Vaughns (Primarily) Wrightson Gallery :: My Primarily Wrightson Gallery

Wrightson - Early Conan - Circa 1966 - A Look Back - Barbarian

Artist: Bernie Wrightson (All)

7 Comments - 3,859 Views - 4 Likes

Wrightson - Early Conan - Circa 1966 - A Look Back - Barbarian Comic Art

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Artwork Details

Title:	Wrightson - Early Conan - Circa 1966 - A Look Back - Barbarian
Artist:	Bernie Wrightson (All)
Media Type:	Mixed Media
Art Type:	Sketchbook
For Sale Status:	Offers Considered
Views:	3,859
Likes on CAF:	4 5
Comments:	7
Added to Site:	11/15/2013
Comic Art Archive:

Description

Though I do not know much about the history of this painting, I do know in 1966 Bernie would have only been 17-18 years old. I read a story by Mike Kaluta at one point stating how he and Bernie ran up a flight of stairs (because they were too excited to wait for the elevator) with artwork in hand to talk with Frank Frazetta in his hotel room and share their work, the year was 1967.

While this piece may not have been among the pieces Bernie carried that day, I would think sharing his version of Conan with Frazetta might have been very tempting, if not intimidating.

Regardless of rather this piece was with him that day, I wanted to own something which came out during this period before Bernie became synonymous with "The Master of the Macabre".

Besides, it was my intention to own a piece with this classic style signature one day. Especially when Bernie told me in Dallas he started using this signature style because he wanted to have signature recognition which caught the eye like Frazetta's.

Conan slashing through his enemies, a Battle Axe, swords, a shield, and a hints of his impression of Frazetta's Conan in Wrightson's Booth-like style.

This is going to get framed for preservation nearly immediately and will go behind archival glass. Liz stated in the description the piece has a small tear in the bottom, but I have learned about the power of archival mending tape and recommend it highly!

Really looking forward to receiving this and getting a higher resolution image to share!

Update: 11/19/2013

I just received this and couldn't be happier with this artwork. For being nearly 50 years old, it is in excellent shape and the tear Liz mentioned stopped just shy of the artwork. Using the aforementioned acid-free document mending tape, this tear is repaired and makes me feel a lot better about all the handling I'll have to do while preserving and framing this.

Though I haven't committed yet, I did find an awesome turn of the century frame I'm seriously considering purchasing to accent this work and give it a final resting place. More to come when I decided exactly what direction I want to take!

It's also cool getting to see this and have a higher resolution image to share. I can now clearly see the pool of blood, and the cat like figure on the breast plate of the severed combatant... Words can barely describe how taken I am with this...

Thanks Liz and Bernie!

Update 11/29/2013:

I've gotten this piece temporarily framed in a turn of the century wood and plaster frame I purchased from an antique store. Unfortunately, somewhere over the years someone chose to paint it with white latex paint... Tsk, Tsk, Tsk...

Anyway, after several hours of stripping this with a rigid plastic brush, I managed to get the depth of the plaster work to come back to life and then painted it lightly with a Krylon Paint + Primer Brown Hammered finish and it really came out looking wonderful. There were a couple small missing pieces of the plaster, but I was able to use a wood putty to put fill in the gaps making it barely discernible.

Also today, being a long weekend from work, I took from storage one of my slip cased versions of "A Look Back" and was delighted to find this piece in the first dozen or so pages where they were discussing the earliest surviving color pieces of Wrightson's work. Imagine my delight to find this amongst the works!

Social/Sharing

About the Owner

	Joseph Vaughn
Joined:	September 2012
Last Login:	June 2025
Ebay Id:	Cheechwizard
Country:	UNITED STATES
On CAF:	Joseph's Want List Artworks Commented On Liked Art Site Activity on CAF

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Comments on this Artwork

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David K
Member Since 2008

Posted on 11/15/2013

Holy Cow!!! This is absolutely stunning. Huge congrats on one of the finest early pieces I've seen.

Michael Kenyon
Member Since 2008

Posted on 11/16/2013

This one boggles the mind in its sheer violent beauty and the early history. Bernie Wrightson is an unquestioned master in this medium. Congratulations!!!

frank x townsondecker
Member Since 2006

Posted on 11/16/2013

Awesome!!!

Jonathan Mueller
Member Since 2005

Posted on 3/2/2014

No school like the old school! Super cool, extremely early Wrightson... just a lovely piece! Congrats and thanks for sharing!

Fredo Le
Member Since 2006

Posted on 5/23/2014

Wahoo, I fell on a specialist! It's impressive the nb of art you own on Bernie. All are killers. Cheers

Mark Howland
Member Since 2004

1 - Posted on 1/7/2024

Great, great early example! Thank you for sharing and congratulations! Even today, I think, Wrightson is not appreciated enough for his talent; he might be second only to Frazetta.

Robbie Cook
Member Since 2006

Posted on 5/28/2025

These early Berni pieces are always a treat! Love seeing how his signature style took shape and changed the course of horror forever. Congrats!

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