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real fictions

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Love Lostby L. A. Williams, 2008, mixed media on board, 22 x 14. Collection Patrick and Jeannie Wilshire.

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The Pit and the Pendulumby Harry Clarke, 1919, ink, 14 x 11. Collection Stephen D. Korshak.

Imaginative realism presents the fantastic and fictional as if they were real. Several new exhibitions—full of gods, goblins, detectives, and dinosaurs—cast light on this artistic tradition that began in the 19th century.

by AuStin R. WiLLiAmS

maginative-realist painting thrives on a joyful incon-

gruity. The viewer looks at one of these works and sees

the same elements found in any representational paint-

ing—such as three-dimensional form, convincing light and shadow, and carefully keyed color—but the content is just a bit different. An imaginative-realist landscape shows not a picturesque woodland brook but a dazzling, impossibly scaled castle. An imaginative-realist portrait pres-ents not a distinguished aristocrat but an extravagantly costumed pirate. And instead of Washington crossing the Delaware, imaginative realism gives us demonic warriors f lying into battle atop winged reptilian beasts. These scenes come straight from the minds of artists and authors. And the joy of viewing them is twofold: We revel in their fantastical content at the same time that we appreciate them for their virtues as “realistic” paintings. They look as if they could have been painted from life … if their subjects actually existed.

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Pennsylvania. “The show covers what we consider to be modern imaginative realism, beginning with the Romantics and extend-ing to the present,” says Patrick Wilshire, who, along with his wife, Jeannie, curated the exhi-bition and serves as co-director of the Association of Fantastic Art, which organizes the annual IlluXCon symposium devoted to fantastic art.

Since the earliest years of paint-ing, artists have created scenes incorporating mythology and magic. But “At the Edge” locates the start of imaginative realism as a coherent tradition in the early 19th century. “The themes themselves—gods

and monsters—have been around since people were writing on cave walls,” says Wilshire. “But start-ing with the Romantics and then moving into the Pre-Raphaelites, there’s a distinct shift away from the more clinical approach of Ingres or David.”

Edward Burne-Jones, John William Waterhouse, Gustave Moreau, and John Martin are a few of the artists who worked in imaginative realism during the mid-19th century. Later, such academic painters as Jean-Léon Gérôme and William-Adolphe Bouguereau incorporated aspects of imaginative realism into their work by taking Romantic scenes

several steps closer to the real world, depicting the exotic rather than the wholly fantastic.

All these artists helped lay the groundwork for the Golden Age of Illustration, which lasted from the 1880s until shortly after World War I and included such luminary artists as Howard Pyle, Austin Abbey, N.C.

Wyeth, Frank Schoonover, Arthur Rackham, Edmund Dulac, J. Allen St. John, and Maxfield Parrish. These artists possessed uncanny technical abilities and were able to immediately communicate narra-tives of excitement and mystery.

“After World War I, the Golden Age of Illustration petered out, along with the interest in illus-trated books,” Wilshire says. “The fine-art community had moved on to Modernism and wasn’t inter-ested in narrative work anymore.” Most artists who created imagina-tive art continued as illustrators, working with the relatively new literary genres of pulp fiction, sci-ence fiction, and fantasy.

Imaginative realism refers to a broad school of painting encom-passing representational art that depicts patently imaginary places, people, creatures, and scenes. This includes artwork that is often categorized as fantasy or science fiction, but it is not limited to those subjects. The tradition has roots in several major strands of Western painting—the Romantics, the Symbolists, and the Surrealists all worked, to various extents, in imag-inative realism.

More than two centuries of imaginative realism will be explored later this year in the exhibition “At the Edge: Art of the Fantastic,” at the Allentown Art Museum, in

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The Sultan Nisnerby Willy Pogney, 1915, watercolor, 16 x 12. Collection Stephen D. Korshak.

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Eerie No. 8by Frank Frazetta, 1967, oil on board, 21 x 18. Collection James Halperin.

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Imaginative realism experienced a rebirth in the 1960s and 1970s, centered around the artwork of Frank Frazetta. “Frazetta was the first of the contemporary artists to really look back to the Golden Age and to the 19th century and meld the technical and emotional approach of that work with the themes and visual lexicon that had been developed through the middle part of the 20th century,” Wilshire says. “After that, everyone is influenced by Frazetta.”

Among these later artists are Jeffrey Jones, Michael Whelan, and Boris Vallejo—all influential fantasy art-ists in their own right, and all of whom will be represented in “At the Edge.”

At times, virtually all contem-porary imaginative realism is described as “illustration,” even if a particular piece wasn’t commis-

sioned as an illustration. In reality, imaginative realism and illustration are not simply the same thing; the relationship

between them is complex. “In most of the 20th century, if you wanted to do this kind of painting and tell fan-tastic stories, and if you also wanted to be able to eat, then you had to be an illustrator,” Wilshire says. “That was your only option. But from an artistic perspective, there is no such thing as an illustrator. Some paint-ers have publishers for clients, while others have collectors or galleries or museums as clients. Those whose clients are publishers are referred to as illustrators, but that’s the only difference.”

Wilshire notes that imaginative realism’s reputation has often suf-fered because the original works of art have rarely been exhibited. Even viewers who are very inter-ested in the paintings often can only see them on the covers of small paperback books that are covered in text—hardly ideal con-ditions for appreciating works of art. “It’s like judging the Mona Lisa based on a postcard,” Wilshire says. “The works are filled with so much detail and technique that doesn’t reproduce. Even though the artists assumed no one would see it, they insisted on executing their craft to the highest possible level.”

Imaginative-realist paintings are notable for their craftsmanship. It may at first feel strange to think of a scene of wizards and drag-ons as a realist painting, but these works have such solid composi-tion, rendering, and atmosphere that such parallels can’t be ignored. “In order to work effectively in this field, you have to be a really good realist painter,” Wilshire says. He also notes that many of the attend-ees at the IlluXCon symposium are students who are not necessarily interested in fantastic art but come to study the paintings for their technical qualities.

In recent years, cultural shifts have helped broaden imaginative

realism’s appeal. “Thirty years ago, this was all in nerd-land,” Wilshire says. “Now it’s not just acceptable but mainstream.” Interest in imaginative realism is growing among collectors and audiences. IlluXCon is in its fifth

year, and “At the Edge,” which will include roughly 150 works of art, is one of the larg-est exhibitions ever devoted to the subject. Prices for art-work by major artists—Frank Frazetta in particular—have been breaking records.

Most important, imagi-native realism is alive and well as a school of painting. More artists are working in the arena than have been for

decades, continuing a tradition of fine art that began more than 200 years ago. As Wilshire says, “Even if you don’t know a hobbit from a hole in the ground, you will be artistically inspired by these paintings.”

Second Drowningby Don maitz, 1979,

oil on masonite, 32 x 42. Collection

the artist.

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Beauty and the Beastby thomas Black-shear, 1994, oil on board, 42 x 34. Collection the artist.

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The Sacrificeby Patrick Jones, 2012, oil, 48 x 36. Collection Gareth Knowles.

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ne contemporary art-ist who exemplifies

much of what makes the tradition of imagi-

native realism so special is James Gurney, the author and illustrator of the Dinotopia book series. “James Gurney is one of the significant figures in imagi-native realism today,” Wilshire says. “In fact, he’s the one who first coined the term ‘imaginative realism’ to refer to this kind of painting.” This year, two museum exhibitions allow audiences to take a deeper look at the artist’s work. One show is currently on view at the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, in Wausau, Wisconsin; the other opens in September at the Lyman Allyn Art Museum, in New London, Connecticut.

Gurney rates high on both key qualities of imaginative real-ism: His paintings reveal a wild imagination and are also strong examples of representational artwork. They depict a land where dinosaurs and humans live together, for the most part harmoniously. The prehistoric creatures share the stage with clothing, technology, and archi-tecture taken from multiple eras

of human history. It all com-bines into a wonderfully fun and anachronistic narrative.

In keeping with imaginative realism’s long history of working in conjunction with literature, one of Gurney’s sources of inspiration is Jules Verne and 19th-century science fiction. The Dinotopia books not only are about an island full of magical creatures but also feature submersibles and a journey under the earth—all of which harken back to Verne’s novels. Gurney also pulls from numerous strands of art history, including landscape artists of the Hudson River School and the

“At the Edge: Art of the Fantastic” will be on view at the Allentown Art museum, in Pennsylvania, from June 3 to September 9. the exhibition will be accompanied by an illustrated catalogue. For more information, visit www.

allentownartmuseum.org or www.illuxcon.com.

“Dinotopia: The Fantastical Art of James Gurney” is on view at the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art museum, in

Wausau, Wisconsin, until April 7. the exhibition is accompanied by numerous programs at the museum for

both adults and children. For more information, visit www.lywam.org.

“Dinotopia: Science, Art, and Imagination,” featuring approximately 70 works by Gurney, will be on view at the Lyman Allyn Art museum, in new London, Connecticut, from September 22 to February 2, 2013. Among the pro-

grams occurring in conjunction with the exhibition will be a talk and book signing with Gurney on October 13. For more

information, visit www.lymanallyn.org.

About the Exhibitions

Golden Age illustrators.Gurney depicts dinosaurs in

a way that combines the eye of an artist and the eye of a scientist. He pays great attention to what will seem anatomically possible, even on an entirely invented creature. His artwork thus embodies the rich irony at the heart of imagina-tive realism—it depicts imaginary scenes with such verisimilitude that it all seems possible.

Although the Dinotopia books feature admirably large and high-quality reproductions—a far cry from the mass-market paper-back that has been the forum for so much imaginative real-ism—there is no substitute for seeing the works in person. Both

for Gurney’s artwork and for the paintings of historical imagina-tive realists, this is an opportunity viewers are lucky to finally have. A

Austin R. Williams is an associate editor of American Artist.

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Up Highby James Gurney,

2005, oil on board, 27 x 27. Collection

the artist.this painting is

featured in “Dinotopia: the Fantastical Art of James Gurney,”

at the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art museum, in Wausau, Wisconsin.

above

Canal Rescueby James Gurney, 2005, oil on board, 13 x 14. Col-lection the artist. All artwork by James Gurney ©James Gurney 1992, 1995, and 2007. Dinotopia is a registered trademark of James Gurney.this painting is featured in “Dinotopia: the Fantastical Art of James Gurney,” at the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art museum, in Wausau, Wisconsin.

above

King of Kingsby James Gurney, 1995, oil on board, 12 x 19. Collection the artist.

top right

Palace in the Cloudsby James Gurney, 1989, oil on canvas mounted to panel, 46 x 36. Private collection.

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Reprinted from American Artist: Copyright © 2012 by Interweave Press, LLC. All rights reserved.