Robert McGinnis

Robert "Bob" Edward McGinnis was born on February 3, 1926 in Cincinnati, Ohio to Mildred (nee Finch, 1899-1978) and Nolan McGinnis (1896-1981).{{cite web |last= Gabriel |first= Trip |date= 17 April 2025 |title= Robert E. McGinnis, Whose Lusty Illustrations Defined an Era, Dies at 99 |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/17/arts/robert-e-mcginnis-dead.html |website= The New York Times |accessdate= 17 April 2025}}{{Cite news |last= Gabriel |first= Trip |date= 2025-04-17 |title= Robert E. McGinnis, Illustrator Behind Classic ‘James Bond’ Posters, Dies at 99 |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/17/arts/robert-e-mcginnis-dead.html |access-date= 2025-04-18 |work= The New York Times |language= en-US |issn= 0362-4331}} One of six children, he was raised in Wyoming, Ohio. His father was a construction worker. A talented artist himself his father, once it became evident that his son also had talent encouraged his son’s talent for drawing, with his mother enrolling him in Saturday morning drawing classes at the Cincinnati Art Museum.McGinnis, Scott, The Art of Robert E. McGinnis, pp. 9-11

A high school art teacher was able to obtain him an apprenticeship at the Walt Disney Studios in California. McGinnis hitchhiked to California to take up the job. After the entry of the United States into World War II caused the studio to reduce their output of animated films to concentrate on training, and morale raising films McGinniss served for a time in Merchant Marine. He then returned home to study fine art at Ohio State University.While there he played for the University’s football team, which went undefeated in 1944.

He left university before graduating. By approximately 1947, he was studying at a private art school run by Jackson Grey Storey.

In the late 1940s, McGinnis took a job in Cincinnati with advertising art studio where he drew mattress and television set advertisements for departments stores. A meeting with respected illustrator Coby Whitmore inspire McGinnis to move in 1953 with his wife to New York where he worked for the Fredman Chaite Studios, where he produced advertising material. As well as Whitmore, among the other artists working there at the time included Frank Kalan, Frank McCarthy, Robert "Bob" M. Peak and Jack Thurston.

A chance meeting with Mitchell Hooks in 1958 led him to be introduced to Dell Publishing began a career drawing a variety of paperback covers for books written by such authors as Donald Westlake (writing as Richard Stark), Edward S. Aarons, Erle Stanley Gardner, Richard S. Prather, and the Michael Shayne and Carter Brown series.[http://www.imagenetion.org/0/rmcginnis9.htm Virtual Pin-ups Art Gallery: artist Robert McGinnis/9]{{dead link|date=April 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}} − ImageNETion

McGinnis later did artwork for Ladies' Home Journal, Woman's Home Companion, Good Housekeeping, TIME, Argosy, Guideposts, and The Saturday Evening Post. He was main title designer for The Hallelujah Trail (1965).{{IMDb name|569370}}

McGinnis's attention to detail was such that when he was assigned to do the artwork for Arabesque he requested Sophia Loren's tiger stripe dress be sent for him for a model to wear so he could get the right appearance.

In 1985, McGinnis was awarded the title of "Romantic Artist of the Year" by Romantic Times magazine for his many romance novel paperback covers, some of them considered to be clinch covers.{{cite web |last1=Lessard |first1=Victoria |title=A Brief History of the Clinch {{!}} Hazlitt |url=https://hazlitt.net/feature/brief-history-clinch |website=hazlitt.net |publisher=Penguin Random House |language=en}}

In later years, McGinnis created cover illustrations for the Hard Case Crime paperback series, and painted a number of retro-style covers for reissues of books by Neil Gaiman.{{Cite web |url=https://neil-gaiman.tumblr.com/post/649850604049645568/the-graveyard-book-cover-ask-reminded-me-of |title=Neil Gaiman}}

McGinnis was a member of the Society of Illustrators Hall of Fame.[https://www.societyillustrators.org/programs/hall-fame Hall of Fame] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200416102025/https://www.societyillustrators.org/programs/hall-fame |date=April 16, 2020 }} − Society of Illustrators McGinnis is the subject of a documentary film, Robert McGinnis: Painting the Last Rose of Summer, by Paul Jilbert.

In 1948, McGinnis married Ferne Mitchell, who he had met while attending university. Born on September 17, 1926, she died on February 19, 2023 after 75 years of marriage.{{cite web |title= Obituary: Ferne McGinnis |url= https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/greenwich-ct/ferne-mcginnis-11165399 |website= Dignity Memorial |accessdate= 18 April 2025}} The couple had three children, Melinda, Laurie and Kyle.

McGinnis died at his home in Old Greenwich, Connecticut, on March 10, 2025, at the age of 99.{{Cite web |last= Saperstein |first= Pat |title= Robert McGinnis, Creator of Iconic James Bond Posters, Dies at 99|url= https://variety.com/2025/film/obituaries-people-news/robert-mcginnis-dead-james-bond-posters-1236360289/ |magazine= Variety |date= April 4, 2025}} After his death, The New York Times' Trip Gabriel wrote that McGinnis' illustrations "defined an era," noting his "lusty, photorealistic artwork of curvaceous women."{{Cite news |last=Gabriel |first=Trip |date=2025-04-17 |title=Robert E. McGinnis, Illustrator Behind Classic ‘James Bond’ Posters, Dies at 99 |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/17/arts/robert-e-mcginnis-dead.html |access-date=2025-04-18 |work=The New York Times |language= en-US |issn= 0362-4331}}

• Harry Whittington: Shack Road Girl, Berkley (1959)
• A. A. Fair: Crows Can't Count, Dell (1960)
• Brett Halliday: Date with a Dead Man, Dell (1960)
• Robert Dietrich: Murder on Her Mind, 1st Edition (1960)
• Marjorie Lee: The Lion House, Fawcett (1960)
• Leo Margulies: Mike Shayne's Torrid Twelve, Dell First Edition (1961)
• Brett Halliday: Murder Takes No Holiday, Dell (1961)
• Maurice Zolotow: Oh Careless Love, Avon (1961)
• Brett Halliday: The Corpse Came Calling, Dell (1961)
• Ed McBain: Like Love, Pocket Books (1962)
• Jay Scotland: The Veils of Salome, Avon (1962)
• Harry Whittington: Don't Speak to Strange Girls, Fawcett (1963)
• A. S. Fleischman: The Venetian Blonde, Fawcett (1963)
• John D. MacDonald: Soft Touch, Dell (1974)
• Brett Halliday: The Careless Corpse, Dell (1962)
• Brett Halliday: Never Kill a Client, Dell (1963)
• Brett Halliday: The Blonde Cried Murder, Dell (1963)
• Brett Halliday: The Body Came Back, Dell (1964)
• Brett Halliday: A Redhead for Mike Shayne, Dell (1965)
• Brett Halliday: Heads You Lose, Dell (1965)
• Brett Halliday: Murder Spins the Wheel, Dell (1966)
• Brett Halliday: Nice Fillies Finish Last, Dell (1966)
• Brett Halliday: Guilty As Hell, Dell (1967)
• Brett Halliday: This Is It, Michael Shayne, Dell (1968)
• M .E. Chaber: Green Grow the Graves, Paperback Library (1971)
• Bob Vichy: All Together Now, Berkley (1972)
• Richard S. Prather: Dig That Crazy Grave, Fawcett (1972)
• Mary Savage: The Coach Draws Near, Dell (1972)
• Helen McCloy: A Change of Heart, Dell (1974)
• Robert Terrill: Kill Now, Pay Later, Hard Case Crime (2007).

All credits are for posters , except where stated.

• Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961)
• The Hallelujah Trail (1965). As well as the film poster, McGinnis created the artwork for both the title and credit sequences.McGinnis, Scott, The Art of Robert E. McGinnis, pp. 102, 103
• Run For Your Wife (1965)
• Thunderball (1965)
• Any Wednesday (1966)
• Arabesque (1966)
• Gambit (1966)
• How to Steal a Million (1966)
• Murderer's Row (1966)
• The Ambushers (1967)
• Barefoot in the Park (1967)
• Clambake (1967)
• Casino Royale (1967)
• Jack of Diamonds (1967)
• You Only Live Twice (1967)
• Barbarella (1968)
• The Biggest Bundle of Them All (1968)
• Live a Little, Love a Little (1968)
• Stay Away, Joe (1968)
• The Odd Couple (1968)
• The Wrecking Crew (1968)
• Where Were You When the Lights Went Out? (1968)
• Cactus Flower (1969)
• Don't Just Stand There! (1969)
• On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969)
• Sinful Davey (1969)
• The Assassination Bureau (1969)
• The Great Bank Robbery (1969)
• Sweet Charity (1969)
• Cotton Comes to Harlem (1970)
• How Do I Love Thee? (1970)
• The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (1970)
• Diamonds Are Forever (1971)
• Duck, You Sucker! (aka A Fistful of Dynamite) (1971)
• Plaza Suite (1971)
• Avanti! (1972)
• Come Back, Charleston Blue (1972)
• Innocent Bystanders (1972)
• The Honkers (1972)
• House of 1000 Pleasures (1973)
• Live and Let Die (1973)
• Scorpio (1973)
• Sleeper (1973)
• The Day of the Dolphin (1973)
• The Optimists of Nine Elms (1973)
• Bread and Chocolate (1974)
• The Four of Us (1974)
• The Man with the Golden Gun (1974)
• The Sugarland Express (1974)
• Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (1974)
• Brannigan (1975)
• The Sunshine Boys (1975)
• The Teasers (1975)
• Gator (1976)
• The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings (1976)
• Norman... Is That You? (1976)
• Lets Make a Dirty Movie (1977)
• Semi-Tough (1977)
• The Teasers Go to Paris (1977)
• Comes a Horseman (1978)
• Ffolkes (1979)
• The Man From S.E.X (1979)
• Little Miss Marker (1980)
• Serial (1980)
• Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005). McGinnis drew the covers for the fictional Johnny Gossamer novels that appear in the film.McGinnis, Scott, The Art of Robert E. McGinnis, p. 111

{{Reflist}}

• {{cite book |last1= McGinnis |first1= Robert E. |last2= Scott |first2= Art |year= 2014 |title= The Art of Robert E. McGinnis |location= London |publisher= Titian Books |type= Hardcover |isbn= 9781781162170}}
• {{cite book |last1= Fenner |first1= Cathy |last2= Fenner |first2= Arnie |year= 2000 |title= Tapestry: The Paintings of Robert McGinnis |publisher= Underwood Books |isbn= 978-1-887424-56-1}}
• {{cite book |first1= Art |last1= Scott |first2= Robert E. |last2= McGinnis |last3= Maynard |first3= Wallace |year= 2001 |title= The Paperback Covers of Robert McGinnis: A Complete Listing of the 1,068 Titles and 1,432 Editions of the Paperback Cover Illustrations of Robert McGinnis |publisher= Pond Press |isbn= 978-0-9666776-4-5}}

• [https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/greenwichtime/name/robert-mcginnis-obituary?id=58019815 Legacy.com obituary]
• [http://www.mcginnispaintings.com/ Official website]
• [https://archive.vanityfair.com/article/2017/4/the-mcginnis-look 2017 interview] at Vanity fair
• [https://www.americanartarchives.com/mcginnis.htm McGinnis] at American Art Archives
• [https://www.flickr.com/photos/42080330@N03/tags/robertmcginnis/ McGinnis paperback covers gallery] at Flickr

{{Society of Illustrators' Hall of Fame}}

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Category:1926 births

Category:2025 deaths

Category:American illustrators

Category:American poster artists

Category:Film poster artists

Category:20th-century American painters

Category:American male painters

Category:21st-century American painters

Category:21st-century American male artists

Category:Artists from Cincinnati

Category:Ohio State Buckeyes football players

Category:People from Wyoming, Ohio

Category:Romance cover artists

Category:United States Merchant Mariners of World War II

Category:20th-century American male artists

Category:People from Old Greenwich, Connecticut