodore Sturgeon Theodore Sturgeon (; born Edward Hamilton Waldo, February 26, 1918 – May 8, 1985) was an American fiction author of primarily fantasy, science fiction and horror, as well as a critic. He wrote approximately 400 reviews and more than 120 sh ...

's literary hoax, ''

I, Libertine ''I, Libertine'' is a literary hoax novel that began as a practical joke by late-night radio raconteur Jean Shepherd who aimed to lampoon the process of determining best-selling books. After generating substantial attention for a novel that did ...

'' (Ballantine Books, 1956). That same year he drew cartoon illustrations for

Bernard Shir-Cliff Bernard W. Shir-Cliff (November 7, 1924-February 28, 2017) was an editor for Ballantine Books, Contemporary Books, Warner Books and other publishers, who also translated books and later became a well-known literary agent. As a senior editor at Warn ...

's ''The Wild Reader''. Freas also painted insignia and posters for

Skylab I Skylab was the first United States space station, launched by NASA, occupied for about 24 weeks between May 1973 and February 1974. It was operated by three separate three-astronaut crews: Skylab 2, Skylab 3, and Skylab 4. Major operations i ...

; pinup girls on bombers while in the

; comic book covers; the covers of the ''

GURPS The ''Generic Universal RolePlaying System'', or ''GURPS'', is a tabletop role-playing game system designed to allow for play in any game setting. It was created by Steve Jackson Games and first published in 1986 at a time when most such systems ...

'' worldbooks ''Lensman'' and ''Planet Krishna''; and more than 500 saints' portraits for the

Franciscan , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

s executed simultaneously with his portraits of Alfred E. Neuman for ''Mad''. He was very active in gaming and medical illustration. His cover of

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

's album ''

News of the World The ''News of the World'' was a weekly national red top tabloid newspaper published every Sunday in the United Kingdom from 1843 to 2011. It was at one time the world's highest-selling English-language newspaper, and at closure still had one ...

'' (1977) was a pastiche of his October 1953 cover illustration for

Tom Godwin Tom Godwin (June 6, 1915 – August 31, 1980) was an American science fiction author active throughout the 1950s into the 1970s. In his career, Godwin published three novels and around thirty short stories. He is best known for his short sto ...

's "The Gulf Between" for ''Astounding Science Fiction'' magazine. Freas published several collections of his color and black-and-white artwork in the volumes ''Frank Kelly Freas: The Art of Science Fiction'' and ''Frank Kelly Freas: As Others See it'', as well as in a spiral-bound collection of his black-and-white illustrations from ''Astounding Science Fiction''. He also frequently gave art presentations, and his work appeared in numerous exhibitions. He was among several of the inaugural recipients of the

Hugo Award for Best 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 ...

in 1955 and was recipient under different names of the next three conferred in 1956, 1958, and 1959. With six more Hugo awards to his name (1970 and 1972–76), he became the first person to receive ten

Hugo awards The Hugo Award is an annual literary award for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year, given at the World Science Fiction Convention and chosen by its members. The Hugo is widely considered the premier ...

(he was nominated 20 times). No other artist in science fiction has consistently matched his record and output. Freas was twice a Guest of Honor at

Worldcon Worldcon, or more formally the World Science Fiction Convention, the annual convention of the World Science Fiction Society (WSFS), is a science fiction convention. It has been held each year since 1939 (except for the years 1942 to 1945, durin ...

, at Chicon IV in 1982 and at

Torcon 3 The 61st World Science Fiction Convention ( Worldcon), also known as Torcon 3, was held on 28 August–1 September 2003 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre and the Fairmont Royal York and Crowne Plaza (now the InterContinental Toronto Centre) ...

in 2003, although a fall suffered shortly before the latter convention precluded him from attending. He died in West Hills, California and is buried in

Oakwood Memorial Park Cemetery The Oakwood Memorial Park Cemetery is located at 22601 Lassen Street, Chatsworth, Los Angeles, California. It is the resting place for several movie stars such as Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Gloria Grahame, and Stephen Boyd. History and descr ...

in Chatsworth.

Awards

Freas's achievements include the Doctor of Arts,

Art Institute of Pittsburgh The Art Institute of Pittsburgh was a private college in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Shortly before closing in 2019, it was purchased by Dream Center Education Holdings (in turn a division of The Dream Center, a Christian non-profit 501(c)(3) or ...

, December 2003. The Science Fiction Hall of Fame inducted him in 2006, the second artist after

Chesley Bonestell Chesley Knight Bonestell Jr. (January 1, 1888 – June 11, 1986) was an American painter, designer and illustrator. His paintings inspired the American space program, and they have been (and remain) influential in science fiction art and illustr ...

. * Hugo Awards (11):

1955–56, 1958–59, 1970, 1972–76; fifty-year Retrospective Hugo, 2001 (for 1950 work) *

Locus Award The Locus Awards are an annual set of literary awards voted on by readers of the science fiction and fantasy magazine ''Locus'', a monthly magazine based in Oakland, California. The awards are presented at an annual banquet. In addition to the p ...

s (4), 1972–75, best artist * Frank R. Paul Award, 1977 *

Inkpot Award The Inkpot Award is an honor bestowed annually since 1974 by Comic-Con International. It is given to professionals in the fields of comic books, comic strips, animation, science fiction, and related areas of popular culture, at CCI's annual conv ...

, 1979Inkpot Award
/ref> * Edward E. Smith Memorial Award for Imaginative Fiction (the Skylark), 1981 * Rova Award, 1981 * Lensman Award, 1982 * Phoenix Award, 1982 * Los Angeles Science Fiction Society Service Award, 1983 * Neographics Award, 1985 * Daedalus Life Achievement Award, 1987 * Art Teacher Emeritus Award, 1988 * Best Professional, Media, International Fantasy Expo, 1989 *

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 re ...

(3): 1990 with Laura Freas, best 1989 cover illustration; 1994, artistic achievement; 2001, artistic achievement * Numerous Science Fiction Art Show Awards * National Association of Trade and Technical Schools National Hall of Fame, 1991 * AnLab ( Analog magazine) Reader Polls, Best Cover, 1992 and 2001

Bibliography

* '' New Worlds of Fantasy'' (1967) * '' New Worlds of Fantasy#2'' (1970)

Notes

References

External links

* (KellyFreas.com)
Kelly Freas tribute site
* * "United States Social Security Death Index," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VSC4-Z6Y : accessed July 31, 2015), Frank Kelly Freas, January 2, 2005; citing U.S. Social Security Administration, Death Master File, database (Alexandria, Virginia: National Technical Information Service, ongoing). Biography and criticism

obituary in ''The Guardian'' * Bibliography and works * * *

by H. Beam Piper, illustrated by Freas, from

Project Gutenberg Project Gutenberg (PG) is a volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, as well as to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks." It was founded in 1971 by American writer Michael S. Hart and is the oldest digital libr ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Freas, Frank Kelly 1922 births 2005 deaths 20th-century American painters Album-cover and concert-poster artists American comics artists American illustrators American male painters American speculative fiction artists Analog Science Fiction and Fact people Art Institute of Pittsburgh alumni Artists from Buffalo, New York Burials at Oakwood Memorial Park Cemetery Fantasy artists Game artists Hugo Award-winning artists Inkpot Award winners Lafayette High School (Buffalo, New York) alumni Medical illustrators Painters from New York (state) People from Hornell, New York Pulp fiction artists Role-playing game artists Science Fiction Hall of Fame inductees Science fiction artists United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II United States Army Air Forces soldiers