UNSOLVED MYSTERY: DRACULA PAINTING

I came across this original painting by comic artist Rudy Palais at an auction site and noticed it was titled, "Illustration - Bela Lugosi as Dracula". Nothing against Mr. Palais' artistic capabilities, but after scrutinizing it for a few moments--and in consideration of his unique style--I concluded that, other than a blunted widow's peak, none of the subject's other features are remotely similar to those of Bela Lugosi. Since he passed away in 2004, I suspect Palais likely wasn't afforded the opportunity to comment one way or another about identifying his painting as such.

It was sold on April 9, 2023 by Broward Auction Gallery LLC of Dania Beach, Florida for $200 plus $75 shipping and insurance. The painting itself is an oil on canvas and measures 19" W x 27" L. There is no provenance and it is undated. One thing it has going for it is that it's signed.

The auction history for this piece indicates it first came up for auction on January 23, 2021. At that time the description of the painting was listed as: "Illustration - Portrait of Man".

It was listed six more times without selling, from April 4, 2021 to July 3, 2022. Then, abruptly it was re-titled and newly identified as a portrait of Bela Lugosi as Dracula. It went unsold the first time under it's new title on October 9, 2022 and again on January, 2, 2022 until it was finally picked up for 200 bucks, six months later, at considerably less than the estimated value of $400-$500.

Now, I don't know about you, but this has the taint of chicanery about it if you ask me. If it was misrepresented in the earlier listings, there is no statement that the title was changed because of any new discovery. Consequently, if there is nothing to support the change, I suspect it was done in a deceitful attempt to add value to it. My hope is that the buyer purchased it solely because it was a work by Palais and not because it was claimed to be a portrait of Lugosi by him.

The art world has been historically rife with scams, and the foregoing only proves that they can find their way anywhere from multi-million dollar masterworks to a simple comic artist's painting. Caveat emptor!

THE PULP ART OF BASIL GOGOS

The late, legendary artist Basil Gogos is, of course known for his many striking covers for FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND. The bright, color-saturated visages of Dracula, Frankenstein, The Creature From the Black Lagoon and many others have become indelible in the minds of generations of monster fans.

Before he took to his vibrant color palette, he began is career illustrating covers and interiors for men's adventure magazines. After tutoring under renown art instructor Frank J. Reilly at the Art Students League of New York he won a competition at the school for a western paperback cover of Pocket Books' PURSUIT that was published in 1959.

Gogos' first professionally-published art.

After that, he worked for many of the popular men's magazines from 1950's and 1960's, such as TRUE ADVENTURE, MAN'S ACTION and WILDCAT. He became adept at the craft and his war scenes are particularly vivid and full of action.

Following are examples from his years of illustrating classic pulp men's mags, including a number of original pieces. 

WEB OF HORROR NO. 2 ORIGINAL ART

I always find it interesting to compare original art with the printed results. Many times publishers would use the cheapest paper and the lowest cost printer to get their 'zines on the stands. Even when printed in black and white, the original art shines through with more detail than on the printed page.

Here is an example of Ralph Reese's art for his story, "Man-Plant From the Tomb" (!) from WEB OF HORROR #2. He used an illustration board called Craftint Doubletone which enabled the illustrator to create shading using a special solvent that removed the surface of the board to show the tinting underneath. I suspect that the solvent that was used was full of toxic chemicals which is probably why it's no longer sold. This is one wiser case where its better to use a computer for the same effect!

Below are two illustrations that were used on the letters page drawn by Bernie Wrightson and Jeff Jones. The art is done with ink over graphite on Bristol board.

WEB OF HORROR NO. 1 ORIGINAL ART

Shown here today is the original art for three stories from WEB OF HORROR #1. Above is the preliminary art for the cover by Jeff Jones.