This is a swirling fantasy landscape drawn in pastels on textured posterboard. It is signed REG 1969, and measures 18" wide by 24" high. It is in excellent condition.

Robert E. Gilbert From the 1950's through the '70's Robert E. Gilbert (or REG, as he often signed himself) was a prolific contributor of art to science fiction fan magazines. He also published several stories, at least one in Galaxy. The work for the fanzines was pen and ink, to show up with the inexpensive reproduction techniques, but he also did a large number of paintings in oil, pastels, and watercolors. In addition, from the 1940's through the 80's he did a lot of non-science fiction art, experimenting with traditional and non-traditional styles.

Gilbert was arguably the most prolific and popular illustrator of SF fanzines in the 1960s. His covers and interior illos were nearly ubiquitous, particularly in midwestern and southern zines. They appeared everywhere from popular regional zines like Iscariot, Maelstrom, and Double Bill to Hugo-nominated zines like Yandro and Amra. And he regularly won "Best Fan Artist" in the egoboo polls of the Southern Fandom Press Alliance.

With their generally bold simple lines, his drawings were perfect for the zines of the day, most of which were mimeographed. The mimeograph has gone the way of the VCR, but it was the way most zines were done in the 1960s, and art had to be traced laboriously onto a mimeograph stencil with a metal stylus. So the relative simplicity of REG´s drawings was a plus, but his work was hardly crude; it was well-designed and frequently hinted at some story.

One of the most striking things about Gilbert's work is the strong sense of the alien. Landscapes are strange and unexpected. Even when humans are depicted, they look eerie somehow, as if they were just one more bizarre species in a weird galaxy. His experimentation with technique is also very interesting, and the detailing, especially of the black and white ink drawings, is fascinating. REG was a native of Kingsport, Tennessee, and died at age 68 on April, 4 1993. He attended Lafayette College and East Tennessee State University; and was a graduate of Washington School of Art. He was an Army veteran and served in World War II. For much more detail and links to other references, go to Dumbfounding Stories and search for Robert E. Gilbert. To read some of his stories go to gutenberg (dot) org/ebooks/author/34313.

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