Official Edgar Rice Burroughs Tribute Site
Since 1996 ~ Over 5,000 Webpages in Archive
Volume 1003

"We moved east in the early '50s for the editorial market.  I did cover art for many paperbacks including Ballantine, movie posters and some story illustration for True, Argosy, etc.  I was already working with Ballantine Books when the subject of the ERB stories came up. I jumped in wholeheartedly. It seems to me I did two editions of the Tarzan books, for some reason, as well as the John Carter Series.  It was a delight to try to bring the fictional characters and settings to life, and still keep the ERB feelings to them.  I hope I was successful at least part of the time.

"I developed a personal ralationship with both Ian Ballantine and his wife Betty, as well as with Bob, the art director. They were guests at our home and we visited with them at theirs.  For his position, Ian was a 'reachable' person and would even promptly answer my calls.  Once when he called back, I asked him where he was, and he answered casually, "I'm at Heathrow Airport for another hour."
 
"In the past, I have received enough mail from ERB fans to know that you guys are perhaps a small but vital and robust group of those who luxuriate in a good make-believe series!  Keep up the good work! Thanks for your interest!" ~ Bob Abbett
 
BIOGRAPHY:
Outdoor artist Robert Abbett was born in Hammond, Indiana, educated in the midwest;  Purdue and Missouri Universities; and worked in illustrative art in Chicago and New York until moving to Bridgewater, CT  in 1970, at which time he moved his attention to gallery art.  The Abbetts now split their time between a studio home in Scottsdale, AZ and their Connecticut estate, Oakdale.
 
Specializing in outdoor sports and activities  -  hunting dogs, fly fishing, horses and wildlife and an occasional portrait, his paintings have received acclaim across this country and abroad.  Abbett’s work is represented in the permanent collections of the Genesco County Museum of Wildlife Art, Mumford, NY, the  Dog Museum of America, St. Louis and the National Bird Dog Museum, Grand Junction, TN.  His painting of actor Jimmy Stewart shown in western gear hangs in the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City.
 
His credentials are to the point: memberships in The Society of Animal Artists and Who's Who in American Art. and Who's Who in America.  Bob is a featured columnist and writes "Abbett on Art" for Sporting Classics Magazine,  repeated cover artist for The Pointing Dog Journal.  "ABBETT", by Michael McIntosh, (out of print) a large size art book published in 1989 on his work and history, was followed by "WINGS FROM COVER  -  THE UPLAND IMAGES OF ROBERT K. ABBETT AND ED GRAY." Willow Creek Press.   The current Abbett book is "A SEASON FOR PAINTING" authored by him and published by Collectors Covey in Dallas,
 
Abbett's accomplishments include the design of many popular conservation stamp/print programs including those for The National Cutting Horse Association, The Sporting Dog Heritage, The Bird Dog Foundation, Ducks Unlimited, Trout Unlimited , The Wild Turkey Federation, and the International Quail Foundation.  His painting "Navajo Buddies", showing a horse and sheep dog, was published as promotional prints and posters for the Parada del Sol in Scottsdale, Arizona.  Articles on his work have appeared in dozens of magazines such as Sports Afield (he was named one of the top outdoor artists of America in their 100th Anniversary Issue), Gray's Sporting Journal, Wildlife Art News and Sporting Classics, and he was the featured cover story artist in the November ’96 issue of the AKC Gazette.
 
A Robert Abbett commissioned dog portrait has become the industry standard, and Bob's busy schedule takes him to some of the worlds most fabulous estates, kennels, game preserves and fishing streams.  Bob and his wife Marilyn travel widely in the pursuit of subject material, including the west where his work is shown in galleries in Dallas, Scottsdale and Jackson, Wyoming.

Website Reference: www.robertabbett.com

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