
Frank Kelly Freas: The Art of Science Fiction (Donning 1977) - the little green man was originally painted for an Astounding Science Fiction cover to illustrate Fredric Brown's Martians Go Home
Over the years I have collected a few books on the art of science fiction and fantasy and as they are probably now out of print, I feel I need to share some of this lovely imagery from the days before computer-designed art.
My first featured sci-fi illustrator is from way back – Frank Kelly Freas (pronounced “freeze”), born in Hornell, New York, on August 27, 1922, died on January 2, 2005. He was sometimes known as “the Dean of Science Fiction Artists”.
I bought Frank Kelly Freas: The Art of Science Fiction (Donning 1977) at a bargain book shop for £1.95, which was not a lot of money for such a brilliant book.
Freas’ professional artistic life began in 1950, when he sold his first cover art for Weird Tales. At the time he was still at art school and tutor John Jellicoe had set him a project to paint something using just two colours.
A friend who was already a professional artist saw the picture of Pan and recognised its potential for the Weird Tales fantasy magazine. It wasn’t even finished when he sent it off to editor Dorothy McIlwraith. He had been planning to make that sleek pipe into a proper clarinet, but I like it the way it is.
Miss McIlwraith asked for just one change – that brilliant moon dust around Pan was added to edgelight the faun to bring it out from the rest of the picture, to make up for shortcomings in the colour printing processes of the time.
Over the next 50 years Freas created many covers for the Astounding Science Fiction and Mad magazines as well as cover art for novels from DAW, Signet, Ballantine Books, Avon, Laser Books and Ace.
Freas’ first cover for Astounding, and one of my favourites, was for The Gulf Between by Tom Goodwin in 1953. As the artist himself puts it: “The mechanical nature of the robot is reduced to the absolute visual minimum; his human, or his emotional, nature is emphasized to the limit. You KNOW this is no threatening automaton: this is a sentient, empathetic entity, his whole being concentrated into the one plea – ‘Fix it, Daddy…’”

Fix it, Daddy - Freas' first cover for Astounding Science Fiction, October 1953, illustrating The Gulf Between by Tom Goodwin
Not all Freas’ works got into print. This rather lovely one (below), called Jewel Field, was commissioned as a cover but never used. As Freas says: “That Jupiter is recognisable is the only concession to astronomical accuracy here.”

Jewel Field - an unpublished painting depicting a fantasy scene showing mining on one of Jupiter's moons
This next image I would love to see as a Christmas card! Says Freas: “The idea of a starship turning itself into an arcology on an alien planet almost painted itself. Obviously it’s easier to colonise a world if your spaceship converts itself into a city as soon as it lands. If the climate seems especially severe, you might just stay in it.”
This girl was clearly one of those who moved out to escape that restrictive life. “Still, on a winter night, a girl can be forgiven if she looks a bit longingly toward the glowing warmth of The City Machine…”
He says “warmth”, but one aspect of Freas’ work I do find odd is how many of his paintings are in cold blues and greens. I’m sure I read somewhere once that cover art needs to be in colours from the hot, red end of the spectrum to stand out on the news stand…
In the 1970s, after initial reluctance, Freas created ALL 57 covers for the Laser Books, by publisher Harlequin. This was a project to showcase new sci-fi writers to a new young audience. That the plan eventually failed was a great loss to the genre.

A total of 57 Laser Books were published, showcasing new Sci-Fi writers - Freas created the cover art for them all
This image (below) for Crash Landing on Iduna was commissioned before the Laser format was set, with its large head at the bottom right of the cover. Freas added this later on an acetate flap to avoid messing up the original painting.
The next picture won the International Science Fantasy Art Award in Toronto in 1973. Says Freas: “Observe that it does not violate my rule that abstraction has no place in science fiction illustration. The basic abstract shapes become the vitrified Ground Zero of an atomic strike, and the remains of some gigantic aerospace vehicle. A patrol from the underground city of the King of the World prowls the radioactive surface with well-justified caution”.
I just like the metallic textures – the abstracts remind me of lumps of iron slag and the guards’ suits of shiny black haematite jewellery.

Lumps of slag and haematite beads? Freas' cover art for Testament XXI by Guy Snyder for DAW Books 1973
This next one is Freas’ own all-time favourite, a portrait of his own car mechanic, who had “the greatest skull-bones in the world”! To me he looks a lot like Gary Cooper. Freas thought the slide-rule instead of a dagger in the pirate’s mouth was a really neat touch. I think it has now become hilarious. We used slide-rules at school, but not a lot of people would now recognise them. It’s funny how sci-fi writers/artists never saw pocket calculators coming…
Finally, Freas did much to campaign for the space programme. He was at Cape Canaveral for the launch of Apollo XIV and became addicted to such launches. He was dismayed at cuts in the programme and did his bit to save it by designing a series of posters, which were distributed through schools and by NASA itself. This one is my favourite…

Freas designed a set of posters in support of the US space programme - this one wonders what the world would be like if no one had backed Christopher Columbus
Frank Kelly Freas married Pauline (Polly) Bussard in 1952 and they had two children, Jacqui and Jerry. Polly died of cancer in January 1987 and in the following year he married Dr Laura Brodian. Freas died in West Hills, Los Angeles, in 2005.
See more of Freas’ work on these sites:
http://www.kellyfreas.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Kelly_Freas
http://www.bpib.com/illustrat/freas.htm
Thank you so very much for such a loving tribute to my late husband. You really touched on the essence of his work. I’m properly grateful. I shall share this with his kids.
Sincerely,
Laura Brodian Freas
Oh wow, thank you ever so much for taking the time to comment! Best wishes to all the family.
I have a soft spot for the art of the golden age of hand-drawn and painted sci-fi – modern digital art makes it all a bit too easy, really.
I also thoroughly enjoyed/enjoy reading/re-reading Frank’s own words in the book, it gives a real insight into the way he worked and the atmosphere of the times.
By the way, you have just reminded me that I was going to add some links to other FKF official sites, so I will do that very soon.
Take care…
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hi again Squirrel basket – I was just wondering how you set up this comment system, whereby you get a comment if someone links to you? Hope you don’t mind my asking, it’s just so nifty! x Nickysqueaks
Um, I’ve no idea!
I don’t think I did anything, it just happens 🙂
fair enough, thank you!
Never realized Kelly Freas did Sci-Fi art. I knew he did Mad magazine covers back in the 60’s. My dad was stationed with him on Iwo Jima during WW2. . I have a framed portrait of my dad done in pastels (chalk?) signed “K Freas AAF Iwo Jima 45” I don’t know if people are aware that Freas was also very talented drawing portraits.
Wow, how fascinating. No, I didn’t know he was a great portrait artist – and I didn’t know he was involved in the war.
What a wonderful memento that drawing must be!
Thank you for sharing your family story with us. Have you shared what the picture looks like on a blog anywhere, or is it a little bit too personal?
I’m happy to add it to my Freas blog post if you like, but I will fully understand if you are not interested!
All the best 🙂
I took a picture of it yesterday, but photo quality was poor due to reflections on glass and not focused perfectly. Will try again. Please let me know how to get photo file to you.
No rush – must get it right (and it’s so difficult with glass).
Just email me a JPEG as an attachment to squirrelbasket@gmail.com or let me know if you have any problem doing that.
Best wishes 🙂
I came to know Freas work through Robert Asprin’s cover art for his Myth Adventure collection. I have to admit, the ONLY reason I was even drawn to the series was by the amazing artistry of the cover, I’m not even a fan of science fiction, but came to love Robert Asprin as well. Needless to say, Robert Asprin was wise to have collaborated with Freas for his book covers.
I never knew Freas had drawn for Mad Magazine, which was the whole interest of the magazine to me. I was much too young to read those, but marveled by such exceptional artwork. In my opinion there has never been anyone who captures characters essence in the same manner. I can’t describe my intrigue with his work, but always having the desire to draw, I knew he was the master I could never surpass, and certainly never will. Loved his artwork!
He was truly exceptional! Best wishes to his family and friends.
Thanks so much for your comments.
I regret I hadn’t heard of Robert Asprin – rather an oversight as I claim to be an SF fan!
So that’s one I had better explore further.
Best wishes 🙂
He did the poster for “The Wizard of Speed and Time” http://www.wizworld.com/poster/
Oh I DO like that one! It would almost make a Christmas card!
Thank you for sharing 🙂
1. Who was the photographer who took that beautiful headshot of Kelly? 2. Did Ron Shearer ever send you a .jpg of the pastel portrait Kelly drew of Ron’s dad who was stationed with Kelly Freas during WWII? It was signed “K Freas AAF Iwo Jima 45”, and I’d like to include it in my upcoming new volume of the collected work of my late husband, Frank Kelly Freas. Is there a way to contact Ron Shearer?
Sorry I have taken so long to reply – I have now done so by email with Ron’s details.
I’m afraid I don’t know the photographer who took that headshot – it was not credited on the Google search back in 2010.
Hopefully someone will claim it.
Very best wishes for the new book 🙂