  Full page and detail 'Twice in Time' by Virgil Finlay Wonder Story Annual 1951 |
 Detail of 'Poems of Villon' by Norman Lindsay from 'Norman Lindsay's Pen Drawings' |
Virgil Finlay was inspired and influenced by many artists like Picasso, Rembrandt, Gustave Doré and Norman Lindsay. As stated by Sam Moskowitz in 'Virgil Finlay An Appreciation', usually could not afford models and was on many occasions pressed for time. He worked instead from photo's and magazine prints. It may come as no surprise then that he would you use parts of drawings or sculptures by other artists as inspiration for his own drawings. Here some examples are listed. It has been reported that Norman Lindsay did not appreciate the reuse by other artists of his original work.
Norman Lindsay's Poems of Villon (c. 1915)
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The Virgil Finlay drawing illustrated the story 'Twice in Time' by Manly Wade Wellman. In the period 1914-1916, Norman Lindsay built a model of medieval Paris as background for series illustrations to the poems of Villon. The drawings were made for an edition of Francois Villon that was never published. The connection between these two drawings was made by Tom Cockcroft, and published in 'It Goes On The Shelf' number 22, September 2000. Virgil Finlay removed most people from the crowd, leaving the woman with raised hands as in the original drawing.
Reference:
Html version of 'It Goes On The Shelf, number 22'.
Norman Lindsay's Tom O'Bedlam (1918)
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The monster in the Virgil Finlay drawing is clearly modelled after the Norman Lindsay illustration. Norman Lindsay's gargoyle-like faces continued to inspire Virgil Finlay.
Norman Lindsay's Gold
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Norman Lindsay's composition is altered, but the round table, the skeleton and the position of the man remain.
The Face in the Abyss (1931)
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The composition of the illustration by Virgil Finlay, e.g. man, stairs, and head, bears a strong resemblance to the one by an unknown artist that was used on the front cover of dust-jacket of the first edition published by Horace Liveright in 1931.
The Face in the Abyss is a fantasy novel by A. Merritt. The novel is composed of a novelette with the same title and its sequel, "The Snake Mother". It was first published in its complete form in 1931 by Horace Liveright. The novelette "The Face in the Abyss" originally appeared in the magazine Argosy All-Story Weekly in the September 8, 1923 issue.
Reference:
'The Face in the Abyss'.
H. W. Wesso's Wolves of Darkness (1932)
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The issue of Strange Tales appeared in January 1932, when Virgil Finlay was seventeen years old. The cover was done by Hans Waldemar Wessolowski, who is also known as H. W. Wesso in the 'pulp' world. The drawing by Virgil Finlay illustrated the story 'Dwellers in the Mirage' in Fantastic Novels September 1949. The alterations in the composition made the illustration much more sinister.
Reference:
'Hans Waldemar Wessolowski'.
Mort Künstler's Staked Out In The Desert
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The Virgil Finlay drawing illustrated the story 'Silence is Deadly' by Lloyd Biggle Jr. The Mort Künstler painting was used as a cover illustration for 'True Adventures', 7 months earlier. Virgil Finlay redrew the image of the eagle, adding details, and mirrored the vulture on the right.
Virgil Finlay later based his drawing for The Hobbit on his earlier adaptation.
Walter Crane's Neptune's Horses, 1892
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Walter Crane (1845–1915) was an English artist and book illustrator, specialising in children's books. "Neptune's Horses" was well known and was exhibited at the New Gallery in 1893. One can not be certain, but it is very likely that Virgil Finlay was familiar with Walter Crane's oil on canvas painting and used it as an inspiration for the cover of Famous Fantastic Mysteries, April 1941.
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The Virgil Finlay drawing illustrated the story 'A God Named Kroo' by Henry Kuttner, published in Fantastic Story Magazine, Summer 1954. It is clearly inspired by the art work of H. W. McCauley (1953) and Frederic Leighton (1877).
