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Frank Bellamy Art

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Frank Bellamy (1917 - 1976)
Frank Bellamy was born in Kettering in 1917. His early artistic influences were the juvenile comics of his childhood, Rainbow and Chips, but it was not until he came across some old American Sunday comic sections that he really began to take an interest in adventure strips. He found the Tarzan strips of Hal Foster and Burne Hogarth much more to his taste than the rather static picture stories that mainly featured in British comics of the 1920s and ‘30s.

An added bonus of the American 'jungle strips' was the depiction of the African fauna, for the young Bellamy had long been fascinated by big cats and other creatures of the African plains. One frequently-told story of Frank Bellamy's boyhood concerns a travelling circus that visited his home town sometime during the mid 1920s. After school hours Frank enjoyed wandering around the circus camp gazing at the caged jungle cats and, on this particular occasion, approached close enough to pluck a few hairs from a lion’s tail. He kept his prize for years afterwards safely stored in a bottle! Such an act may now be deemed foolhardy – for even a well-fed, caged lion is a daunting target. But it does serve to show the sheer determination that Bellamy possessed, a quality that was, in adult life, to take him to the very pinnacle of his chosen profession.

His early work consisted mainly of spot illustrations for such magazines as Everybody’s Weekly and Outspan Magazine. His interest in ‘The Dark Continent’ was to the fore in both of these publications with an illustration to “King Solomon’s Mines” in the former and a number of African-related illustrations in the latter. Another magazine that made use of his talents early on in his career was the Boys' Own Paper.

After an inauspicious spell in advertising (Gibbs toothpaste), Bellamy’s big break as a strip artist came when he was offered the opportunity to work on Mickey Mouse Weekly, the prestigious photogravure comic published by Odhams. He left Norfolk Studios and went freelance. His main contribution to the comic was Monty Carstairs, an upper-crust adventurer whose exploits had been appearing in the comic since February, 1951.

1954 was a landmark year for the young artist, marking the beginning of his long association with Hulton Press. His first work for the publisher was a picture story adaptation of The Swiss Family Robinson for Swift, followed by King Arthur and His Knights, where he progressively used striking double sized frames to depict battle scenes, and Robin Hood and His Merry Men.

When Marcus Morris, editor of Eagle, offered him the opportunity to work on the comic’s prestigious back page, Bellamy was eager to begin. His enthusiasm was, however, tempered a little when he learnt that the work was to be a biographical strip of Sir Winston Churchill. Up to that time the back page ‘historical biography’ had always concentrated on historical figures; to work on the biographical strip of, not only a living person but a great national hero as well, was a rather intimidating task and one that called for a great deal of careful research - as well as tact. Ever a perfectionist Bellamy spent many hours studying a large number of photographic references and making numerous visits to the Imperial War Museum in London, and The Happy Warrior, as the strip was titled, proved to be a great success not only with Eagle readers but also with its subject!

Early in 1959, Hulton Press had been taken over by Odhams and the new owners wanted to see some changes. They decided that Dan Dare, the famous cover character of Eagle, looked too dated and needed a face lift. They wanted someone who would inject a new vitality into the character and asked Frank Bellamy if he would take on the job. Bellamy was uneasy about taking over a character who had been created and nurtured by another artist (Frank Hampson), but during his agreed year on the Dan Dare strip, Bellamy created some stunning pages of artwork that glow vividly with life.

Also for Eagle, Fraser of Africa was one of Frank Bellamy’s greatest successes and it remained one of the artist’s own particular favourites. One feature of the strip that has contributed to its continual appeal is its philosophy of conservation. It was years ahead of its time in its attitude towards the wild life of the African continent. This was followed by the fantasy adventure strip Heros The Spartan.

In January 1966, Frank Bellamy began work on a strip version of Thunderbirds, the Gerry Anderson T.V. puppet series that has recently enjoyed yet another successful revival on BBC TV. Anderson’s futuristic puppets were incredibly popular in the late 1960s and their exploits were avidly followed by fans in TV Century 21, and throughout the late 1960s and early 1970s Bellamy contributed to many quality periodicals including The Sunday Times, Look And Learn and Radio Times. His work for Radio Times, all featuring the popular character, Dr. Who, is amongst his most sought-after from the 1970s. In 1971 he took over the Garth strip in the Daily Mirror.

Frank Bellamy was a perfectionist who created some of the best colour work ever to appear in British comics. His meticulously-drawn strips were always vibrant and full of life and action. His artwork rarely showed any signs of changes or alterations: he would discard a piece of work and start again rather than resort to process white and paste on patches. His legacy is a wealth of superbly-drawn and painted strips that are amongst the very best of their kind. He would captivate his audience from the moment their eyes encountered the first frame of one of his strips and hold them spellbound until the last panel had been savoured. His work is highly regarded amongst an ever-growing group of enthusiasts both in the UK and abroad.

This extract is taken from Book & Magazine Collector no. 222 by permission of the publisher, and authors Norman Wright and David Ashford. Back issues of Book and Magazine Collector can be obtained from: Book & Magazine Collector, 45 St. Mary’s Rd, Ealing, London W5 5RQ. Issues cost : UK: £3.50, Europe £3.95. Special offer on back issues to USA, Canada and Australia: 3 issues by surface mail for £11.00. By Airmail: USA/Canada: 3 issues for £13.50, Australia: 3 issues for £13.90. Payment in Sterling payable: Diamond Publishing Group Ltd. Click here to see the complete biography courtesy of the publisher and Norman Wright and David Ashford.

Life Sketch (Original)
(Ref: BellamyLifeSketch)

Frank Bellamy. An original crayon life sketch by the incomparable Frank Bellamy. This early unfinished crayon sketch from the 1950s demonstrates his incredible skill that later excelled on Heros the Spartan, Fraser of Africa and other incredible work. 11" x 15" (28cm x 38cm) Crayon Paper

Our Price: £175.00 ($262.50) (€192,50)

Garth Newspaper strip H238 (Original) (Signed)
(Ref: BellamyGarthH238)

Frank Bellamy. ORIGINAL SIGNED art for newspaper strip on board. Originally published in 1974 as part of the story 'Bride of Jenghiz Khan' in the Daily Mirror. Professionally matted ready for framing. 25" x 10" (64cm x 25cm) Pen & Ink

Our Price: £155.00 ($232.50) (€170,50)

Garth Newspaper strip H280 (Original) (Signed)
(Ref: BellamyGarth280)

Frank Bellamy. ORIGINAL SIGNED art for newspaper strip on board. Originally published in 1974 as part of the story 'Bride of Jenghiz Khan' in the Daily Mirror. Stunning black and white pen and ink work. 21" x 7" (533mm x 178mm) Pen & Ink Board

Our Price: £175.00 ($262.50) (€192,50)

Garth newspaper strip J182 (Original) (Signed)
(Ref: BellamygarthJ182X)

Frank Bellamy. ORIGINAL SIGNED art for newspaper strip on board. Originally published in 1975 as part of a story in the Daily Mirror. Stunning black and white pen and ink work. 21" x 7" (533mm x 178mm) Pen & Ink Board

Our Price: £195.00 ($292.50) (€214,50)

Garth Newspaper strip J299 (Original) (Signed)
(Ref: BellamyGarthJ299)

Frank Bellamy. ORIGINAL SIGNED art for newspaper strip on board. Originally published in 1976 as part of the story 'The Beautiful People' in the Daily Mirror. Professionally matted ready for framing. 25" x 10" (64cm x 25cm) Pen & Ink Board

Our Price: £155.00 ($232.50) (€170,50)

Garth Newspaper strip K125 (Original) (Signed)
(Ref: BellamyGarthK125)

Frank Bellamy. ORIGINAL SIGNED art for newspaper strip on board. Originally published in 1976 as part of the story 'The Spanish Lady' in the Daily Mirror. Professionally matted ready for framing. 25" x 10" (64cm x 25cm) Pen & Ink Board

Our Price: £155.00 ($232.50) (€170,50)

Life Study 2 (Original) (Signed)
(Ref: BellamyLife2)

Frank Bellamy. ORIGINAL art in crayon. Produced in the 1950s while Frank Bellamy attended life drawing classes. SIGNED lower right corner. Perfect condition. 15" x 10" (38cm x 25cm) Crayon

Our Price: £200.00 ($300.00) (€220,00)

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