Once upon a time, there was an artist named Boris Artzybasheff. Born in 1899 in Russia, he fought against the Bolsheviks and made his way to the United States by 1919. He did a lot of illustration work and beginning before WW II, frequently did cover art for Time Magazine.
His work could be strikingly anthropomorphic:
His work could be strikingly anthropomorphic:
They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery -- which makes this 1943 MGM cartoon high praise indeed.
...But not only does Artzybasheff not get so much as a nod in the credits, I couldn't find any mention of the obvious influence his work had on this animation in any discussion of the subject.
...But not only does Artzybasheff not get so much as a nod in the credits, I couldn't find any mention of the obvious influence his work had on this animation in any discussion of the subject.
As soon as I saw the face on the "tank", I knew he had to be the guy who did the Time cover of Adm. Nagumo, with the anthropomorphic battleship in the background. Sure enough, he was. couldn't get to it with your link, but "artzybasheff + nagumo + time" gets you there.
ReplyDeleteI think I saw the Time cover in WWII book, but it was long ago. But his style was unmistakeable - he's like the El Greco of Time covers.