March 29th is the birthday of a pulp artist you’ve probably never heard of—Roy Vernon Hunt (1914-1986). Hunt was not an A-list pulp artist, more of a hard-working illustrator who happened to love the pulps. In a rare example of fame coming very late, First Fandom Experience has released a book called, Roy V. Hunt: A Retrospective. This full-color volume is a wonderful glimpse into the artist’s life and works. As I flipped through the pages, I realized that Hunt was more than a just a historical footnote. He was something special in a sea of entirely interesting things. And he had been all but forgotten…until now.
Roy Vernon Hunt spent his life in Denver, Colorado from his birth in 1914 until his death in 1986. His first published illustration appeared in the fanzine, THE ALCHEMIST, in February, 1940. By then, he’d already begun a lifelong occupation as curator and artist at the Colorado State Historical Museum.
It was a single piece of art that inspired the editors at First Fandom Experience to take look deeper into Hunt’s work. That piece was published in the Spring 1941 issue of the fanzine, STARLIGHT. It was heads and shoulders above the usual quality seen in fanzines of the time. Digging deeper, the editors discovered that Hunt produced a wide range of illustrations for many fanzines of the period including: THE ALCHEMIST, THE SCIENCE FICTION FAN, FANFARE, LE ZOMBIE, and SPACEWAY. During his long art career, Hunt’s professional illustrations were seen in various genres—science fiction, fantasy, horror, and mystery. He was hired by the Federal Art Project under the Works Progress Administration and produced art for the WPA sometime between 1940 and 1942. Fortunately, at least some of his Federal Art Project works still exist and are highlighted in Roy V. Hunt: A Retrospective.
Letters, photos and other rare ephemera, along with contextual and historical commentaries, provide a deeper understanding into the life of this unsung artist.
Hunt’s work was influenced by the prevailing art movements of the time—Art Deco, Expressionism, and Futurism. His woodcuts, created for the WPA, are pure American Regionalism. Through the course of the book we see his style evolve and grow from approximately 1940 until 1980. Towards the end of the book there is an interesting chapter called, “The Technology of Fan Art” which gives us an insider’s glimpse into how early fanzines were reproduced and printed.
If the book has a failing it’s that I’m left wanting to know more about Hunt. But I’ll make an educated guess that the folks at First Fandom Experience dug as deeply as it was possible to dig. I’m glad to know this much about him, anyway.
I’d recommend Roy V. Hunt: A Retrospective to pulp fans and collectors, historians interested in lesser-known artists of the Works Progress Administration, and folks wanting to know more about the history of science fiction. Even more so, I’d recommend Roy V. Hunt: A Retrospective to any working artist today. His career path is understandable, even recognizable, to most commercial illustrators. He produced works that inspired him around a more stable career. He stands for all of us little-known but passionate artists and I’m glad that people will now hear of him again.
Roy V. Hunt: A Retrospective, First Fandom Experience. (Price: $45 including shipping, 144 pages, full color). Order a copy of Roy V. Hunt: A Retrospective.
This is the Rocketeer signing off for today.