Frank Frazetta (1928-2010) is known as the “Godfather of fantasy art.” His art is dark, filled with themes of battle and violence. He has been a major influence on legions of illustrators, and his art is instantly recognizable. His influence echoes down through to today. Modern videogame designers often cite Frazetta as an inspiration, and fashion brand Supreme recently brought out a special Frank Frazetta collection featuring some of his most famous images on their clothes.
Frazetta’s technique was unusual, to say the least. He would not create a full drawing before adding paint; instead,he chosed to begin from any point on the canvas and block in color. Then, he would use his fingers to scrape away excess paint and add definition. This almost 3D style of painting was more akin to sculpture. It worked, and Frazetta’s art became a cultural touchstone for generations of science fiction and fantasy fans.
Early Years
Aged only sixteen, Frazetta got his first break in December 1944 with Tally-Ho Comics, in an eight-page story titled Snowman. While an original copy of Snowman sells for around $1000 today, a copy signed by Frazetta went for at least ten times that value in 2015.
He became an assistant illustrator to famous comic book artist Al Capp, working extensively on his Lil’ Abner strip. Because Lil’ Abner was officially drawn by Capp (Frazetta only did “ghost” work), it does not sell as well as Frazetta’s Tally Ho comics. A copy of Lil’ Abner recently went for an affordable $200.
Around this time, Frazetta worked on Famous Funnies’ Buck Rogers series, designing much of the cover art for Buck Rogers features. Produced in striking full color, unsigned copies of Frazetta’s work can go for around $8000 when in decent condition.
Conan and Widespread Fame
By the 60s, Frazetta had worked with Al Capp for so long that much of Capp’s style rubbed off on him. He had to make conscious artistic decisions to rediscover his own method.
In 1964, Frazetta created the movie poster for What’s New Pussycat? starring Peter Sellers and Peter O’Toole. Despite not evoking his usual themes, the job took him days to complete and netted him the equivalent of one year’s salary. He quickly found that while movie art was profitable, it was not a direction he wanted to go in.
Everything changed in 1965 when Lancer Books asked Frazetta to design a series of covers for the Conan novel series. The first volume, Conan the Adventurer, was published in 1966, and it is fair to say that the cover painting has become one of the most recognizable, imitated, and parodied paintings in the world of fantasy art. As Frazetta himself explained:
“I drew [Conan] my way. It was really rugged. And it caught on. I didn’t care about what people thought.”
While Frazetta’s original Conan painting is all but unattainable, early sketch drawings signed by Frazetta can be found. They tend to sell for well over $1000, and the price will increase. It was said at the time that people bought the books for the cover art alone.
Conan propelled Frazetta into international acclaim. Other adventure franchises sought him out to create fantastic book covers. The estate of Edgar Rice Burroughs commissioned Frazetta to work on its two flagship series—Tarzan and John Carter of Mars. Like Conan, Tarzan and John Carter were tough, rugged men fighting daily for survival in harsh environments.
The original oil painting of Tarzan at the Earth’s Core sold for $55,000 in 2015, and the price has increased since then. Original pencil sketches of Tarzan go for considerably less. One sold in 2023 for $2600.
Frazetta’s Golden Age
The 1970s saw Frazetta return to his usual themes—rugged men, beautiful women, and a host of monsters in dark, often dystopian settings. Many consider his work in this decade to be his finest, which is reflected in the high prices for original Frazetta drawings from this time.
The original painting of the Egyptian Queen (1969), featuring a scantily clad Cleopatra-style figure, went for a staggering $5.4 million on May 16, 2019. Dark Kingdom (1976) hit $6 million through Heritage Auctions on June 27, 2023.
Frazetta’s 1973 painting, Death Dealer, depicted a terrifying mounted figure wielding an axe on a smoking battlefield. The image caught on with the III Corps of the United States Army. In 2009, a life-size metal statue of the Death Dealer was unveiled outside the III Corps headquarters building in Fort Hood, Texas.
Frazetta also created a small selection of movie posters during this period—most notably for the Clint Eastwood film The Gauntlet. The over-the-top plot involved a police detective (played by Eastwood) trying to bring a woman to city hall so she can testify against the mob. Everyone is out to stop him, and the movie ends with the pair running an armored bus through a gauntlet of armed police. Original Gauntlet posters in good condition sell for around $300, but a one-of-a-kind preliminary sketch by Frazetta went for 8,000 in 2010. This price will have markedly increased since.
Fantastic Images
While his style may not be to everyone’s taste, the influence that “The Godfather of Fantasy Art” has on modern media is profound. From dark fantasy worlds such as Dungeons & Dragons down to modern video games like The Elder Scrolls, practically all modern fantasy has echoes of Frazetta.
Matthew Doherty is a writer, editor, and teacher specializing in all things history-related. His work has been published in the UK Defence Journal, the Small Wars Journal, and The Collector. He holds an MSc from the University of Edinburgh and a BA from the University of Leeds. In his spare time, he also writes science fiction stories.
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