When DAW Books launched in early 1972, one of their hallmarks was great cover art. Right from the start, their books featured covers by many of the top SF artists such as Frank Kelly Freas, John Schoenherr, Josh Kirby and Jack Gaughan – and eventually, Michael Whelan, who broke into the field with his cover for DAW’s edition of The Enchantress of World’s End by Lin Carter in 1975.

One of their mainstays was George Barr, whose first DAW cover came in their second month of publication, with The Day Star by Mark S. Geston. For my money, Barr was one of the great fantasy and science fiction artists of the past few decades. Having been introduced to science fiction paperbacks in the mid-1970’s, I have many fond memories of finding his artwork gracing many of the DAW books that I picked up at that time.

But his pro career had begun far earlier, starting with his cover for the April 1962 issue of Fantastic Stories of Imagination. Over the decades, his work appeared in a variety of places, including books from other publishers as well as magazines such as Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine, Amazing Stories, Marion Zimmer Bradley’s Fantasy, and Weird Tales.

One of the cool things about DAW Books was that they also ran interior black and white illos, generally by the cover artist, which was yet another selling point. As great as Barr’s covers were, his black and white work was equally as good, and he provided hundreds of illustrations for pro and fan publications, dating back to his first work in the legendary fanzine Amra in 1959.

In the 1980’s, he expanded into gaming art, providing fantastic illustrations for Dungeons & Dragons and other TSR products, among others. His 40+ year published career essentially ended in 2006, with only a handful of new works published after that point.

Accompanying this brief article are representative examples of Barr’s black and white work which span most of his career, with the earliest having appeared in 1960 and the latest in 1998.

In addition to his book and magazine work, for a period of roughly 35 years Barr also created fantasy Christmas card art, often featuring dragons, elves and those most magical of creatures, cats. A few pieces were for commercial assignments, but most of it was for his own enjoyment or consignments for fantasy art collectors, most particularly noted collectors Dick and Bette Wald.

Given that the bulk of this art only appeared on seasonal cards, used once and then never used again, most fantasy fans have never had the opportunity to view these incredible drawings.

But that has now changed! Bob Garcia of American Fantasy Press and I have been working on an art book collecting these fantasy illustrations. Entitled Joy to the World: The Fantasy Christmas Card Art of George Barr, the Kickstarter campaign has just launched.

Stay tuned for a follow-up piece in Black Gate discussing this project, and the art it covers, but for now, you can find the Kickstarter campaign at the following link.

[Click the images for bigger versions.]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Doug is a collector of pulps, as well as of pulp, science fiction and fantasy art. He co-founded and co-organizes the Windy City Pulp and Paper Convention. For many years his Tattered Pages Press published the pulp fanzine Pulp Vault, as well as other books on the pulps. He was one of the authors of The Adventure House Guide to Pulps, and has edited several pulp anthologies, including the Best of Adventure series. His book, Uncovered: The Hidden Art Of The Girlie Pulps, an in-depth study of the spicy pulps and their art, was named ForeWord Magazine‘s 2003 Popular Culture Book of the Year. In 2013, Bob Weinberg, Bob Garcia and he collaborated on The Collectors’ Book of Virgil Finlay, a collection of Finlay’s gorgeous art. The Art of the Pulps, which he co-edited with Bob Weinberg and Ed Hulse, won the 2018 Locus Award for Best Art Book. At the Worldcon in 2022, Doug and his wife, Deb Fulton, were presented with the Sam Moskowitz Archive Award from First Fandom.

Doug’s last article for Black Gate was Friends From an Alien Universe: Buying Perry Rhodan Art.