Robert Fawcett, Abstract Artist

Excerpt from David Apatoff's text in the new Robert Fawcett book:

Despite Fawcett's lack of formal education, his house became a center of cultural activity. Fawcett had a strong interest in music and became friends with world famous musicians including Toscanini and Heifetz, who visited his home. He also kept company with a wide variety of artists, such as the famous English sculptor Jacob Eptsein, and embraced the latest modern art.



Original drawings by the abstract sculptor Henry Moore and the modernist painter Graham Sutherland hung on his walls.



Fawcett believed this intellectually fertile environment was important to his development as an artist. He claimed that the greatest influence on his illustrations came not from visual arts but from opera. he also asserted that illustration was "more closely akin to theatre" than to gallery painting...



... because the primary function of the illustrator is to intrigue the viewer, "whether to intrigue the reader into starting a story..."



"... or intrigue the lady into a first-hand look at the garment."



He related music to the abstract designs that were the foundation of his "realistic" pictures.



As Fawcett finalized [his pictures], he went over the whole work again to make sure its design, composition and abstract qualities held together. "At any stage I am likely to pick up anything handy - some colored crayons, an old paint palette - and crudely rub in colour, articulating and highlighting this, setting the black."



As he worked on an illustration, realistic details inevitably came into focus...



... but Fawcett always stressed that "the longer the idea can be considered in the abstract, the better."



The new Robert Fawcett book is available now from Auad Publishing.

Robert Fawcett: "I only know whether things look right."

Excerpt from David Apatoff's text in the new Robert Fawcett book:

"By the time he was 19, Fawcett had saved $1,000 which was enough to pay for two years at [London's Slade School of Art]. He trained there from 1922 to 1924. In those days the school prided itself in stripping away all gimmicks and artifice and focusing on pure drawing skills.



Fawcett recalled, "At Slade, academic and searching drawing was so insisted upon that draftsmanship became second nature. I did nothing but draw from the model for eight hours a day for two years."



Fawcett never took classes in anatomy. When he arrived at school he assumed all artists needed to know anatomy so he attended a lecture at a nearby medical college. However, he quickly decided he was better off relying on his own powers of observation than on memorizing anatomical diagrams. "I am not interested in exploring the figure by scientific means."



"Patella, clavicle, femur and pelvis are medical terms, not the language of drawing. It is difficult to know what to say when confronted by the disbelievers who say, 'but of course you must know anatomy - you've got to!' I can only repeat that I do not."



Similarly, Fawcett never took a class or received formal training in the rules of perspective.



Later in his career Fawcett said, "I know very little of academic perspective -"



" - I only know whether things look right."



The new Robert Fawcett book is available now from Auad Publishing.



* Some of today's images are taken from Robert Fawcett's "On the Art of Drawing" ©1958 Watson-Guptill Publications

The Robert Fawcett Book Has Arrived!

You don't often hear, "people have been waiting fifty years for this book." But this is one of those occasions. At last, after great anticipation from the illustration community, the Robert Fawcett book is here! (I got mine last week)



David Apatoff, who wrote the text told me, "This book was a real labor of love for both [publisher] Manuel Auad and me. You wouldn't believe the obstacles that popped up."



But, David continued, "I knew Manuel loved Fawcett's work as much as I did, and would patiently spend whatever time and tender loving care it took to get things right."



For his part, Manuel is as generous with his praise for David's contribution: "Please give David a lot of credit for his brilliant essay on Fawcett," he said.



Manuel also asked that I mention "Mark Cox and Amy Stella who are really the core for laying out and designing the look of the book (I did put in my two cents here and there)."



And David also credits the entire illustration community for their support of the project. "The thing that surprised me was the broad family of illustrators and fans out there who were eager to help."



"They reached out with everything from obscure tearsheets and personal recollections to blurbs for the dust jacket. Everyone was eager to see Fawcett's great body of work restored and rejuvenated for future generations."



In the book David recounts a story of how, long ago, Robert Fawcett was asked to speak to a group of students at the Society of Illustrators. He agreed - but wondered who would possibly want to hear from him. When he arrived he found the space so overflowing with his peers that they had crowded the students right out the door and down the hall.



Half a century later we all - students and peers - still want to hear from Robert Fawcett. At last, we can.



The Robert Fawcett book is available now from Auad Publishing

Mitchell Hooks: Original Art

Mitch Itkowitz is Mitchell Hooks' official agent for the sale of his original art. I contacted Mitch to ask if he wouldn't mind sharing some scans of Mitchell's artwork with us. Below are ten pieces from four decades of Mitchell's career, courtesy of Mitch Itkowitz. Many thanks, Mitch!

1960



Early '60s



1962



Mid-'60s



1967



Late '60s



1970



1978



1981



1995



Most of these pieces have already found homes with (no doubt very happy) new owners - but there are several more available on Mitch's website. Whether you're in a buying mood - or just want to gaze at even more of Mitchell Hooks' gorgeous artwork, I encourage you to go take a look!

* My Mitchell Hooks Flickr set

More Mitchell Hooks Movie Posters

I've previously written about Mitchell Hooks' movie poster career, so I won't go over it again... but I thought it might be nice to have all his posters in one place - or at least what I've been able to compile so far, since I wasn't able to find them catalogued anywhere on the Internet.

1961



1962



1963



1965



1966







1967



1968



Many thanks to Crispin Garcia of thesandpebbles.com for providing the scans of Jessica, A Flea in Her Ear and, of course, The Sand Pebbles. Crispin wrote, "My initial interest in Mr. Hooks was that he is the artist who did the original artwork for The Sand Pebbles (1966)."

"His poster version was eventually replaced by one created by another great artist, Howard Terpning, only a few months later. However it is Mr. Hooks' artwork that graced the recent Varese Sarabande CD." (below)



Crispin continues, "After The Sand Pebbles was released to critical acclaim there was an Oscar buzz generated by Steve McQueen's performance in the movie. To capitalize on this (and studios being studios) they decided to more prominently feature McQueen's character on the poster plus give it more of a war-like appeal. However, the movie is not a war film (although it has that element) but a character driven drama and romance. So to me Mr. Hooks captured the essence of the film better than did the more macho look of the recommissioned poster by Mr. Terpning (although I am also a big fan of this artwork as well). I am not sure when Mr. Hooks completed his artwork for the film but it was used in advance advertising and when the movie premiered on December 20, 1966. The Terpning version was completed in February 1967. The silhouette overlay with the Chinese junk and the U.S.S. San Pablo on the Hooks movie poster was created by another famous poster artist Tom Jung."

* Thanks also to Heritage Auctions for allowing me to use their scans of the Dr. No and Fu Manchu posters.

* My Mitchell Hooks Flickr set.

Mid-60s Mitchell Hooks

Here's a mid-1960s Reader's Digest Condensed Books story illustrated by Mitchell Hooks.



You could see hints of this sketchy style in the mid-to-late '50s paperback covers we looked at yesterday, couldn't you?





Frankly, I so love the technique Mitchell used for this series...



... that I had to include several close-cropped excerpts today. I wanted you to be able to see the detail; the lively action in that gorgeous sketchiness.











Also note the riotous use of strong, bright colour. Isn't it fantastic? A reflection of the times, I would guess (it was, after all, the '60s).





So who inspired all this sketchiness and these candy-bright, unnatural colour schemes?



No doubt there were many factors...



But I'll bet one major influence (not just on Mitchell, but on the whole industry) was Bob Peak.



* My Mitchell Hooks Flickr set.