Pulp Art at the NBMAA and Delamar Hotel

Howard Brown, "Interplanetary Graveyard, From Future Fiction: March 1942," 1942, Oil on canvas, 29 x 20 1/4 in., The Robert Lesser Collection of Pulp Art, 2009.22.117LIC
 Howard Brown, "Interplanetary Graveyard, From Future Fiction: March 1942," 1942, Oil on canvas, 29 x 20 1/4 in., The Robert Lesser Collection of Pulp Art, 2009.22.117LIC,
Richard Calkins, "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, National Newspaper Service, Chicago: 1936," 1936, Gouache and charcoal on paper, 26 1/2 x 18 1/4 in., The Robert Lesser Collection of Pulp Art, 2009.22.78LIC
 Richard Calkins, "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, National Newspaper Service, Chicago: 1936," 1936, Gouache and charcoal on paper, 26 1/2 x 18 1/4 in., The Robert Lesser Collection of Pulp Art, 2009.22.78LIC,

ABOUT THE EXHIBITION

Pulp Art at the NBMAA and Delamar Hotel

On view in the Sanford B.D. Low Illustration Gallery at the NBMAA & at the Delamar West Hartford

The Museum’s celebrated collection of Pulp Art illustration will be on view at the NBMAA and the Delamar Hotel in West Hartford, in a two-part exhibition highlighting the compelling narrative imagery depicted by artists of this genre.

From the Great Depression through the era of World War II, Americans turned to inexpensive novels referred to as “pulp-fiction” as a form of entertainment and a way to escape their woes. These gripping stories, conceived before the age of television, were suffused with adventure and mystery. Often produced as series, pulp-fiction gave rise to iconic characters, such as Buck Rogers, Doc Savage, and The Phantom Detective, who many consider the forefathers of today’s comic book superheroes. Printed on low-grade wood-pulp paper, to which the term “pulp” refers, these books featured sensational, eye-catching illustrations. Over the decades, almost all the original artwork commissioned by publishing houses from the leading illustrators of the day—including N. C. Wyeth, Frank R. Paul, and George Rozen—has been lost, as the paintings were only intended for one-time use and were then invariably discarded.

In the 1970s, collector Robert Lesser became one of the first people to recognize the relevance of such covers as an important reflection of our material culture. He acquired what few examples he could find across the U.S., uniting the original texts with the illustrations produced for them. In the last decade, Lesser gifted more than 200 examples to the NBMAA; today, the Robert Lesser Collection represents the greatest assemblage of pulp art in this country.

Pulp Art at the New Britain Museum of American Art presents a selection of the finest and most compelling examples of pulp art from various genres, including crime & detective, western, science fiction, adventure, and aviation stories. The imagery featured is a testament to the compelling narrative of the stories, as well as the imaginations of the artists who transformed words into fantastical images.