Virgil Finlay, a largely self-taught artist, would eventually be classified as one of the most important science fiction pulp illustrators of all time. His 2,600+ works in both color and black and white had a profound impact on this genre of art.

 

Finlay was a childhood fan of science fiction and particularly of fantasy appearing in Amazing Stories and Weird Tales magazines in the late 1920s. By 1935, at age twenty-one, Finlay was ready to submit his art portfolio to his favorite magazine: Weird Tales. The editor of Weird Tales was greatly impressed with the imagination and superior execution of Finlay’s portfolio but was concerned that this technique would not reproduce well on the magazine’s cheap wood pulp paper. He bought only one illustration as a test but once the art proved to reproduce without any trouble, he commissioned Finlay for more.

 

Finlay’s pen and ink drawings and scratchboard works appeared mainly on the inside of magazines to illustrate the stories. Interior illustrations were once considered fillers and an annoyance by readers who wanted more stories and less images. This changed with exposure to Finlay’s exquisite craftsmanship and the sheer beauty of his drawings, which elevated interior illustration art. It did not take long for fans of fantasy and sci-fi to also become fans of Finlay. Even authors were inspired by his imagery, including H.P. Lovecraft who wrote a sonnet about one of Finlay’s works.