THE ART OF RON LESSER, VOL. 3: WILD, WILD, WESTERNS (Deluxe Hardcover Edition)

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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.

VOL. 1: DEADLY DAMES AND SEXY SIRENS focuses on paperback and movie poster artwork Ron did in the 1960s and 1970s. VOL. 2: DANGEROUS DAMES AND COVER DOLLS features original paintings of sexy women created for galleries.

THE ART OF RON LESSER, VOL. 3: WILD, WILD, WESTERNS showcases nearly 200 paperback covers with artwork by Lesser, examples of his iconic posters for Western movies like Clint Eastwood’s HIGH PLAINS DRIFTER, as well as Western history paintings he did for galleries.

This lavishly illustrated art book is co-edited by pulp culture historian Robert Deis, graphic designer and publisher Bill Cunningham, and paperback historian Tim Hewitt. It also includes an introduction by NEW YORK TIMES bestselling Western novelist James Reasoner and extensive commentary by Lesser on his artwork and career.

Inside are full color images spanning more than 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.

The book traces Lesser’s career from his earliest paperback covers 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
• T. Edson
• Frank Gruber
• Wayne D. Overholser
• John Benteen
• Jonas Ward
• Wade Everett
• Jeff Clinton
• Ramsay Thorne
• Dirk Fletcher
• and many others.

There are extensive sections devoted to popular Western series and characters Lesser created cover art for, including:

• Fargo
• Buchanan
• Rails West!
• Renegade
• Spur
• Wildcat O’Shea
• T. Edson’s Floating Outfit novels
• and many 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 of which featured 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 TV clients he worked with.

It also includes photos of original paperback cover paintings by Lesser, many of which are from his personal archives and have never before been reproduced.

The book also 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. 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.

In short, THE ART OF RON LESSER, VOL. 3 is a must-have volume for fans of Western paperbacks and art or of Ron Lesser, one of the great masters of American illustration.

— PLEASE ALLOW 3 WEEKS FOR DELIVERY ON THIS NEW ITEM —