Williamson, Al - Profile in ink wash

I bought and received two items from Russ Cochran's June 2012 auction. There were several Al Williamson pieces, including this one which may have come from the same collection... This piece is drawn on bristol -- and is about the size of a SECRET AGENT CORRIGAN panel. On the back is written one word, "LACHMAN". "Could this be a portrait of the person who owned the collection?" I wondered... I was curious since this piece -- to the best of my knowledge -- was unpublished. It looks to be a late-1960's vintage by style and by Al Williamson's signature. Russ Cochran tells me that "Ray, the two Williamson pieces were consigned by Jack Promo of Detroit, who was an old friend of mine and Al's."

When I asked Cori Williamson about this piece she said "The piece titled 'Profile' is clearly Al - down to the shape of his ear. It looks very much like the character Joe Carver in House of Mystery #185 called "The Beautiful Beast". At least that what I think after looking through his notebooks of work."

Since Michael Wm. Kaluta had done some pencil layouts for that story, I passed along Cori's comment and asked him if he had any opinion. Michael Wm. Kaluta said, "I've no real idea of whom that drawing might be of, though it does have a rough-hewn appearance of being Al in character. It's a terrific little sketch: so fluid!!! Good Luck tracking down the provenance!"

Cori Williamson was kind enough to do further research and gave me the answer to my questions: "Al was given an award on June 7th, 1969. The plaque says 'The Detroit Triple Fan Fair proudly presents The Nova Award to Al Williamson in recognition of his achievements in illustrative art'. It is a wooden plaque with the dedication inscribed on some sort of metal on the bottom and screwed into the plaque. Above the dedication is another metal plaque (5"X5") with a mechanical version of Al's drawing on the plaque. The image is the same as the drawing of Al's profile that you bought from Russ and asked me about back in June. On the back of the plaque is a sticker that says 'L. Achman & Co.' and appears to be the producer of the award." A photo of Al receiving the Nova Award is in the additional images along with Al's usual self-deprecating brand of humour.