Richard M. Powers
(1921 – 1996)
Richard Michael Gorman Powers was a SF illustrator. Born in Chicago, Powers spent most of his early life supported by his mother and aunt. His father left the family when Powers was young. At eleven, Powers was introduced to art when his uncle gave him a sketch book. He became one of the most influential SF artists of all time. He began by working in a conventional pulp paperback style, but quickly evolved a personal Surrealist idiom. He also dabbled in abstract art and collage later in life.
From the 1940s through the 1960s, he did many covers for Doubleday. During the 1950s and 1960s, he was an unofficial art director for Ballantine Books, for which he did nearly a hundred covers. He also did approximately 90 covers for Dell Publishers. In addition, he worked for Pocket Books, Berkley, Belmont, and McFadden paperbacks. In the SF magazine field he did work for Astounding, Galaxy, Beyond, and Fantastic, among others.
The Art of Richard Powers, edited by Jane Frank and with a Foreword by Vincent Di Fate, was published in 2001.
Awards, Honors and GoHships:
- 1954 -- Best Professional Artist Retro Hugo nominee
- 1983 -- Kubla Khanvalescence, Norwescon VI
- 1983 -- Frank R. Paul Award
- 1985 -- LoneStarCon
- 1991 -- Chicon V
- 1992 -- Readercon 5
- 2008 -- Science Fiction Hall of Fame (posthumous)
- 2016 -- Retrospective exhibit at World Fantasy Convention 2015
| Person | 1921—1996 |
| This is a biography page. Please extend it by adding more information about the person, such as fanzines and apazines published, awards, clubs, conventions worked on, GoHships, impact on fandom, external links, anecdotes, etc. See Standards for People and The Naming of Names. |
