Lovecraft's Nightmare
1981
Acrylic on 2 masonite panels
each 16.5 x 27.5 inches
Whelan created these stunning paintings as covers for Del Rey's 1980s paperback editions of the work of famed author H.P. Lovecraft. Imagery from both paintings was ultimately published as seven total covers.
This diptych is not only one of Whelan's finest and most reproduced paintings, but one of the greatest and most definitive works of art related to the writings of Lovecraft, featuring iconic images that reintroduced the weird fiction master to an entire generation of readers and which have become indelibly connected to his classic tales.
The two paintings can meet side by side either way with one flowing into the other.
The art has also appeared on album covers and in other publications including the books Michael Whelan's Works of Wonder (Del Rey, 1987) and Beyond Science Fiction: The Alternative Realism of Michael Whelan (Baby Tattoo, 2017).
Description adapted, with gratitude, from Heritage Auctions Illustration Art Catalog—New York #5145—October 26, 2013