I’m beyond pleased to announce the release of the hardcover edition of THE ART OF RON LESSER, VOL. 3: WILD, WILD, WESTERNS. It’s now available on Amazon worldwide or directly from me via the bookstore linked to this blog.
Ron Lesser is one of America’s greatest living illustration artists. From 1959 to the late 1990s, he created artwork for hundreds of paperback book covers, iconic movie posters, and magazines.
In more recent decades he has done paintings for galleries, prints, and calendars. This book is the third volume in the Art of Ron Lesser series.
I co-edit the series with Ron and graphic designer/writer/publisher Bill Cunningham, my MEN’S ADVENTURE QUARTERLY co-editor. (By coincidence, our first MAQ issue featured Western stories and artwork from men’s adventure magazines.)
Bill’s other recent projects include two new CINEXPLOITS “making of” books — HELLOWEEN: THE BOOK OF THE MOVIE and CELLULOID WARS 2: THE MAKING OF FORBIDDEN WORLD.
We published the first volume in the Lesser series, THE ART OF RON LESSER, VOL. 1: DEADLY DAMES AND SEXY SIRENS several years ago.
It focuses primarily on the crime, detective, and mystery paperback covers Ron painted in the 1960s and 1970s.
We followed that by publishing THE ART OF RON LESSER, VOL. 2: DANGEROUS DAMES AND COVER DOLLS. That second volume features original paintings of sexy women and celebrities Ron has created for galleries in more recent decades.
THE ART OF RON LESSER, VOL. 3: WILD, WILD, WESTERNS showcases:
- nearly 200 Western paperback covers illustrated by Ron Lesser;
- photos of his original paintings for Western covers;
- previously unpublished reference photos Ron used, including many featuring the legendary male model Steve Holland;
- a section featuring Ron’s iconic movie posters and advertising art for classic Western films, and,
- Western history paintings he has done for galleries and prints.
As you can see from page scans shown here, Ron’s artwork is masterful. And, Bill’s layout design is a work of creative art in itself. (You can see more pages in the flip-page preview at this link.)
The text of the book includes an in-depth introduction about Western paperbacks and authors by NEW YORK TIMES bestselling Western novelist James Reasoner and a special article by paperback historian Tim Hewitt about the difficulties of finding and collecting vintage books with Lesser covers.
Throughout the book there is commentary by Ron Lesser on his artwork and career, taken from many hours of interviews I’ve done with him.
In addition, there is background information about the books and authors featured on various pages drawn from books and blogs written by vintage paperback mavens we know.
Some of that info comes from James Reasoner’s posts on his Western-focused Rough Edges Blog, a huge treasure trove of book reviews and biographies of authors. (By the way, James is still a prolific writer of Western novels. His latest are the Legend of Johnny Colt series.)
Some captions quote entries on the popular Paperback Warrior website and podcast co-hosted by Eric Compton and Tom Simon. Paperback Warrior is another amazing treasure of book reviews and author bios in many realms, from crime-fiction, science-fiction, westerns and horror to noir, men’s action/adventure, fantasy, and gothic.
We also used background information about Western novels and authors compiled by Paul Bishop and Scott Harris on their great SIX-GUN JUSTICE PODCAST and their “52 Weeks” Westerns guides (52 WESTERN * 52 WESTERN NOVELS, 52 WEEKS * 52 WESTERN MOVIES, and 52 WEEKS * 52 TV WESTERNS). Paul recently released another must-have book for Western fans titled the SIX-GUN JUSTICE CASEBOOK. Scott’s latest is his DAKOTA PARKER: COWBOY DETECTIVE novel series.
The captions for the covers in THE ART OF RON LESSER, VOL. 3: WILD, WILD, WESTERNS identify publishers and publishing dates. That info, along with the background information provided about the scores of novels and writers covered in its pages, makes it something of a Western novel reference book in its own right. But it is first and foremost an art book.
Inside are full-color images spanning over six decades of Ron Lesser’s Western artwork: vintage paperback covers, original paintings, preliminary sketches, color roughs, reference photos, movie poster art, television advertising art, gallery paintings, and Native American calendar artwork.
These illustrations, paired with quotes from Ron, trace his career from the first paperback covers he created while studying under legendary Art Students League instructor Frank J. Reilly in the late 1950s, through the peak years of the paperback era and into his later work as a gallery artist.
Many of the covers shown are books written by some of the best-known authors in Western fiction, including Louis L’Amour, J.T. Edson, Frank Gruber, Wayne D. Overholser, Wade Everett, Jeff Clinton, John Benteen, Jonas Ward, and many others.
The book includes extensive sections devoted to popular Western series and characters Lesser created cover art for, including Fargo, Buchanan, Rails West!, Renegade, Spur, Wildcat O’Shea, and more.
THE ART OF RON LESSER, VOL. 3 also gives readers a behind-the-scenes look at Ron Lesser’s creative process. It includes model reference photos he used (many featuring the famed male model Steve Holland), preliminary sketches and color roughs, and Lesser’s anecdotes about his artistic approach and the publishers and movie and television clients he dealt with.
Most of the photos of original paperback cover paintings Lesser created and the reference photos he used come from his personal archives and have never before been published.
One section of the book explores Ron’s poster and advertising art for Western films such as HIGH PLAINS DRIFTER, PAINT YOUR WAGON, PAT GARRETT AND BILLY THE KID, JOE KIDD, THE SACKETTS, and THE REVENGERS.
The final sections showcase the Western history paintings, Native American subjects, and gallery artwork Ron created after the decline of the paperback and poster illustration markets for galleries like the Going to the Sun Gallery in Whitefish, Montana. These powerful paintings demonstrate why Ron successfully transitioned from commercial illustrator to fine artist while continuing to celebrate the landscapes, history, and legends of the American West.
THE ART OF RON LESSER, VOL. 3: WILD, WILD, WESTERNS is the latest in the series, but not the last. “The Lesser Gang” is already working on the next volume. It will focus on Ron Lesser’s great action/adventure and thriller cover art.
In the meantime, if you’ve enjoyed the previous Ron Lesser books—or if you simply love classic Western art—I think you’ll enjoy exploring Volume 3. I’m incredibly proud of what Ron, Bill, and I created together, and I hope you’ll enjoy it as much as we enjoyed putting it together.
* * * * *
Comments? Corrections? You can email them to me, or join the Men’s Adventure Magazines & Books Facebook Group or the MEN’S ADVENTURE QUARTERLY BRIGADE group and post them there.
RELATED READING AND VIEWING…
