John Berkey (August 13, 1932 – April 29, 2008) was an American artist known for his space and

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

themed works. Some of Berkey's best-known work includes much of the original poster art for the '' Star Wars'' trilogy, the poster for the 1976 remake of ''King Kong'' and also the "Old Elvis Stamp". Berkey produced a large body of space fantasy artwork, producing utopian scenes of bubble-shaped, yacht-like spaceships. His distinctive painterly style has been evaluated as "at once realistic, yet impressionistic and abstract", and his space craft designs as being "distinctly elegant, yet clearly technological and unmistakably Berkian; more inspired by luxury yachts and manta rays than NASA". He has been described as "one of the giants in the history of science fiction art".

Early life

John Berkey was born in

Edgeley, North Dakota Edgeley is a city in LaMoure County, North Dakota, United States. The population was 585 at the 2020 census. History Edgeley was founded in 1886 by Richard Sykes, a landowner from England who named it after Edgeley, Cheshire, where he was born ...

in 1932. Berkey's early childhood was spent in

Aberdeen, South Dakota Aberdeen ( Lakota: ''Ablíla'') is a city in and the county seat of Brown County, South Dakota, United States, located approximately northeast of Pierre. The city population was 28,495 at the 2020 census, making it the third most populous ci ...

. When he was aged six, he and his family moved to St. Joseph,

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columb ...

and then to

Excelsior, Minnesota Excelsior is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States. Excelsior's historic commercial district along Water Street is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and the town has many Victorian-era houses. On Lake Minnetonka's ...

. In 1950, Berkey graduated from high school and went on to study at the Minneapolis School of Art. He resided in Shorewood, Minnesota.

Career

Berkey worked as a freelance artist from the 1960s, after an eight-year stint at Brown & Bigelow, a St. Paul, Minnesota advertising agency. There, he produced up to seventy calendar paintings a year, which featured historical scenes of the American pioneers, road and railway construction, agricultural and industrial scenes.

Book covers & magazines

Among other commissions, Berkey regularly produced artwork for magazines such as ''

Popular Mechanics ''Popular Mechanics'' (sometimes PM or PopMech) is a magazine of popular science and technology, featuring automotive, home, outdoor, electronics, science, do-it-yourself, and technology topics. Military topics, aviation and transportation o ...

'', '' Omni'', '' Science Fiction Age'', '' Discover'', '' National Geographic'', ''

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program listings information as well as entertainment and television-related news. The company sold its print magazine division, TV Guide Magazine LLC, in 2008. Corpora ...

'' and ''

The Plain Truth ''The Plain Truth'' was a free-of-charge monthly magazine, first published in 1934 by Herbert W. Armstrong, founder of The Radio Church of God, which he later named The Worldwide Church of God (WCG). The magazine, subtitled as ''The Plain Truth: ...

''. Berkey made his mark in science fiction publishing with his cover art for Ballantine Books' 1972 reprint of the '' STAR Science Fiction'' series. Following this success, he went on to design a large number of book covers including works by Isaac Asimov, Ben Bova, Philip K. Dick,

Robert Heinlein Robert Anson Heinlein (; July 7, 1907 – May 8, 1988) was an American science fiction author, aeronautical engineer, and naval officer. Sometimes called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was among the first to emphasize scientific accu ...

, Glen Cook and many more. For the 1972 edition of Asimov's novel, '' The Caves of Steel'', Berkey's cover art featured a self-portrait with his arm showing exposed

cybernetic Cybernetics is a wide-ranging field concerned with circular causality, such as feedback, in regulatory and purposive systems. Cybernetics is named after an example of circular causal feedback, that of steering a ship, where the helmsperson ma ...

mechanics.

NASA

In the 1960s, Berkey was commissioned by

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...

to produce artworks depicting the Apollo space program and other missions, as part of the

NASA Art Program The NASA Art Program was established in 1962. NASA administrator, James Webb, jump-started the program by recommending artists to become involved in the agency. Artists, including Norman Rockwell, Robert Rauschenberg, and Andy Warhol were commissio ...

. He continued to paint space exploration subjects, including

Skylab Skylab was the first United States space station, launched by NASA, occupied for about 24 weeks between May 1973 and February 1974. It was operated by three separate three-astronaut crews: Skylab 2, Skylab 3, and Skylab 4. Major operations ...

and the

Space Shuttle Challenger disaster On January 28, 1986, the broke apart 73 seconds into its flight, killing all seven crew members aboard. The spacecraft disintegrated above the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Cape Canaveral, Florida, at 11:39a.m. EST (16:39 UTC). It wa ...

Film work

Berkey declined an invitation from Stanley Kubrick to work on the 1968 film '' 2001: A Space Odyssey''. In 1974, Berkey was commissioned to render the

key art Key art, also known as key visual is the artwork which is repeated across media such as posters, print, television and digital advertisements, streaming or download thumbnails, and game or film DVD/Blu-Ray box covers. Key visuals are defined in ...

for ''

The Towering Inferno ''The Towering Inferno'' is a 1974 American disaster film directed by John Guillermin and produced by Irwin Allen, featuring an ensemble cast led by Paul Newman and Steve McQueen. It was adapted by Stirling Silliphant from the novels '' The Towe ...

'', which became the largest grossing film of 1974. This established Berkey's reputation and he went on to produce poster artwork for a number of other blockbuster films including the 1976 remake of ''

King Kong King Kong is a fictional giant monster resembling a gorilla, who has appeared in various media since 1933. He has been dubbed The Eighth Wonder of the World, a phrase commonly used within the franchise. His first appearance was in the novelizat ...

'', '' Orca the Killer Whale'' (1977), ''

Meteor A meteoroid () is a small rocky or metallic body in outer space. Meteoroids are defined as objects significantly smaller than asteroids, ranging in size from grains to objects up to a meter wide. Objects smaller than this are classified as mi ...

'' (1979), '' Black Stallion'' (1979), ''

Superman III ''Superman III'' is a 1983 superhero film directed by Richard Lester from a screenplay by David Newman and Leslie Newman based on the DC Comics character Superman. It is the third installment in the ''Superman'' film series and a sequel to '' ...

'' (1983), and '' Dune'' (European release, 1984). He also produced promotional artwork for '' Airport '79: The Concorde'' (1979).

''Star Wars''

In 1975, the young filmmaker George Lucas purchased several pieces of Berkey's science fiction artwork. The paintings served as visual reference material while Lucas was trying to pitch his ideas to film studios for a new space fantasy film, '' The Star Wars''. Among the paintings was one of a rocket-plane diving down through space towards a gigantic mechanical planet (the image had been used as cover art for the 1972 reprint of the short story anthology '' Star Science Fiction Stories No.4''). It is thought that this painting in particular had a strong influence on the production design of ''Star Wars'' and served to inspire the film's leading concept artist,

Ralph McQuarrie Ralph Angus McQuarrie (; June 13, 1929 – March 3, 2012) was an American conceptual designer and illustrator. His career included work on the original ''Star Wars'' trilogy, the original ''Battlestar Galactica'' television series, the film ''E ...

, and the model maker

Colin Cantwell Colin James Cantwell (April 3, 1932 – May 21, 2022) was an American concept artist and director known for his work on films like '' 2001: A Space Odyssey'' and '' WarGames'', but primarily for doing initial concept designs and models for a nu ...

, whose early designs for the

Death Star The Death Star is a fictional space station and superweapon featured in the '' Star Wars'' space-opera franchise. Constructed by the autocratic Galactic Empire, the Death Star is capable of annihilating entire planets into rubble, and serves t ...

battle station bore a strong similarity to Berkey's painting. A number of other ''Star Wars'' spacecraft, such as

Star Destroyer Star Destroyers are capital ships in the fictional ''Star Wars'' universe. Star Destroyers were produced by Kuat Drive Yards, later Kuat-Entralla Engineering, and serve as "the signature vessel of the fleet" for the Galactic Republic, Galactic Em ...

s, may also have been influenced by Berkey's designs of naval-style ships with smooth hulls and conning towers bristling with antennae. Berkey was commissioned by Lucasfilm and

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

in 1976 to provide some of the first poster art for ''Star Wars''. Among this work was a painting which depicted the character

Luke Skywalker Luke Skywalker is a fictional character and the protagonist of the original film trilogy of the ''Star Wars'' franchise created by George Lucas. Portrayed by Mark Hamill, Luke first appeared in ''Star Wars'' (1977), and he returned in ''The E ...

brandishing a

lightsaber A lightsaber is a fictional energy sword featured throughout the '' Star Wars'' franchise. A typical lightsaber is depicted as a luminescent plasma blade about in length emitted from a metal hilt around in length. First introduced in the o ...

, flanked by Princess Leia Organa the robots

C-3PO C-3PO () or See-Threepio is a humanoid robot character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise who appears in the original trilogy, the prequel trilogy and the sequel trilogy. Built by Anakin Skywalker, was designed as a protocol droid intended to assis ...

and

R2-D2 R2-D2 () or Artoo-Detoo is a fictional robot character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise created by George Lucas. He has appeared in ten of the eleven theatrical ''Star Wars'' films to date. At various points throughout the course of the films, R2, ...

, and a number of Imperial stormtroopers; in the background is a large figure of

Darth Vader Darth Vader is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. The character is the central antagonist of the original trilogy and, as Anakin Skywalker, is one of the main protagonists in the prequel trilogy. ''Star Wars'' creator George ...

looming behind them, a similar composition to the theatrical poster artwork for ''Star Wars'' by

Tom Jung Thomas Jung is an American art director, graphic designer, illustrator, and storyboard artist.The Star Wars Poster Book, Stephen J. Sansweet, Chronicle Books (October 13, 2005)The Making of Star Wars: The Definitive Story Behind the Original Fil ...

and the Brothers Hildebrandt. When the novelization of the film was published, '' Star Wars: From the Adventures of Luke Skywalker'', the United Kingdom edition published by

Sphere Books Sphere Books is the name of two British paperback publishers. History The original Sphere Books was launched in 1966 by Thomson Corporation. Sphere was sold to Pearson PLC in 1985 and became part of Penguin. The name was retired in 1990. In 19 ...

featured cover art by Berkey ( Ballantine Books' US edition originally featured a cover by

). Another of Berkey's original paintings for ''Star Wars'' was a poster depicting the final battle over the Death Star from the final scenes of the film. Berkey reportedly never saw ''Star Wars'', and this is evidenced in the fact that he illustrated multiple

Millennium Falcon The ''Millennium Falcon'' is a fictional starship in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. Designed by Joe Johnston for the movie ''Star Wars'' (1977), it has subsequently appeared in ''The Star Wars Holiday Special'' (1978), ''The Empire Strikes Back' ...

spaceships (in the film there is only one). Berkey said of the poster in an interview, "It was the first time that I was asked to paint fictional space crafts not of my own design". The painting was issued as a souvenir poster that was included in the first release of the ''Star Wars'' Original Motion Picture Soundtrack by 20th Century Records. Berkey's involvement in ''Star Wars'' was brought to an end after a conflict of interest with his work for rival film studio Universal on the 1978 TV series '' Battlestar Galactica''. Berkey revisited the ''Star Wars'' universe in 1983 when he was commissioned to provide the cover artwork for the Atari

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

, '' Return of the Jedi: Death Star Battle''.

Postage stamps

In 1992, the

US Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U. ...

held a public vote on the design of a new

commemorative stamp A commemorative stamp is a postage stamp, often issued on a significant date such as an anniversary, to honor or commemorate a place, event, person, or object. The ''subject'' of the commemorative stamp is usually spelled out in print, unlike defi ...

which was to feature

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

. Two designs were shortlisted: a younger Elvis by Mark Stutzman, and an older Elvis by John Berkey. Stutzman's "Young Elvis" won the competition with over 75% of the votes. Berkey nevertheless went on to design 15 other postage stamps, including the 1991

Christmas stamp A Christmas stamp is a postage stamp with a Christmas theme, intended for use on seasonal mail such as Christmas cards. Many countries of the world issue such stamps, which are regular postage stamps (in contrast to Christmas seals) and are usu ...

featuring an illustration of Santa Claus.

Honors and awards

In 1999, John Berkey received the

Spectrum Award for Grand Master The Spectrum Award The Spectrum Awards were established in 1994 by Cathy Fenner and Arnie Fenner to recognize the best in fantasy, science fiction, and horror artwork created each year. Spectrum Award categories * Grand Master * Advertising * Boo ...

. In 2004 he was elected to the

Society of Illustrators The Society of Illustrators is a professional society based in New York City. It was founded in 1901 to promote the art of illustration and, since 1959, has held an annual exhibition. History Founding The Society of Illustrators was founded on ...

' Hall of Fame. On March 22, 2007,

honored him with "John Berkey Day." John Berkey was Artist Guest of Honor at Minicon 35 in 2000.

Death and legacy

Berkey died of heart failure on April 28, 2008 at his home in

. Many of his original paintings are periodically on display at ArtOrg in

Northfield, Minnesota Northfield is a city in Dakota and Rice counties in the State of Minnesota. It is mostly in Rice County, with a small portion in Dakota County. The population was 20,790 at the 2020 census. History Northfield was platted in 1856 by John W ...

. In his lifetime, Berkey influenced a number of artists, especially science fiction artists, among them

James Gurney James Gurney (born June 14, 1958) is an American artist and author known for his illustrated book series '' Dinotopia'', which is presented in the form of a 19th-century explorer's journal from an island utopia cohabited by humans and dinosaurs ...

, Drew Struzan, Vincent Di Fate, Stephen Youll,

John Picacio John Picacio (born September 3, 1969) is an American artist specializing in science fiction, fantasy and horror illustration. Biography Picacio was born on September 3, 1969, in San Antonio, Texas.

, Brandon Peterson and

Michael Kaluta Michael William Kaluta, sometimes credited as Mike Kaluta or Michael Wm. Kaluta (born August 25, 1947), is an American comics artist and writer best known for his acclaimed 1970s adaptation of the pulp magazine hero ''The Shadow'' with writer De ...

. Artist Corrie Erickson studied under Berkey.

References

* *

External links

John Berkey Art Ltd.
official website of the John Berkey estate *
John Berkey in the Science Fiction EncyclopediaInternational Association of Astronomical ArtistsInternational Space Art Network
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Berkey, John American speculative fiction artists 1932 births 2008 deaths Science fiction artists Film poster artists People from Excelsior, Minnesota People from LaMoure County, North Dakota American illustrators Space artists American poster artists