Richard M. Powers (February 24, 1921 – March 9, 1996) was an American

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

and

fantasy fiction Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...

illustrator. He was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in 2008 and the

Society of Illustrators The Society of Illustrators (SoI) 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. Since absorbing the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art (M ...

Hall of Fame in 2016.

Life and work

Born in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

into a Catholic family, Richard Michael Gorman Powers spent most of his early life supported by his mother and aunt. His father left the family when Powers was young. At eleven, Powers was introduced to art when his uncle gave him a sketch book, although in later life his uncle's wife would try to prevent him from making any art. He studied Greek at

Loyola University Loyola University is one of several Jesuit Universities named for St. Ignatius of Loyola. Loyola University may refer to: Democratic Republic of the Congo *Loyola University of Congo, Kinshasa, Congo Spain * Loyola University Andalusia, Sevilla ...

before switching to art, taking classes at Mizen Academy,

Chicago Art Institute The Art Institute of Chicago, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the United States. The museum is based in the Art Institute of Chicago Building in Chicago's Grant Park. Its collection, stewarded by 11 curatoria ...

and the

University of Illinois at Chicago The University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) is a public research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its campus is in the Near West Side community area, adjacent to the Chicago Loop. The second campus established under the Universi ...

. After enlisting to join World War II, he took more art classes at the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical ...

during basic training, thereafter working in the

Signal Corps A signal corps is a military branch, responsible for military communications (''signals''). Many countries maintain a signal corps, which is typically subordinate to a country's army. Military communication usually consists of radio, telephone, ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. He married and began a career in illustrations for magazines and publishing houses, continuing his art education at

The New School The New School is a Private university, private research university in New York City. It was founded in 1919 as The New School for Social Research with an original mission dedicated to academic freedom and intellectual inquiry and a home for p ...

in New York. Eventually, he became one of the most influential

and

artists of all time. He began by working in a conventional

pulp Pulp may refer to: * Pulp (fruit), the inner flesh of fruit * Pulp (band), an English rock band Engineering * Pulp (paper), the fibrous material used to make paper * Dissolving pulp, highly purified cellulose used in fibre and film manufacture ...

-derived style, but quickly evolved a personal Surrealist idiom influenced by the cubists and surrealists, especially

Picasso Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, Ceramic art, ceramicist, and Scenic ...

and

Yves Tanguy Raymond Georges Yves Tanguy (January 5, 1900 - January 15, 1955), known as just Yves Tanguy (; ), was a French Surrealist painter. Biography Tanguy was the son of a retired navy captain, and was born January 5, 1900, at the Ministry of Naval Aff ...

. He also painted in a more purely abstract style and worked in

collage Collage (, from the , "to glue" or "to stick together") is a technique of art creation, primarily used in the visual arts, but in music too, by which art results from an assembly of different forms, thus creating a new whole. (Compare with pasti ...

at a later age before dying in 1996 at the age of 75. From the 1940s through the 1960s, he did many of covers for

Doubleday Doubleday may refer to: * Doubleday (surname), including a list of people with the name Publishing imprints * Doubleday (publisher), imprint of Knopf Doubleday, a subsidiary of Penguin Random House * Doubleday Canada, imprint of Penguin Random ...

. During the 1950s and 1960s, he served as an unofficial art director for

Ballantine Books Ballantine Books is a major American book publisher that is a subsidiary of German media conglomerate Bertelsmann. Ballantine was founded in 1952 by Ian Ballantine with his wife, Betty Ballantine. Ballantine was acquired by Random House in ...

Cultural influence

In 2010,

Andy Partridge Andrew John Partridge (born 11 November 1953) is an English guitarist, singer-songwriter and record producer best known for co-founding the band XTC. He and Colin Moulding each acted as a songwriter and frontman for XTC, with Partridge writing a ...

, former frontman of the British new wave band

XTC XTC were an English rock band formed in Swindon in 1972. Fronted by songwriters Andy Partridge (vocals, guitars) and Colin Moulding (vocals, bass), the band gained popularity during the rise of punk and new wave in the 1970s, later playing ...

released a limited edition CD of music inspired by Powers' art titled ''POWERS''.

Selected works

Collections

*''Spacetimewarp: Paintings'' (1983) (Doubleday Science Fiction Book Club)

Illustrated books

Powers provided interior illustrations for a number of

Easton Press Easton Press, a division of MBI, Inc., based in Norwalk, Connecticut, is a publisher specializing in premium leather-bound books. In addition to canonical classics, religion, poetry and art books, they publish a selection of science fiction and ...

special editions of classic science fiction novels, including a 1986 editions of

The Gods Themselves ''The Gods Themselves'' is a 1972 science fiction novel written by Isaac Asimov, and his first original work in the science fiction genre in fifteen years (not counting his 1966 novelization of ''Fantastic Voyage''). It won the Nebula Award for ...

and ''To Your Scattered Bodies Go''. *''American Tall Tales'',

Adrien Stoutenburg Adrien Stoutenburg (December 1, 1916 – April 14, 1982) was an American poet and a prolific writer of juvenile literature. Her poetry collection ''Heroes, Advise Us'' was the 1964 Lamont Poetry Selection. Life Stoutenburg was born in Darfur, ...

, interior illustrations (Puffin, 1976) *'' The Number of the Beast'' (1980), interior artwork and cover illustrations, first edition

Album covers

*''

Symphonie Fantastique ' (''Fantastic Symphony: Episode in the Life of an Artist … in Five Sections'') Opus number, Op. 14, is a program music, programmatic symphony written by Hector Berlioz in 1830. The first performance was at the Paris Conservatoire on 5 December ...

Hector Berlioz Louis-Hector Berlioz (11 December 1803 – 8 March 1869) was a French Romantic music, Romantic composer and conductor. His output includes orchestral works such as the ''Symphonie fantastique'' and ''Harold en Italie, Harold in Italy'' ...

, Charles Munch, conductor,

Boston Symphony Orchestra The Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is an American orchestra based in Boston. It is the second-oldest of the five major American symphony orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five (orchestras), Big Five". Founded by Henry Lee Higginson in ...

RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic ...

, 1955 *'' Is It...Man or Astroman?''

Man or Astro-Man Man or Astro-man? is an American surf rock group that was formed in Auburn, Alabama in the early 1990s and came to prominence over the following decade. Primarily instrumental rock, instrumental, "Man or Astro-man?" blended the surf rock style ...

Estrus Records Estrus Records is an independent record label from Bellingham, Washington that makes surf, garage and trash rock music. They have released such bands as Mono Men, The Drags, The Mummies, Supercharger, Impala, Man or Astro-man?, the Makers ...

, 1995

Book covers

The

Internet Speculative Fiction Database The Internet Speculative Fiction Database (ISFDB) is a database of bibliographic information on genres considered speculative fiction, including science fiction and related genres such as fantasy, alternate history, and horror fiction. The ISFDB ...

catalogs hundreds of book covers illustrated by Powers beginning 1950 (two known). These include: *''

Pebble in the Sky ''Pebble in the Sky'' is a science fiction novel by American writer Isaac Asimov, published in 1950. This work is his first novel — parts of the ''Foundation'' series had appeared from 1942 onwards in magazines, but '' Foundation'' was not pu ...

'' (Doubleday, 1950), by Isaac Asimov * '' The Science Fiction Galaxy'' (Permabooks, 1950), ed.

Groff Conklin Edward Groff Conklin (September 6, 1904 – July 19, 1968) was an American science fiction anthologist. He edited 40 anthologies of science fiction, one of mystery stories (co-edited with physician Noah Fabricant), wrote books on home improvement ...

– uncredited *''The Mountain and the Valley'' (Henry Holt and Company, 1952), by Ernest Buckler *''

The Long Loud Silence ''The Long Loud Silence'' is a science fiction novel by American writer Wilson Tucker. It was first published in hardback edition by Rinehart & Co. in 1952, followed by Dell paperback editions in 1952 and 1954. At the Hugo Awards in 1953, ''T ...

'' (1952) *'' Tomorrow, the Stars'' (1952) *'' Shadow of Tomorrow'', Anthology of 17 stories, edited by

Frederik Pohl Frederik George Pohl Jr. (; November 26, 1919 – September 2, 2013) was an American list of science fiction authors, science-fiction writer, editor, and science fiction fandom, fan, with a career spanning nearly 75 years—from his first ...

Permabooks Permabooks was a paperback division of Doubleday, established by Doubleday in 1948. Although published by Doubleday's Garden City Publishing Company in Garden City, Long Island, the Permabooks editorial office was located at 14 West 49th Street i ...

, (1953) *''

Childhood's End ''Childhood's End'' is a 1953 science fiction novel by the British author Arthur C. Clarke. The story follows the peaceful alien invasion of Earth by the mysterious Overlords, whose arrival begins decades of apparent utopia under indi ...

'' (1953) *''

More Than Human ''More Than Human'' is a 1953 science fiction fix-up novel by American writer Theodore Sturgeon. It is a revision and expansion of his 1952 novella '' Baby Is Three'', which is bracketed by two additional parts written for the novel, "The F ...

'' (1953) *''

Expedition to Earth ''Expedition to Earth'' () is a collection of science fiction short story, short stories by English writer Arthur C. Clarke, Arthur C. Clarke. There are at least two variants of this book's table of contents, in different editions of the boo ...

'' (1953) *'' Ahead of Time'' (1953) *'' Star Science Fiction Stories No.1'' (1953) *''

Earthlight ''Earthlight'' is a science fiction novel by British writer Arthur C. Clarke, published in 1955. It is an expansion to novel length of a novella of the same name that he had published four years earlier. Overview ''Earthlight'' is a scie ...

'' (1955) *'' Citizen in Space'' (1955) *''

Who Goes There? and Other Stories ''Who Goes There? and Other Stories'' is a 1955 collection of science fiction stories by John W. Campbell Jr., published by Dell Books in 1955. No other editions were issued. Contents *"About John Campbell" (original essay by Theodore Sturgeon) ...

'' (1955) *''

The Human Angle ''The Human Angle'' is the second collection of science fiction stories by American writer William Tenn, published simultaneously in hardback and paperback by Ballantine Books in 1956. Ballantine reprinted the collection in 1964 and 1968.Tuck, '' ...

'' (1956) *''

Reach for Tomorrow ''Reach for Tomorrow'' is a 1956 collection of science fiction short stories by British writer Arthur C. Clarke. All the stories originally appeared in a number of different publications. Contents This collection includes: *"Preface" *" Rescue ...

'' (1956) *''

Robots and Changelings ''Robots and Changelings'' is the second collection of fantasy and science fiction stories by Lester del Rey, published by Ballantine Books in 1957. Contents * "The Pipes of Pan" ( ''Unknown'' 1940) * "Little Jimmy" '' F&SF'' 1957) * "The Copper ...

'' (1957) *''

Starburst MicroPro International Corporation was an American software company founded in 1978 in San Rafael, California. They are best known as the publisher of WordStar, a popular early word processor for personal computers. History Founding and early su ...

'' (1958) *'' On an Odd Note'' (1958) *'' The Cosmic Rape'' (1958) *'' Man of Earth'' (1958) *'' Wolfbane'' (1959) *'' Nine Tomorrows (collection)'' (1959) *''

Far Rainbow ''Far Rainbow'' (, ) is a 1963 science fiction novel by Soviet writers Boris and Arkady Strugatsky, set in the Noon Universe. Plot summary The novel tells the story of the Rainbow catastrophe of 2156. It starts very simple, as a Wave observer ...

'' (1963) *'' Greybeard'' (1964) *''

The Invincible ''The Invincible'' () is a hard science fiction novel by Polish writer Stanisław Lem, serialized in ''Gazeta Bialostocka'' in 1963 and published as a book in 1964. * In 1991, Swedish author Kerstin Ekman created an educational computer game t ...

'' (1964) (1973 translation) *'' The Second Invasion from Mars'' (1968) *'' The Daleth Effect'' (1970) *''

Vermilion Sands ''Vermilion Sands'' is a collection of science fiction short stories by British writer J. G. Ballard, first published in 1971. All the stories are set in an imaginary vacation resort called Vermilion Sands which suggests, among other places, Pal ...

'' (1971) *''

The Fabulous Riverboat ''The Fabulous Riverboat'' is a science fiction novel by American writer Philip José Farmer, the second book in the Riverworld series. A shorter version of the novel was serialized in '' If'' magazine as "The Felled Star" (July and August 1967) ...

'' (1971) *''

Roadside Picnic ''Roadside Picnic'' (, ) is a philosophical science fiction novel by the Soviet authors Arkady and Boris Strugatsky that was written in 1971 and published in 1972. It is their most popular and most widely translated novel outside the former Sovie ...

'' (1977) *'' Firing the Cathedral'' (2002)

Short stories

*''Three Acts With Ballet'' (1947) January–February 1947 Story Magazine pages 85 to 92

References

;Citations ;Sources * Frank, Jane
"The Art of Richard Powers"

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

: Paper Tiger, 2001. *''The Frank Collection: A Showcase of the World's Finest Fantastic Art'', Jane and Howard Frank. Paper Tiger, 1999

External links

Richard M. Powers

* A collection of Richard M. Powers' published artwork
The Powers Compendium
* *
Cyber Art Gallery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Powers, Richard M. 1921 births 1996 deaths 20th-century American illustrators American science fiction artists Science Fiction Hall of Fame inductees Place of death missing