BY ROBIN MIMNA
It is a strange thing to walk into a bar and be confronted with a legend — particularly when that legend’s work has somehow eluded you for your entire life. On Feb. 16, the Abbey Bar in DeLand hosted the Frazetta Pop-Up show, an event that seemed designed to make me question how I had managed to overlook Frank Frazetta — the so-called “Godfather of Fantasy Art” — until now.
Organized by Frazetta Girls in partnership with the Central Florida Art Collectors Anonymous, the exhibition brought together an impressive collection of Frazetta’s iconic works, including pieces from private collectors and a self-portrait brought by Sara Frazetta, the artist’s granddaughter and head of Frazetta Girls. Admission was free, which felt ironic given the cultural and monetary value of the works on display.
Byron Marshall, a DeLand local and devoted fan, was ecstatic to witness this rare exhibition. “This is the first time I’m seeing his art in person,” he shared. As we stood before Egyptian Queen, one of Frazetta’s most iconic works, Marshall pointed out a small pencil sketch of a tiger in the corner. “Frazetta added that to give the print an original touch, increasing its value.” That modest little tiger felt like a glimpse into Frazetta’s character — quiet and humble, yet subtly aware of the allure of his work.
CREATED FOR A COMIC MAGAZINE COVER — Egyptian Queen is a 1969 painting by Frank Frazetta, created for the cover of the horror-comic magazine Eerie. Take note of the small tiger tucked into the bottom corner of the artwork.
Ken Danker of CFACA, a Frazetta admirer since the 1980s, provided an informative (and slightly daunting) overview of Frazetta’s influence. According to Danker, Frazetta’s art was largely unavailable until the late 1990s, when private collections started emerging. Now, his work commands jaw-dropping sums, with the original Egyptian Queen selling for $5.5 million, and the highest sale of a Frazetta piece reaching $8.5 million.
“He’s the reason Conan the Barbarian is so widely known,” Danker explained, noting that before Frazetta began illustrating covers, Robert Howard’s books languished in obscurity. After Frazetta, they “flew off the shelf.” I glanced again at the sinewy muscles and dark, violent romance in Frazetta’s work and realized something startling: I did know this art. I’d seen it on book covers, in movie posters, and in the visual DNA of every fantasy and science fiction world I’d ever admired. Frank Frazetta was the artist I didn’t know I knew.
“He brought to fantasy art this hypersensual, masculine quality that people are drawn to,” Sara Frazetta said, her voice carrying both admiration and insight. She spoke with warmth and pride about her grandfather’s legacy, noting his exceptional skill as an inker. “I love his paintings, but he was on another level with inking. He made it look so easy,” she continued.
Sara also shared the heartbreaking reality of his later years, when Graves’ disease and a stroke forced him to switch to drawing with his left hand. By then, she explained, his focus had shifted from being a working artist to being a grandfather and great-grandfather.
As fans lined up, eager to speak with Sara and Ken, they proudly showed off their own artwork inspired by Frazetta’s iconic style. The excitement in the air was palpable, a testament to how deeply Frazetta’s legacy has influenced so many artists and admirers.
I couldn’t help but feel late to the party, discovering the work of such a renowned artist in a bar-turned-venue in DeLand.
Here was an artist whose work had shaped the visual language of fantasy and science fiction, whose brushstrokes had helped define an era — and I was only just now meeting him. But maybe that’s the magic of art: It finds you when you’re ready.
