The Voord

Currently expecting a Hammer Films piece of artwork created specifically for the purpose of securing financial backing for (what was) an unmade movie (late 1960s/early 1970s). Should have the artwork tomorrow evening, so I'll do a full update once the painting is in my possession. The artist, Tom Chantrell, was pretty much Hammer's golden boy, commencing the latter half of the 1960s, and in addition to painting finished movie posters for cinema front-of-house displays, the artist would frequently be called upon to create painted images to promote and help secure backing. Not sure if many here will be familiar with these artworks, so I'll upload some images of Chantrell's pre-production paintings (a number of which, as I say, never made it to production) . . . First up . . . a quad poster design for SAVAGE JACKBOOT (which would have starred Peter Cushing, had the film been realised)

Doubt that you will find much (if any) interest in these types of things on this forum, to be totally honest with you. Generally, the authenticity of such pieces is open to question as many eBay offerings are highly-likely to be copies the sellers have made. If you just want your acetate copy for display purposes, a cheap ready-made frame is probably the way to go.

Last of my three movie poster painting updates now up on my CAF at: http://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryDetail.asp?GCat=1865 Here's a detail from this last update:

Second of three movie poster painting updates now up on my CAF at: http://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryDetail.asp?GCat=1865 Also new in today is an original painting used for the commercial break in the Channel 3 screening of 1960s television series, THE OUTER LIMITS. My guess is that Channel 3 was a local TV station - so any further information would be welcome!

Got this in today, along with three movie poster paintings. Original painting used for the commercial break in the Channel 3 screening of 1960s television series, THE OUTER LIMITS. My guess is that Channel 3 was a local TV station - so any further information would be welcome. No idea who the artist is, but his obvious inspiration is 1950s science-fiction movies (e.g. DESTINATION MOON).

First of three movie poster paintings updates (other two paintings will be uploaded onto my CAF during the course of the week). Link to my CAF: http://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryDetail.asp?GCat=1865 Vic Fair prototype artwork for THE SHOUT (1978) THE SHOUT is a 1978 British horror film directed by Jerzy Skolimowski, based on a short story by Robert Graves that was adapted for the screen by Michael Austin. The film was the first to be produced by Jeremy Thomas under his Recorded Picture Company banner. Crossley (Alan Bates), a mysterious travelling man who invades the lives of a young couple, Rachel and Anthony Field (Susannah York and John Hurt). Anthony is a composer, who experiments with sound effects and various electronic sources in his secluded Devon studio. The couple provides hospitality to Crossley, but his intentions are gradually revealed as more sinister. He claims he has learned from an Aboriginal shaman how to produce a "terror shout" that can kill anyone who hears it unprotected. The North Devon coastline, specifically Saunton Sands and Braunton Burrows, was used for the bulk of the location shooting. The church of St Peter in Westleigh Bideford used in church scenes. Producer Jeremy Thomas later remembered his experience making the film: "Because I had a great director, and a quality piece of literature I managed to get a wonderful cast such as John Hurt and Alan Bates. Skolimowski had a sense of shooting style then, this was the second director who I had worked closely with, and it was fascinating watching Skolimowski work. He came from a Polish tradition, the Wajda Film School, he had a different background to other directors I had been working with in the cutting rooms or elsewhere. And it made the film much more creative to me. I saw it more as an artistic endeavour by him. The film went to Cannes and won the Grand Prix de Jury. We were incredibly lucky and the film was appreciated by the jury. It was a very small festival then, nothing like the Cannes Film Festival of today, it was a small event in a cinema of 800 people or so." The film's soundtrack is by Michael Rutherford and Tony Banks of the rock band Genesis. The central theme "From the Undertow" features on Banks's album A Curious Feeling.

A few years ago I started a topic about the Italian illustrator, Fortunino Matania, which mostly received a positive response. I served in the Irish Guards (a regiment within the Household Division) during the 1970s and over the course of the past few years was delighted to discover that during the period of the First World War (when Matania was employed as an official war artist) the illustrator had actually depicted one of my regiment's proudest moments in one of his wartime drawings for a 1915 edition of the UK magazine, The Sphere. In recent weeks I decided to make a written contribution to my regiment's yearly journal (a high-quality magazine that gets circulated amongst army personnel, past and present). I've no claims on being any kind of gifted writer, but I'd like to think it's both readable and interesting. As it's highly-unlikely that few outside our circle of comrades will get to see my piece, I'm including a copy of my draft article together with representative illustrations I've requested populate my piece herewith. Hope it's of interest to some of you. This is not a story about superhero types in spandex doing impossible things . . . it's about ordinary men doing extraordinary things in the face of real-life danger. Here ya go . . . FORTUNINO MATANIA AND HIS ELUSIVE IRISH GUARDS ILLUSTRATION by Terry Doyle The Great War of 1914 - 1918 was a bit of a mixed bag In terms of pictorial representation in the news media. Although photography was certainly an available option, strict government controls had been put in place from the outbreak of hostilities to censor what the public got to see. Starkly-graphic imagery was avoided in favour of carefully selected material for use as a propaganda tool. More common in the newspapers and magazines of the time was the use of artwork for pictorial content. In August 1914, Britain's War Propaganda Office was a department brought into being to specifically organise the creation of official photographic material. Photographs were first to be censored in the field by the military and then sent to the London-based Press Bureau for final censorship and distribution. As the war raged on, these strict censorship controls would gradually be relaxed and the use of photography as a record of the events unfolding became more widespread. It was not, however, until March 1916 before the first official war photographer was sent onto the Western Front. In line with the need for good propaganda content as previously noted, the horrors of trench warfare were mostly circumvented in favour of toned-down imagery that promoted successful front line campaigns. To augment the initial paucity of wartime photographs being made available for public consumption, the print media would rely heavily on artwork representations by popular artists to convey life on both the front line and also of the civilian war effort back home. The use of artwork for publication was actually a favoured medium as not all available photographs provided suitable imagery to complement the news items for which they might be used. Armed with imagination and the skills of their trade, experienced artists could quickly cut to the chase and create the kinds of illustration specifically requested by a publisher. One of the best of these wartime illustrators working for the press was a man named Fortunino Matania (1881 - 1963). Matania, born in Naples, Italy, was the son of a well-respected commercial artist and from an early age Fortunino clearly demonstrated an artistic talent inherited from and nurtured by his father, Eduardo. In 1902, aged only 20, Matania travelled to London to begin working as an illustrator for one of the (then) leading British publications, The Graphic. Here, the artist's genius for presenting an almost photographic-like quality to his artwork began to build him a legion of admirers amongst peers and public alike. Following a spell of national service back home in Italy, Matania later returned to England where he was offered work for another prominent magazine, The Sphere, quickly becoming its star attraction. Notable assignments included portraying the Coronation of George V in 1911 and, sadly a year later in 1912, he produced a series of illustrations for the magazine depicting visualizations of the sinking of the Titanic. To research his assignment, Matania was granted interviews with survivors of the tragedy so as to enable his subsequent drawings be as true-to-life as possible, as based on the personal accounts and detailed descriptions given him. With the advent of the Great War, Matania's skills as a graphic artist, at a time when periodicals were slow to fully-embrace the use of available photographs, would become much in demand. Throughout 1914, armed with a sketch pad, Matania would interview soldiers returning from the front line and would begin to depict (in his highly realistic style) visualizations based on the detailed descriptions and accounts provided by those who were there. In the Spring of 1915 all this was to change for Matania as he was given the opportunity, in his capacity as an official war artist, to make the first of several trips to the front line to personally witness events directly as they were happening. Of the circumstances leading up to his visits Matania would later recall, "Realising that this war of 1914 was different from previous wars, and that only a man who had seen something of it himself could hope to portray it, I chose the latter of course. For me the transference, from civilian life and the peaceful atmosphere of the studio to the most infernal horror that history has ever recorded, took place in a mere 24 hours." Augmented by personal experiences encountered during his visits to the front line, Matania's subsequent illustrations spanning the duration of the war would go on to record the kind of pictorial accuracy that only someone who had experienced it all first-hand could hope to portray and the resulting body of work encompassing these war years serves as a remarkable testimony to the artist's achievements in providing the public with a series of authentic images showcasing the horrors of the conflict. At the end of the Great War, Matania would go on to enjoy a long and successful professional career as an artist spanning decades though, in a cruel twist-of-fate, he would later spend time in an internment camp during the Second World War due to his Italian origins . . . On a personal level, although I'd no doubt encountered Matania's later work for things like the early 1960s editions of Look & Learn magazine up until the artist's death in 1963 (my father used to buy the publication for his offspring), it wasn't until the late 1980s that I learned the name of this remarkable artist which, in turn, would lead to a retrospective admiration for the great body of work that he had left behind him. The more I delved into this artist's formidable career, the more enamoured I became of his exquisite artwork and achievements. As a collector of original artworks for many years (mostly popular-culture based . . . I'm currently into collecting movie poster paintings), opportunities to acquire some of Matania's original illustrations came my way during the course of my collecting pursuits. Several years ago I was fortunate enough to be given the chance of purchasing two of the artist's depictions of army life in London's Wellington Barracks, both of which date from around 1902. Colonel Tim Purdon has recently advised me that the regiment depicted in my Matania illustrations would have been the Grenadier Guards. Hand-written notations on the reverse of these two artworks describe both as being 'Wellington Barracks' and one is entitled, 'The Men's Coffee Bar', even though it looks as if the serving of coffee is conspicuous by its absence and has been replaced by alcohol! Both illustrations saw print in an edition of The Graphic magazine. *** ( NOTE: See artwork attachments for 'Wellington Barracks' illustrations) Naturally, as an ex-Guardsman, I was delighted with my acquisition of two of Matania's original drawings that tie-in directly to the Household Division. Curiosity aroused by these illustrations, I began to wonder if Matania had ever used the Irish Guards as subject matter for any of his military works? Unfortunately, the artist's London studio had been bombed during the blitz of World War II and much of his original artwork and personal records had been destroyed in the resulting damage. What remained for further scrutiny and research was internet sources. The wealth of periodicals of the time are now very difficult and expensive to locate, bearing in mind we're now somewhere in the region of one hundred years since they originally appeared on the news-stands! Despite frequent internet searches, trying to discover if Matania had ever used the Irish Guards as subject matter in any of his assignments had slowly grinded to a halt. During this time I'd heard that our regiment's most senior officer, Major General Sir Sebastian Roberts KCVO OBE, had an interest in drawing his own cartoons. Intrigued, I contacted Sir Sebastian to ask him if during the course of his military service, coupled with a personal interest in illustration, he had ever come across any of Fortunino Matania's wartime artworks that featured any Irish Guards content? Replying to me, Sir Sebastian advised that he was unaware of any such works but that he would consult his friend, Colonel Sir William Mahon Bt LVO, who had a passion for such things . . . Unfortunately, whilst no Irish Guards material was unearthed at this time, Colonel Mahon did flag-up for my attention Matania's famous First World War painting of 'The last general absolution of the Munsters at Rue du Bois'. This painting, with its Irish connection, had been commissioned at the request of the widow of the battalion's commanding officer and would later see print in an edition of the Sphere magazine dated 27 November 1916. Matania's hauntingly-beautiful painting showcases a somewhat sombre gathering of troops at a roadside shrine as army chaplain Francis Gleeson addresses the assembled battalion to give absolution on the eve of the Battle of Aubers Ridge. This sedate gathering, as depicted by Matania, eerily presages what we can only imagine to have been a soon-to-be horrific action that would result in a heavy loss of human life. When paraded again on the aftermath of the battle, some 200 survivors of the 2nd battalion Munster Fusiliers re-grouped . . . *** ( NOTE: See artwork attachment for 'The last general absolution of the Munsters at Rue Du Bois'). At this point in my search for possible Irish Guards content by Matania, I was beginning to think that no illustrations were likely to surface, if at all any existed in the first place. Internet searches became less frequent for me, though I would make periodic visits to the world-wide-web to take an occasional look. One day, to my great surprise and delight, a random internet search provided me with such an image I'd spent the last few years trying to track-down . . . and what a magnificent image this turned out to be . . . portraying one of our regiment's most historic and proudest moments with a caption that read: HOW SERGEANT O'LEARY OF THE IRISH GUARDS WON HIS VICTORIA CROSS Bingo! Matania's illustration had appeared on an interior page of the Sphere dated 13 March 1915, with accompanying descriptive text that read: The story of the gallantry and daring bravery of Lance Corporal O'Leary, which earned him the VC and promotion, adds yet another chapter to the splendid history of the British Army. How he "practically captured the enemy's position by himself" was told recently in the Daily Mail by Company Quartermaster Sergeant JG Lowry of the Irish Guards, who was actually present at the time. He states, "My company was ordered from our trench to keep up a hot rifle and machine gun fire across the German trenches and points of cover. After the rain of bullets and shrapnel had been kept up for twenty minutes No. 1 Company was let loose on our left. They came out of the trenches with a yell, bayonets fixed, and went for the enemy at the double. They had from 100 to 150 yards to travel, and they went at a tidy pace, but were easily outstripped by Lance Corporal O'Leary, as he then was. He never looked to see if his mates were coming, and he must have done pretty near even time over that patch of ground. When he got near the end of one of the German trenches he dropped, and so did many others a long way behind him. The enemy had discovered what was up. A machine gun was O'Leary's mark. Before the Germans could manage to slew it round and meet the charging men, O'Leary picked off the whole of the five of the machine gun crew and, leaving some of his mates to come up and capture the gun, he dashed forward to the second barricade, which the Germans were quitting in a hurry, and shot three more. O'Leary came back from his killing as cool as if he had been for a walk in the park, and accompanied by two prisoners he had taken." Needless to say, it would be a redundant exercise for me to attempt to offer a detailed discussion of Matania's illustration - as readers here can judge for themselves the composition and quality of the artwork, which pretty much captures the essence of O'Leary's supreme act of bravery in the face of heavy danger. As with most artistic visualizations by Matania, he brings his strong imagination to the fore, consolidated by a highly-photographic true-to-life style, in the depiction of a deadly skirmish he was never there to experience first-hand. Clearly, the artist closely follows CQMS Lowry's eye-witness account to ensure an accurately-researched portrayal of this remarkable feat of action by one of our regiment's most-revered heroes is brought stunningly back to life. *** ( NOTE: See artwork attachment of 'How sergeant O'Leary of the Irish Guards won the VC'). Matania's highly elusive Irish Guards illustration was actually located and turned-up by a guy named Geoff West, publisher of the recently released book, DRAWING FROM HISTORY, THE FORGOTTEN ART OF FORTUNINO MATANIA, a lavishly illustrated hardback release with a lengthy and fascinating introductory essay written by Lucinda Gosling. Hundreds of illustrations spanning Matania's career as an artist (many reproduced directly from surviving original artworks) are featured in this handsome publication that is currently in print and available from the Book Palace web-site at: www.bookpalace.com Naturally, it comes with my highest of recommendations!

Great post, comiconxion, thanks for taking the time and effort in shedding some light on your experiences within this collecting focus. On a personal level, I'd love to own some of the props from the 1960s TV show, The Outer Limits. I found this auction to be quite interesting. During the past couple of years I've been collecting movie poster originals - which was represented by a few paintings on offer in this auction. Other than the Star Wars painting (too expensive for me to want to pursue), there was nothing of real interest for me. The Vic Fair Mary Poppins poster art had a missing element, so was incomplete (Fair would frequently use paste-ups in the composition of his artworks and I guess part of this one became detached and subsequently lost). Also, the work looked more like a prototype, rather than a finished painting (as such, I don't go with the description). If you have a collection worth sharing, I'd love for you to post some of your stuff on this thread . . .

Three more movie poster paintings due in tomorrow (two published and one prototype design) which I'll be uploading onto my CAF over the course of the next few days. I'll probably upload one of the images onto this thread but it's always an option (for those interested in these types of artwork) to check out my CAF updates for full write-ups and additional images at: http://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryDetail.asp?GCat=1865

Sounds like a good friend to have! Does he need any UK buddies?

Not exactly an enduring classic but it's a fun, energetic movie, produced in pre-cgi days (1976) when monsters were men dressed in funky rubber-suits (old-school Godzilla). Based on an Edgar Rice Burroughs novel, so the basic story's sound.

Just back from the framers (had to photograph this one at an angle to eliminate glare) . . .

Just back from the framers (had to photograph this one at an angle to eliminate glare) . . .

A lot of stuff I comment on certainly doesn't carry any "I'd like to own this piece myself" criteria. Generally, I leave comments on pieces that I find interesting to look at. If I'm intrigued enough to click onto the thumbnail, chances are I'm likely to leave a comment if the full-page image turns out to have been worth the effort. Sometimes I comment on stuff that is so appallingly bad (Chris Vickers CAF gallery), because the sheer awfulness of the drawings made me laugh.

Harryhausen at his best . . .

Except for the 'Clashing Rocks' drawing, I thought that the Harryhausen stuff was a little weak for the most part. Remember seeing a whole slew of his production drawings at London's Museum of the Moving Image back in the 1980s. Incredible stuff. Yeah, a little investment in getting the art matted and framed might have helped prompt more spirited bidding, bearing in mind something like JASON & THE ARGONAUTS is an enduring classic . . .

Awesome!

Any artworks currently in my CAF 'For Sale' folder (with the exception of those items on consignment with Romitaman) will carry a 10% reduction on listed prices up until the end of October 2017 - free international shipping included. http://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryDetail.asp?GCat=1865 At the end of the year all items will be withdrawn as I'm likely to go the auction route in the very near future. Time-payments acceptable. Thanks for looking.

I was out in Liverpool (UK) this afternoon doing what I do best (drinking beer . . . it's what Saturdays are for). I was walking along North John Street when approaching me was David Morrisey, who played the part of The Governor in the TV series. I smiled at him briefly, in passing, and he exchanged the acknowledgement by way of a grin . . . no words were exchanged (I don't try to impose upon anyone). My wife was trailing a few yards behind me (I'm a fast walker) and when I stopped to wait for her to catch up she exclaimed, "That guy that just passed us looks familiar?" I replied, "That's the Governor from 'Walking Dead." "What's he doing in Liverpool if he's an American?" she asked. "Actually," I corrected her, "he was born in Liverpool, so must be on a return visit to his place of birth." "Why didn't you stop him and say hello?" she asked. "Because I'm sure the guy could do without fan hassle," I replied. "Pity," she said, "I could have introduced the Walking Dead to the Walking Drunk!". Slightly off topic, I know, but what the heck . . .

New in today . . . Tom Chantrell's movie poster artwork for the 1971 joint British-Spanish movie, A TOWN CALLED B . . . Chantrell's image was later re-jigged for the American one-sheet version of its front-of house advertising campaign and the movie's title was re-named A TOWN CALLED HELL for its subsequent USA release (as they felt uncomfortable about using the word B . . . pretty much like this forum ). As with all of the so-called Spaghetti Westerns prominent at the time, the movie was filmed in Spain. Delighted to have acquired this particular painting, which will certainly rank as one of my top favourites. Fabulous image featuring some notable acting talents - including, of course, the lovely Stella Stevens . . . "In 1895, in a small town ravaged by the Mexican Revolution, the revolutionary leader Aguila and his men massacre the town's locals and the military garrison soldiers.Ten years later Aguila,now a reformed priest, sees a newly-arrived woman who is looking for those responsible for murdering her husband. The town is run by the corrupt Don Carlos who promises to help Alvira find those who killed her husband, in return for the gold reward she is offering. Don Carlos has no idea where Aguila is or what hea looks like but he's prepared to do anything in order to collect the gold reward offered by Alvira. Everything is complicated by the sudden arrival of the Mexican Army led by a brutal Colonel whose face looks very familiar to the town priest . . ." A larger-scale scan can be seen on my CAF, along with six additional images of the foreign variants and the Blu-ray cover: http://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryDetail.asp?GCat=1865

Here's a restoration project I'm currently working on . . . This is the American one-sheet original artwork for the 1968 movie, DAY OF THE EVIL GUN, starring Glenn Ford (not a bad Western movie, I bought the DVD the other week and found myself quite liking it). The artwork was offered on Heritage, within the past year or so, with an estimate of $2,000 - 3,000, but failed to sell - and I can understand why (there are condition issues). In recent weeks, the artwork re-appeared on eBay (where hidden nuggets can still surface, as long as you're prepared to wade through all the cr@p) with a BIN of roughly $500 (post free). Knowing full well that artworks with condition issues can be restored, and at the same time looking for an attractively-priced American one-sheet design, I had no hesitation pulling the trigger on this one. There are some minor paint-flakings on the art, but I have a professional artist fiend on hand who can faithfully replicate, via touch-ups, those missing elements using a copy of the printed poster as a guide (which the eBay seller thoughtfully included in the sale). Next, there are tape-stains and discolouration issues in the white background areas. Not a problem, as I also have a contact at the nearby Liverpool Museum Paper Conservation Centre (here in the UK) who has already advised me that he can drastically diminish or eliminate the affected areas of staining. My last stage is to re-create and re-introduce all the captioned materials that appeared on the printed poster. Again, not an issue, I have a print-maker friend in Los Angeles (Lloyd Braddy) who has assisted in similar projects and came through for me with impressive results. I've put-together a mock-up in photoshop of how I envisage the end-result ought to look like, attached here (the beige surround is meant to represent a possible option for choice of mat). The top caption material in my mock-up is not to scale and should be slightly smaller, so the right-hand side of the mat ought to be closer to the artwork image. Just a rough approximation I put-together for Lloyd to act as a guide. Likely to be several months before everything's completed, so I'll update everyone as and when it all comes together . . .

Never knew that, lol!

Seems clear enough to me why some guy just copied it . . . I can think of 250,000 reasons why he did that!

Maybe the seller did him a huge favour and knocked a zero off the price-tag! Ever feel you've been had . . .