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RIP Kelly Freas

Mister Nizz

Passing of a Giant



 Frank Kelly Freas passed away over the weekend. If you're not aware of his contributions to popular culture, then you probably haven't picked up a science fiction paperback book, seen a fantasy/sf movie, or read a sf magazine in a long time. Kelly Freas was one of the most prolific, talented and generous illustrators in modern SF. His work transcended science fiction into the commercial arena many times-- his illustration of a giant robot was the cover of a popular QUEEN album, for instance, and he was a popular magazine illustrator. His lasting contribution, however, will be as a cover artist for the classic pulp style science fiction and fantasy magazines, some of which are still around today (Analog, Asimovs, etc.).

Freas' citation in the Encyclopedia of Science Fiction:

Frank Kelly Freas is universally recognized as one of the most prolific and popular science fiction and fantasy artists in the world. His distinguished career spans fifty years from painting covers for Astounding Science Fiction and Planet Stories in the 1950's, to visualizing the most current concepts in science fiction illustration, gaming, and motion picture concepts, as evidenced by his winning the readers' poll award from Analog Magazine for Best Cover of the Year in 1991, two Chesley Awards [1990 and 1997] and the Writers of the Future Lifetime Achievement Award in 1999. In 2000 Freas was elected a Fellow of the International Association of Astronomical Artists.

Over the years, Freas' art has graced the covers of hundreds of science fiction books and magazines, including works by Poul Anderson, Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, Robert Heinlein, Dean R. Koontz, Ursula K. LeGuin, Frederik Pohl, A.E. Van Vogt, etc. He also contributed covers to MAD Magazine from 1955 to 1962, as well as numerous other commercial illustrations, such as the record jacket for Queen's best-selling album, News of the world, and the cover of the 1992 Star Trek Annual for DC Comics. An official NASA artist, Freas' space posters hang in the Smithsonian Museum in Washington. He was also commissioned by the Skylab I astronauts to design their crew patch.

Dubbed the "most popular sf artist in the history of the field" by the respected Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, Freas is the first artist to have won ten Hugo Awards, the highest recognition granted to a science fiction artist, having been nominated an all-time record of twenty times. He has also won numerous other genre awards, including the NATTS's Hall of Fame in 1991. In 1994, Starlog Magazine included him in their prestigious list of The 200 Most Important People in Science Fiction and Fantasy.

Freas' original paintings hang in museums, universities, and private collections. His work has been the subject of three best-selling collections: The Astounding Fifties, Frank Kelly Freas: The Art of Science Fiction, and Frank Kelly Freas: A Separate Star. No other artist in science fiction has consistently matched his astounding record. His smooth and luminous images, amiable aliens and sexy women, have become part of today's science fiction landscape


As for me, I met Kelly Freas at a DISCLAVE convention back in the mid-80s. He was quirky, funny, incredibly energetic, and extremely accessible. I can't claim to have known him personally other than having been amused to meet the guy who had been drawing all the great cover illos of WIERD TALES over the years. Still, I'll miss him, like I miss all connections with the past. A true gent who will be not easily be replaced.
The Frank Kelly Freas website