If you’ve never made it to one of the exhibitions of Robert Lesser‘s wonderful collection of original pulp art, the collection may be coming to a town near you.
The New Britain Museum of American Art announced today the first major national tour of “Pulp Art.” No exhibition sites have been announced, but the museum is “seeking to present the exhibition at upcoming Pulp collectors events and meetings.”
Lesser’s pulp cover art collection totals around 90 pieces from a variety of artists, including Rafael de Soto, Frank R. Paul, George and Jerome Rozen, Norm Saunders, Walter Baumhofer, and more. If you haven’t seen Lesser’s book, “Pulp Art,” it’s well worth having.
The exhibition won’t include all of the paintings, but a selection “from the largest collection of original Pulp Cover Art in the world. Included will be original cover art, the actual magazines the art was created for, original paintings for the Tarzan books, vintage radio and film clips of the heroes of the pulps … and programming for fans and general audiences,” according to an email from the museum.
If you’re interested in hosting an exhibit, you’ll need about 3,000 square feet of space to accommodate the entire exhibition (the exhibition can be customized for a smaller venue), as well as 24-hour security. There is a fee involved.
If you’d like to find out more about the exhibition, or to browse through the artwork in the Lesser collection, visit the Pulp Cover Exhibition website. (Be sure your speakers are turned down. There’s an episode of The Shadow radio program that rudely plays automatically.)
Update: Steve Brezzo, of Opar Inc., the company that produces the traveling exhibitions, says to watch the website for updates regarding exhibition dates and locations.
Cant wait to find out where it will be.I never had a chance to see the covers in New York city.