John Berkey, Master of the Universe

John Martz | December 2nd, 2005

“I’ve never cared much about science fiction,” says renowned sci-fi illustrator John Berkey in an interview in CityPages. “I have yet to see Star Wars. I suppose I should see it one of these days.” Granted, the man paints more than just spaceships and robots (he painted the infamous Old Elvis stamp) but it’s funny to hear that the man with such a prolific portfolio of the cosmic and interstellar, did it not out of love, but because it’s where the money was. (John Berkey was also mentioned in another Drawn! post about movie poster art)

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  • Sean D.
    Awesome! I've always admired Mr. Berkey's artwork- it has long defined my image of interterrestrial travel for me, even though I never had a name to associate with the imagery. This guy painted pretty much all the images that I've stared longingly at since my early childhood! One of my favorite books, Our Universe by National Geographic has an amazing Berkey image on it's cover. Thanks again, Drawn, for putting a name to some of my favorite art!
  • Mr. Berkey’s artwork has always amazed me - his rendering of metal and the almost photographic technique is unique. I also spent a long time looking at his covers as I would at a great painting. It's rare to find a Sci-Fi artist who is as engaging and prolific.
  • Kuja
    Nice post. I'd like to present the incredible covers of an old Portuguese sci-fi colection, drawn by Cânido Costa Pinto and Lima de Freitas.
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/kuja/sets/387684/
  • We just completed a big gallery show of John's work. View it online at our wwebite www.artorg.info
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