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Joseph Clement Coll
"The pen and ink drawings of Joseph Clement Coll were to Pulp fiction what Charles Dana Gibson's drawings were to the newly liberated American woman and Edwin Austin Abbey's drawings were to the Shakespearian epic. Whether depicting the heroic "King of the Khyber Rifles" or the insidious "Dr. Fu-Manchu," Coll's rapier-like pen strokes captured the characters, the mood, and the action perfectly. My feeling has always been that as a draughtsman and visual dramatist, he was unsurpassed."---Murray Tinkelman, Illustrator Professor of Illustration and Illustration History Syracuse University
"I first became aware of the great pen and ink illustrators when I was an art student back in the 1950s. I was immediately drawn to the work of Joseph Clement Coll, first by the familiar themes of his illustrations--- most notably the writings of Charles Dickens, Sax Rohmer, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle---and then by the excitement and drama of his compositions, which were invariably bathed in the most intricate and dramatic lighting, dazzlingly rendered in pen and ink. His work remains as much a source of inspiration today as it was to me as a fledgling artist. Most gratifying is the fact that most of Coll's work has been compiled in books such as this one and is available to the art student, the professional, and the public at large so that they may study and appreciate Coll's genius and unique style as well as this glorious period in American illustration---one all too often overlooked."---Angelo Torres, Illustrator
"Coll's technique was so masterful you could get the willies trying to imitate it. I never did. He embodied the highest standards of his medium and epitomized an era of craftsmanship we'll probably never see again. Behind his facility lay the power of invention and it's good to recall, in this era of Photoshop Surrealism, how much magic can be conjured up with just a pen point dipped in ink."---Brad Holland, Illustrator
"Coll combined imagination with a dazzling technique. Never has an artist working in black and white achieved such color. He had no superiors, and was simply the best!"---Everett Raymond Kinstler, Artist
Shadows shimmer as liquid lines coalesce into forms that leap from the page. Obscene creatures, exotic assassins, women whose beauty defies description, and daring men who fight with guns or swords or force of will, grab you and drag you wholly into their world. Such is the power of Joseph Clement Coll---such is his "Legacy in Line."
Coll defined the look of adventure illustration. No one has ever captured the menace of the Devil Doctor or Athelstan King's journeys into mystic lands the way Coll did. The struggle between the gallant Sir Denis Nayland Smith and his archnemesis the insidious Dr. Fu Manchu in Sax Rohmer's classic sagas breathe and move on the page. Every nuance of form and fantasy one could imagine is evoked in Talbot Mundy's incredible tale of intrigue, King of the Kbyber Rifles. These epic encounters of heroes and villains locked in combat make up only a small portion of the nearly 250 illustrations in this---the largest collection of Joseph Clement Coll's art ever produced.
For twenty short years, until his untimely death from appendicitis at the age of 41, Coll's expressive draughtsmanship graced the pages of The Saturday Evening Post, Collier's, Everybody's Magazine, and other famous magazines bringing form to the printed word and inspiration to a generation of artis
"I first became aware of the great pen and ink illustrators when I was an art student back in the 1950s. I was immediately drawn to the work of Joseph Clement Coll, first by the familiar themes of his illustrations--- most notably the writings of Charles Dickens, Sax Rohmer, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle---and then by the excitement and drama of his compositions, which were invariably bathed in the most intricate and dramatic lighting, dazzlingly rendered in pen and ink. His work remains as much a source of inspiration today as it was to me as a fledgling artist. Most gratifying is the fact that most of Coll's work has been compiled in books such as this one and is available to the art student, the professional, and the public at large so that they may study and appreciate Coll's genius and unique style as well as this glorious period in American illustration---one all too often overlooked."---Angelo Torres, Illustrator
"Coll's technique was so masterful you could get the willies trying to imitate it. I never did. He embodied the highest standards of his medium and epitomized an era of craftsmanship we'll probably never see again. Behind his facility lay the power of invention and it's good to recall, in this era of Photoshop Surrealism, how much magic can be conjured up with just a pen point dipped in ink."---Brad Holland, Illustrator
"Coll combined imagination with a dazzling technique. Never has an artist working in black and white achieved such color. He had no superiors, and was simply the best!"---Everett Raymond Kinstler, Artist
Shadows shimmer as liquid lines coalesce into forms that leap from the page. Obscene creatures, exotic assassins, women whose beauty defies description, and daring men who fight with guns or swords or force of will, grab you and drag you wholly into their world. Such is the power of Joseph Clement Coll---such is his "Legacy in Line."
Coll defined the look of adventure illustration. No one has ever captured the menace of the Devil Doctor or Athelstan King's journeys into mystic lands the way Coll did. The struggle between the gallant Sir Denis Nayland Smith and his archnemesis the insidious Dr. Fu Manchu in Sax Rohmer's classic sagas breathe and move on the page. Every nuance of form and fantasy one could imagine is evoked in Talbot Mundy's incredible tale of intrigue, King of the Kbyber Rifles. These epic encounters of heroes and villains locked in combat make up only a small portion of the nearly 250 illustrations in this---the largest collection of Joseph Clement Coll's art ever produced.
For twenty short years, until his untimely death from appendicitis at the age of 41, Coll's expressive draughtsmanship graced the pages of The Saturday Evening Post, Collier's, Everybody's Magazine, and other famous magazines bringing form to the printed word and inspiration to a generation of artis
- GenresArt
Paperback
First published January 1, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
January 28, 2021
Coll has amazing skills and he's definitely worth a look but there isn't much range (maybe he just didn't have the opportunities?) so it doesn't take long for you to feel like you've seen all you need to see. Still, give him an image search.
August 9, 2015
This book established Joseph Clement Coll as my very favourite artist. He was one of the masters of a style of drawing called pen and ink drawing that went through its golden age in the late nineteenth/early twentieth century. I find that the contrast between the black ink and the white paper produces almost magical, hypnotic effects. These aesthetic sensibilities can be subjective, of course, and I have often had the experience of showing someone a Coll drawing and saying: 'Isn't that amazing?' only to see them shrug indifferently and say, 'Yeah, it's OK, I suppose,' in a tone of voice that makes their indifference all too obvious. Well, speaking entirely for myself, I think Coll is great!
February 19, 2009
Coll was an amazing artist and illustrator. The end of this book also features some of his paintings, which are very, very good.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews