View source for Frank R. Paul

{{Short description|American science fiction illustrator (1884–1963)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2023}}
{{Use American English|date=May 2023}}
{{Infobox artist
| image            = FrankRPaul39.jpg
| alt              = 
| caption          = Paul, {{circa|1939}}
| birth_name       = Rudolph Franz Paul
| birth_date       = {{birth date|1884|04|18}}
| birth_place      = [[Radkersburg]], Austria-Hungary<!-- DO NOT LINK, see [[MOS:GEOLINK]] -->
| death_date       = {{Death date and age|1963|06|29|1884|04|18}}
| death_place      = [[Teaneck, New Jersey]], U.S.
| spouse           = Rudolpha Costa Rigelsen
| movement         = 
| patrons          = 
| awards           = 
| website          = 
| known_for        = Illustration
}}
[[File:Amazing Stories 1927 08.jpg|thumb|right|Paul's cover for ''[[Amazing Stories]]'', August 1927, illustrating ''[[The War of the Worlds]]'']]

'''Frank Rudolph Paul''' ({{IPA|de|paʊl|lang}}; born '''Rudolph Franz Paul'''; April 18, 1884 – June 29, 1963) was an American illustrator of [[pulp magazine]]s in the [[science fiction]] field.

A discovery of editor [[Hugo Gernsback]], Paul was influential in defining the look of both cover art and interior illustrations in the nascent science fiction pulps of the 1920s.<ref>Jon Gustafson and Peter Nicholls, ''The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction'', ed. John Clute and Peter Nicholls, 1993, St. Martin's Press, N.Y.</ref>

The [[EMP Museum#Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame|Science Fiction Hall of Fame]] inducted him in 2009.<ref name=sfhof2009/>

==Biography==
Paul was born on April 18, 1884, in [[Radkersburg]],<ref name=PulpCatalog>[https://www.pulpartists.com/PF.html Catalog: Paul, Frank], at [http://www.pulpartists.com Field Guide to Wild American Pulp Artists]; by David Saunders; published 2009; retrieved March 18, 2015</ref> Austria-Hungary. His father was from [[Hungary]] and his mother from [[Czechoslovakia]].<ref name=census1930>[[1930 United States census]] living in [[River Vale, New Jersey]]</ref> He emigrated to the United States in 1906. He married Rudolpha Costa Rigelsen, a Belgian immigrant, in 1913,<ref name=PulpCatalog/> and they had four children, Robert S. Paul (born 1915), Francis L. Paul (born 1919), Joan C. Paul (born 1921), and Patricia Ann Paul (born 1929).<ref name=census1930/><ref name=census1920>[[1920 United States census]] living in [[Washington Township, Bergen County, New Jersey]]</ref> He studied art in Vienna, Paris, and New York City. He went to work for the [[Jersey Journal]] performing [[graphic design]]. Publisher [[Hugo Gernsback]] hired him in 1914 to illustrate ''[[The Electrical Experimenter]]'', a science magazine.<ref name=hof-paul/>

He died on June 29, 1963, aged 79, at his home in [[Teaneck, New Jersey]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Frank R. Paul Dead; Illustrator Was 79 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1963/06/30/archives/frank-r-paul-dead-illustrator-was-79.html |quote=Frank R. Paul, an artist who was known as the dean of science-fiction illustrators, died at his home, 700 Cedar Lane. He was 79 years old. |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=June 30, 1963 |access-date=2015-03-18 }}</ref>

==Work==
Paul's work is characterized by dramatic compositions (often involving enormous machines, robots or spaceships), bright or even garish colors, and a limited ability to depict human faces, especially the female ones. His early architectural training is also evident in his work.

Paul illustrated the cover of Gernsback's own novel, ''Ralph 124C 41+: A Romance of the Year 2660'' (The Stratford Company, 1925), originally a 1911–1912 serial.<ref name=isfdb/> He painted 38 covers for ''Amazing Stories'' from April 1926 to June 1929 and seven for the ''Amazing Stories Annual'' and ''Quarterly''; with several dozen additional issues featuring his art on the back cover (May 1939 to July 1946), and several issues from April 1961 to September 1968 featuring new or reproduced art. After Gernsback [[Experimenter Publishing bankruptcy|lost control]] of ''Amazing Stories'' in 1929, Paul followed him to the ''[[Wonder Stories]]'' magazines and associated quarterlies, which published 103 of his color covers from June 1929 to April 1936. Paul also painted covers for ''[[Planet Stories]]'', ''[[Superworld Comics]]'', ''[[Science Fiction (American magazine)|Science Fiction]]'' magazine, and the first issue (October–November 1939) of ''[[Marvel Comics]]''. The latter featured the debuts of [[Human Torch]] and [[Sub-Mariner]], and good copies sell at auction for twenty to thirty thousand dollars. All told, his magazine covers exceed 220.

His most famous ''Amazing Stories'' cover is probably that for August 1927 (see image), illustrating ''[[The War of the Worlds (novel)|The War of the Worlds]]'' by [[H. G. Wells]], whose serial reprint began in that number.<ref name=isfdb/>

Paul created hundreds of interior illustrations from no later than 1920.<ref name=isfdb/>

''From The Pen of Paul: The Fantastic Images of Frank R. Paul'', edited and an introduction by Stephen Korshak with a preface by Sir Arthur C. Clarke, is a giant compendium and very first collection ever published showcasing many of Paul's full-color science-fiction artwork; Korshak Collection.<ref>[https://www.korshakcollection.com/art-history-books From The Pen of Paul: The Fantastic Images of Frank R. Paul], Stephen D. Korshak with a preface by Sir Arthur C. Clarke. Shasta-Phoenix, 2009.</ref>

==Influence on the genre==
[[File:Amazing stories 192811.jpg|thumb|right|Surprisingly accurate depiction of Jupiter by Frank R. Paul on the November 1928 cover of ''Amazing Stories'']]
In many ways, Frank R. Paul's achievements and influence on the field through the decades cannot be overestimated. His work appeared on the cover of the first issue (April 1926) of ''[[Amazing Stories]]'' magazine, the first magazine dedicated to science fiction. He would paint all the covers for over three years. These visions of robots, spaceships, and aliens were presented to an America wherein most people did not even have a telephone. Indeed, they were the first science fiction images seen by [[Ray Bradbury]], [[Arthur C. Clarke]], [[Forrest J Ackerman]], and others who would go on to great prominence in the field. Arthur C. Clarke wrote that the first science fiction magazine he encountered was the November 1928 edition of ''Amazing Stories'', with a cover by Paul. He cites this as a crucial early incident that shifted his interest to science fiction. Clarke also comments on Paul's accurate depiction of Jupiter on that 1928 cover:<ref>{{Cite book |last=Clarke |first=Arthur C. |title=The Sentinel |publisher=Berkley Books |year=1983 |isbn=0-425-09389-1 |location=New York |pages=3}}</ref>

{{Blockquote|text="But the giant planet is painted with such stunning accuracy that one could use this cover to make a very good case for precognition; Paul has shown turbulent cloud formations, cyclonic patterns and enigmatic white structures like earth-sized amoebae which were not revealed until the Voyager missions over fifty years later. How did he know?"}}

Paul's emphasis on concept, action and milieu over human figures was to continue to be a defining genre signal of SF art even when executed by successors with greater technical skill and more depth of artistic vision. The visual language of the majority of SF art centers, even today, are more sophisticated versions of Paul's central tropes.

The '''Frank R. Paul Award''', named in his honor, was awarded by the Nashville Science Fiction Association from 1976 to 1996 to such distinguished artists as [[Frank Kelly Freas]], [[Alex Schomburg]] and [[Victoria Poyser]].<ref>[https://www.sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/frank_r_paul_award Frank R Paul Award] at SF Encyclopedia</ref>

==Firsts==
[[Image:Science and Invention Jan 1922 pg809.png|thumb|right|Early story illustration in Gernsback's ''Science and Invention'' (January 1922)]]

Frank R. Paul can be credited with the first color painting of a space station (August 1929, ''[[Science Wonder Stories]]'') published in the U.S.<ref>Ron Miller, ''Space Art'', 1978, Starlog Publ., p. 136</ref> His cover for the November 1929 ''Science Wonder Stories'' was an early, if not the earliest, depiction of a [[flying saucer]].<ref>November 1929 ''Science Wonder Stories''  http://www.frankwu.com/Paul-8.html</ref> This painting appeared almost two decades before the sightings of mysterious flying objects by [[Kenneth Arnold]]. So large was his stature that he was the only guest of honor at the first [[World Science Fiction Convention]] in 1939. He has been described as the first person to make a living drawing spaceships; this is a slight exaggeration, as much of his income was also derived from technical drawing.<ref>''The Science Fiction Roll of Honor'', ed. Frederik Pohl, 1975, Random House, New York, pp. 223-227</ref> He was also the cover artist of ''[[Marvel Mystery Comics|Marvel Comics]]'' #1 (Oct. 1939), the first ever [[Marvel Comic]] and became well known for his work.

He was very innovative in the depiction of spaceships. Several of his illustrations were disc shaped and it has been speculated that he may have, accidentally, created the UFO craze when the first sighting of lights in the sky were described as disc shaped; this would have been the result of the psychological phenomenon known as [[mental set]].{{clarification needed|date=July 2021}}<ref>Armando Simon (2011), "Pulp fiction UFOs". ''Skeptic'', Volume 16, no. 4.</ref>

== Gallery ==
<gallery widths="180" heights="180">
File:Science wonder stories 192908.jpg|Space station, August 1929
File:Science Wonder Stories Nov 1929 - flying saucer.jpg|Early depiction of a flying saucer, November 1929 
File:Amazing Stories April 1926.jpg|First issue of ''Amazing Stories'', April 1926
File:2605 Amazing Stories May 1926.jpg|Martian being for "The Crystal Egg" by H. G. Wells, May 1926
File:Amazing Stories September 1926.jpg|Creature from ''[[In the Abyss]]'' by [[H. G. Wells]], September 1926

File:Amazing stories 192702.jpg|Prehistoric monsters from ''[[The Land That Time Forgot (novel)|The Land That Time Forgot]]'' by [[Edgar Rice Burroughs]], February 1927
File:Amazing stories 192703.jpg|Space scene, 1927
File:Amazing Stories Volume 02 Number 06.jpg|Man-eating plant, September 1927
File:Amazing stories quarterly 1928spr.jpg|Spaceship scene, 1928
File:Amazing stories 192808.jpg|Flying suit, August 1928
File:Amazing stories quarterly 1928fal.jpg|Giant ants, 1928
File:Amazing stories 192902.jpg|Dinosaur hunted by aliens, February 1929
File:Amazing stories 192901.jpg|City destroyed by an ice sheet, January 1929
File:Amazing Stories Annual (1927).jpg|John Carter from ''Master Mind of Mars'' by Edgar Rice Burroughs, 1927
File:Amazing Stories no. 31 (October 1928).jpg|Robot battling a lion, October 1928
File:Science wonder stories 192906 v1 n1.jpg|First issue of ''Science Wonder Stories'', June 1929
File:Science Wonder Quarterly Fall 1929.jpg|Spaceship scene, 1929
File:Wonder stories quarterly 1930sum.jpg|Giant alien monster, 1930
File:Wonder stories quarterly 1931win.jpg|Spaceship hit by a meteor, 1931
File:Wonder stories 193302.jpg|Moon approaches Earth, February 1933
File:Wonder stories 193506.jpg|"Seeds from Space" plant beings, June 1935
File:Wonder stories 193509.jpg|Mechanical monster, September 1935
File:Life on Europa.jpg|Life on Europa, back cover of ''Amazing Stories'', September 1940
File:Future Fiction November 1940.jpg|Giant fighting machines, November 1940
File:City on Neptune.png|City on Neptune, back cover of ''Amazing Stories'', March 1941
File:Amazing Stories August 1946 back cover.png|Flying saucers on back cover of ''Amazing Stories'' in 1946
File:Science fiction plus 195303 v1 n1.jpg|Rocket suit, March 1953
File:Science fiction plus 195304.jpg|Thousand-year space ark, May 1953
File:Science fiction plus 195310.jpg|Interstellar spaceship, October 1953
File:Science fiction plus 195312.jpg|Robot city, December 1953

</gallery>

==References==
{{Reflist |25em |refs=
<ref name=isfdb>
{{ISFDB name |731}} (ISFDB). Retrieved 2013-04-09.</ref>

<!-- awards refs -->
<ref name=sfhof2009>
{{Cite press release |url=http://www.empsfm.org/press/index.asp?articleID=1386 |title=EMP |access-date=2017-05-12 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090814011051/http://www.empsfm.org/press/index.asp?articleID=1386 |archive-date=August 14, 2009 }}.  2009(?). Experience Music Project and Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame (''empsfm.org''). Archived 2009-08-14. Retrieved 2013-03-19.</ref>
<ref name=hof-paul>
{{sfhof |1381 | Frank R. Paul}}. Archived 2012-07-22. Retrieved 2013-03-20.</ref>

}}

==External links==
{{commons}}
* {{Gutenberg author | id=31333| name=Frank R. Paul}}
* {{ISFDB name |731}}
* {{sfhof |1381 | Frank R. Paul}}
* [http://www.frankwu.com/paul1.html Frank R. Paul Gallery]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070930200820/http://blogs.amctv.com/scifiscanner/2007/07/frank-r-paul-th.html Sci-fi Scanner]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090818231747/http://budsartbooks.com/prod.cfm/pc/FOMD/cid/1  Collections of Frank R. Paul]

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Paul, Frank R.}}
[[Category:1884 births]]
[[Category:1963 deaths]]
[[Category:American illustrators]]
[[Category:Emigrants from Austria-Hungary to the United States]]
[[Category:People from Bad Radkersburg]]
[[Category:Artists from Teaneck, New Jersey]]
[[Category:Pulp fiction artists]]
[[Category:American science fiction artists]]
[[Category:Science Fiction Hall of Fame inductees]]