The Art of the Brothers Hildebrandt

The Art of the Brothers Hildebrandt
by Ian Summers
Ballantine Books, 1979 

Greg and Tim Hildebrandt were twins, born in Detroit on January 23, 1939 (Tim died of complications from diabetes in June, 2006). They exhibited an artistic disposition and a love for the genres of science fiction and fantasy at an early age. 

After graduating high school they both served in the Army, then enrolled in the Meinzinger School of Art in Detroit. They went to work as animators at the Jam Handy Company, which specialized in making instructional films. The brothers later relocated to rural New Jersey, where they converted a barn into a studio and acquired commissions to illustrate children's books.

The brothers pose for reference photographs

As Summers relates in his Introduction, in the Fall of 1974 Rita Hildebrandt, Tim's wife, saw a copy of the Ballantine Books J. R. R. Tolkien calendar, and the brothers decided to pay a visit to Ian Summers, the art director at Ballantine Books who was in charge of picking an artist for the 1976 edition of the calendar. 

On February 7, 1975, the brothers - lacking an appointment - persuaded Summers' secretary to let them into his office to display their drafts for the calendar. The brothers toted black plastic garbage bags filled with some 50 black-and-white sketches on coffee-stained tissue paper. Summers, who had already looked through a substantial number of submissions without finding any to his liking, immediately was impressed with the work of the Hildebrandts. 

Apache Devil, 1975

Summers offered the brothers a commission for the calendar and the rest, as they say, was history: when the 1976 J. R. R. Tolkien calendar came out later that year, it was a best-seller, and made the brothers household names among the burgeoning community of fantasy fans.

The Fellowship of the Ring, 1976 J. R. R. Tolkien calendar 

'The Art of the Brothers Hildebrandt' (1979) showcases color and black-and-white reproductions of paintings done by the brothers for commercial media such book covers, calendars, and movie posters (i.e., Star Wars). There also are some personal works from the brothers.

Illustration for The Sword of Shannara, 1977

Given that the works of Hildebrandts nowadays are iconic, it's important to remember that at the time they appeared, in the mid-70s, they were revolutionary in the sense of firmly departing from the highly figurative imagery that previously had characterized commercial fantasy art. 

For example, Tim Kirk's pieces for the 1974 J. R. R. Tolkien calendar were reminiscent of the works of 19th century children's book illustrators like Arthur Rackham and Edmund Dulac. 

Illustration by Tim Kirk for the 1974 J. R. R. Tolkien calendar, from https://www.blackgate.com/2021/06/08/first-impressions-tim-kirks-1975-tolkien-calendar/

The works by the Hildebrandts were very much representational art, reminiscent of the styles of classical illustrators like Howard Pyle and N. C. Wyeth. Their illustration for the front cover of the 1976 science fiction anthology Stellar 2 (below), for example, was eye-catching by virtue of contrasting with the more abstract compositions that usually appeared on the covers of science fiction paperbacks of that era. 

Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, 1974

Cover illustration for Stellar 2, 1976

The brothers' profile only grew when they provided the iconic poster illustration for the 1977 film Star Wars.

Star Wars, 1977

Summing up, if you are a fan of sci-fi and fantasy art of the 1970s, then you'll want to have a copy of 'The Art of the Brothers Hildebrandt', or perhaps some of the other volumes that showcase the Brothers (although some of these, such as 'Star Wars: The Art of the Brothers Hildebrandt' [1997], now have steep asking prices).