Tapestry: The Paintings of Robert McGinnis

Rating:
Summary: A Rare Talent
Review: Arnie and Cathy Fenner deliver another wonderful book! Their books on FRAZETTA are amazing and so is this one! McGinnis was as important to the Connery Bond as the film directors were! His art is magical! This book holds a special place on my book shelf! THANK YOU for the GREAT job! Rick

Rating:
Summary: McGinnis is AWESOME!
Review: Arnie and Cathy Fenner deliver another wonderful book! Their books on FRAZETTA are amazing and so is this one! McGinnis was as important to the Connery Bond as the film directors were! His art is magical! This book holds a special place on my book shelf! THANK YOU for the GREAT job! Rick

Rating:
Summary: Astonishing Treasure
Review: I had never even heard of Robert McGinnis until I was linked to this page by the editors' names (the Fenners) who I know from their affiliation with science fiction art. The reviews were so favorable that I decided to gamble on this book without any other familiarity with McGinnis. I usually lose on these impulsive gambles. Not this time. Suffice it to say this book is a total prize, it's just filled cover to cover with extreme beauty.

I am particularly impressed with this man's diversity of talent...he does great "pin up" type art of beautiful women, and then he does these embracing outdoor scenes which are almost within the genre of "Marlboro" commercials and then there are other pieces which are evocative of Norman Rockwell and Maxfield Parrish. Each painting is fantastic and to me represents a dinstinct aspect of the best phenomena in Earthly life. However, there is even a little sci-fi art in here, so not all his fantastic visions are necessarily Earth-bound!

I love unexpected treasure!

Rating:
Summary: Astonishing Treasure
Review: I had never even heard of Robert McGinnis until I was linked to this page by the editors' names (the Fenners) who I know from their affiliation with science fiction art. The reviews were so favorable that I decided to gamble on this book without any other familiarity with McGinnis. I usually lose on these impulsive gambles. Not this time. Suffice it to say this book is a total prize, it's just filled cover to cover with extreme beauty.

I am particularly impressed with this man's diversity of talent...he does great "pin up" type art of beautiful women, and then he does these embracing outdoor scenes which are almost within the genre of "Marlboro" commercials and then there are other pieces which are evocative of Norman Rockwell and Maxfield Parrish. Each painting is fantastic and to me represents a dinstinct aspect of the best phenomena in Earthly life. However, there is even a little sci-fi art in here, so not all his fantastic visions are necessarily Earth-bound!

I love unexpected treasure!

Rating:
Summary: Best book on best illustrator
Review: I'm in agreement with everyone else, that 1.) Robert Mcginnis is the best paperback book illustrator ever (perhaps rivaled only by Frank Frazetta); and 2.) This is the best collection of Mcginnis art available in book form. There's only one flaw in the whole thing: it never says what medium the artist uses (I found out it's egg tempera). If you love to gaze at beautiful paintings of every genre subject, or if you are yourself a painter or commercial artist, this belongs on your bookshelf. I've had it for years, and never tire of looking at it. A classic.

Rating:
Summary: A Fantastic Steal Of A Deal!
Review: I've been familiar with Robert F. McGinnis's work since the mid-1960s, when the covers he painted for "kiss-kiss bang-bang" paperback mystery novels by Carter Brown, Richard S. Prather, and Brett Halliday got my attention sitting on the bookstands. I was a teenager and I thought they were HOT, and collected them.

However, I had no idea who he was until a few years ago, and was astounded to find out that nearly ALL these covers were by the same guy! And that this same guy did the famous movie posters for the James Bond series and BARBARELLA, not to mention illustrations for westerns and romance novels.

The cover of TAPESTRY features a western painting, which hinted that McGinnis's notorious "dangerous dames" would get short shrift, but the back cover, from John D. MacDonald's CANCEL ALL OUR VOWS, suggested otherwise, and in fact there's plenty to go around for everyone. The book is cleanly laid out and the plates are gorgeous. Cover paintings from Prather's STRIP FOR MURDER and THE SCRAMBLED YEGGS are a punch in the eye. At $24, TAPESTRY's a steal. I would have paid $50 and not thought myself ripped off.

McGinnis has been called the "last great pinup artist", and I hope this gives him the recognition in that field that he deserves. Whether he is in a league with the great Alberto Vargas may be debated, but there is no doubt that he at least matches other leaders in the field, such as George Petty or Gil Elvgren, and few other pinup artists could match his diversity.

Rating:
Summary: A Rare Talent
Review: Is there anything Robert McGinnis CAN'T paint? His movie posters are instantly recognizable to millions who've never heard of him, but his landscapes and magazine illustrations -- his western art in particular -- are his real masterpieces. The reproductions are sumptuous and the editors have given us a wide-ranging sampling of the artist's prodigious output. The price is so good it looks like a misprint, but it's not. Kudos to Underwood Books for making material like this available in such a beautiful volume at what is truly a bargain price!

Rating:
Summary: An American Master
Review: This is the book I've been waiting years for. For decades Robert McGinnis' wonderful paintings have lured me to pick up a book or plunk down the admission price to a movie. "Tapestry" includes a great selection of art, beautifully designed and printed, which illustrates McGinnis' career. Personal favorites include the knockout cover painting of John Wayne from "The Searchers", his posters for the James Bond films, "Thunderball" and "You Only Live Twice", any of the mystery covers featuring his stunning femme fatales, and of course, the gallery nudes are all amazing and memorable. And I can't forget his landscapes and Western Art, either--the man can do and has done it all. I came away from "Tapestry" satisfied and wanting more. Hopefully a sequel is in the works.