The Art of Robert McGinnis – book review


Robert McGinnis with Art Scott; Titan Books, £24.99


Blueprint

Review by Joel Meadows

In these days of bland, formulaic, photographic movie posters created on computers, it is important to remember that it wasn't always the case. Robert McGinnis, who began working as a professional artist for Disney way back in the Forties, is arguably one of the best practitioners of this sadly lost art.

People may not know his name but many will have seen his distinctive artwork on classic Sixties' movie posters, including Thunderball and Breakfast at Tiffanys. This book, which focuses on a man who was a major player during this period and beyond, will attract readers fascinated with an era that saw so many seismic changes in popular culture.

Oh Careless Love jacket, 1961
Oh Careless Love jacket, 1961

Titan Books has put out this 176-page lavish hardback to celebrate his lengthy career, one that he just fell into, he told me: 'I didn't plan anything. I was just trying to make a living. An assignment would come along and I'd do it.'

It is very tricky to encapsulate everything that McGinnis has done over six decades, but Titan manages to give a flavour and a sense of most things he has been involved in. He worked in Hollywood for many years but morie posters are certainly not the only illustration material that he made his name through.

Murder Me for Nickels jacket, 1960
Murder Me for Nickels jacket, 1960

He drew cover images for more than 1,200 paperbacks, mainly in the crime and thriller genre, and he moved into doing slightly less salacious covers for romance novels. This sizeable portion of his career is covered here, as are his colourful images for magazines including Good Housekeeping and National Geographic and men's magazines such as True, Argosy and Saga.

McGinnis's portrayal of women was very much in the vein of James Bond and James Coburn's Our Man Flint, and his depiction of women on his movie posters were a natural extension of the many paperback covers he did in the pulp detective genre. Many used women in a gratuitous and tawdry fashion, but such was the skill of McGinnis that he managed to transcend the mundanity of the subject matter into something far more influential. Don Smolen, former art director for publicity at United Artists film studio, was moved to comment: 'Perhaps the finest illustrator of women that ever was, was Bob McGinnis, or is Bob McGinnis to this day.'

Dig that Crazy Grave jacket, 1962
Dig that Crazy Grave jacket, 1962

Although McGinnis lives in Connecticut on the East Coast, he grew up in Ohio and the West informs his work. There is a chapter on McGinnis' West, where we see region's influence, not to mention a series of landscapes. The versatility of McGinnis as an artist is very much in evidence: he can turn his hand just as easily to the open prairies as sultry females.

As well as the finished pieces, the book also includes his process work -- sketches and photographic references -- although often with the movie posters he was just given photographs from the studios to work from. For much of his career, he would provide a pencil sketch for the piece he was planning to draw and then, if it was greenlighted, would work it up in oils, gouache or acrylic. These days he has changed over to working in egg tempera.

As Old as Cain jacket, 1971
As Old as Cain jacket, 1971

My only minor quibble with this otherwise excellent book is that I wish there was more actual interview material with McGinnis. At the age of 88, he continues to paint and works regularly with American crime and thriller publisher Hard Case Crime.

Robert McGinnis was lucky enough to be able to work during a golden era of movies and novels and his work reflects the eras he has worked in. His original paintings now command five figures at auction. For anyone interested in the 20th-century history of illustration or the evolution of Hollywood in the second half of the past century, The Art of Robert McGinnis is an essential read.








Progressive Media International Limited. Registered Office: 40-42 Hatton Garden, London, EC1N 8EB, UK.Copyright 2024, All rights reserved.