Richard M. Powers, February 24, 1921 – March 9, 1996 was an American science fiction and fantasy author. Inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame (2008) and the Society of Illustrators Hall of Fame (2016).
Richard Michael Gorman Powers was born in Chicago to a Catholic family. His mother and aunt supported him most of his childhood. Powers’ father died when he was young. Powers was eleven years old when his uncle gave him his first sketchbook. However, his uncle’s wife would later try to stop him from creating any art. After studying Greek at Loyola University, he switched to art and took classes at Mizen Academy Chicago Art Institute, Chicago Art Institute, and the University of Illinois at Chicago. He enlisted to fight in World War II and took art classes at the University of Kentucky. He then worked in the Signal Corps in New York City. He got married and started a career as an illustrator for magazines and publishing houses. He also continued his art education at The New School. He became one of the most important science fiction and fantasy fiction authors of all time.
Although he started out in a pulp-derived style, he quickly developed a personal Surrealist idiom, influenced by Picasso and Yves Tanguy. He also tried his hand at abstract art and collage later in life, before he died in 1996 at 75.
He did many covers for Doubleday from the 1940s to the 1960s. He was an unofficial art director at Ballantine Books in the 1950s and 1960s.
Richard Powers, The Survivor and Others by H. P. Lovecraft & August Derleth, 1962.Richard Powers, The Word for World Is Forest by Ursula K. LeGuin 1976.Richard Powers, Inside by Dan Morgan 1974.Richard Powers, The Abominable Earthman by Frederik Pohl 1963.Richard Powers, The Quy Effect by Arthur Sellings 1967.Richard Powers, The View from the Stars, a collection of 9 stories by Walter M. Miller, Jr., 1965.Richard Powers, Miriam Allen deFord, Xenogenesis, Ballantine 1969.Book Scribbles: Unique PowersRichard Powers, A Mirror for Observers by Edgar Pangborn, Bluejay Books, 1985.Richard Powers, A Handful of Time by Rosel George Brown.ANCL00251Richard Powers? The Best of Sci-Fi 2 (UK), 1964.Richard Powers, The X Factor by Andre Norton, 1965.This contains an image of: ballantine 353kPublication: Natives of Space Authors: Hal Clement Year: 1965-04-00 Catalog ID: #U2235 Publisher: Ballantine Books Cover: Richard PowersThis contains an image of:Imagination Unlimited. Edited by F. Bleiler and T.E. Dikty. Mayflower Dell 1966. Cover artist Richard PowersWhen is a man not a man? When his body and mind have been invaded by The Cosmozoids. Belmont edition 1966 great cover art by Richard M Powers.Hugo Gernsback – Ralph 124C 41+ (Crest s226) on Flickr.Via Flickr: Gernsback, Hugo Ralph 124C 41+:One To Forsee For One 1958 Crest S226 Cover by Richard PowersRichard M. PowersThe High Crusade, Pour Anderson (1964 edition), cover by Richard PowersRichard Powers, Horror Gems Vol. 6, 2013, a variant of Beyond Fantasy Fiction 53-07.Richard Powers, The Paradox Men by Charles L. Harness.Richard Powers, The Syndic by C.M. Kornbluth 2011 (same cover as the1955 Bantam edition)Cover art by Richard Powers.Powers in Rohrschach mode. Richard Powers, The Frankenstein Reader, edited by Calvin Beck, Ballantine Books 75, 1962.Richard Powers, The Planet of the Blind by Paul Corey, 1969.Richard Powers, Summer in Salandar by H.E. Bates, 1958.Updates: Recent Science Fiction Acquisitions N. XXII (Cooper + Wilhelm + Kornbluth + Merril) « Science Fiction and Other Suspect RuminationsThe Bright Phoenix, Harold Mead (1956), cover by Richard PowersRichard Powers, Berserker by Fred Saberhagen 1967.Richard Powers, Berserker2: Brother Assassin by Fred Saberhagen, 1969.Richard Powers, Maske: Thaery by Jack Vance, 1976.Richard Powers, Six Great Short Science Fiction Novels edited by Groff Conklin 1960.Richard Powers, Men, Martians and Machines by Eric Frank Russell, 1958.Richard Powers, Operation Terror 1962. Murray Leinster 1962.Richard Powers, American SF: Four Classic Novels 1953-1956, edited by Gary K. Wolfe 2012. Contains The Space Merchants by Frederik Pohl and C.M. Kornbluth (1953), More than Human by Theodore Sturgeon (1953), The Long Tomorrow by Leigh Brackett (1955), and The Shrinking Man by Richard Matheson (1956).Richard Powers, The Planet of the Blind by Paul Corey 1969.Richard Powers, Deadly Image by Edmund Cooper 1958.Richard Powers, The Number of the Beast by Robert A. Heinlein, 1982.Richard Powers, The Number of the Beast by Robert A. Heinlein, back cover, 1980.Richard Powers, Friday by Robert A. Heinlein, wraparound cover, 1983.Richard Powers, Friday by Robert A. Heinlein, front of wraparound cover, 1983.Richard Powers, The Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut, 1959.According to ISFdb this is a Richard Powers cover—but it doesn’t look like it! Out of the Deeps by John Wyndham, 1953.Powers was a nimble stylist, with shades and variations on his approach that tailored to the topic—be it a sci fi comedy pastiche like Six-Gun Planet (Paperback Library, 1970) or a rugged, “men’s adventure”-style illustration that he adapted for the Tarzan covers he did for Ballantine. He was also quite successful at suggesting dread, which made his work on horror all the more riveting.Chthon, Piers Anthony (1975 edition), cover by Richard PowersRichard M. Powers, Nebula Award Stories 8 edited by Isaac Asimov 1975.Richard M Powers, cover…Richard Powers, Night of Light by Philip Jose Farmer, 1972.Richard Powers, The Skylark of Space by Edward E. Smith.Richard Powers, Tau Zero by Poul Anderson, 1976.Richard Powers, No Boundaries, 1955.Richard Powers, The Shadow of Alpha by Charles L. Grant, 1976.Richard Powers, The Ugly Swans by Arkady & Boris Strugatsky, 1979.Richard Powers, Out of the Deeps by John Wyndham 1969.Richard Powers, The Day of the Shield by Antony Alban 1973.Richard Powers, A for Andromeda by Fred Hoyle and John Elliot 1964.Richard Powers, Expedition to Earth by Arthur C. Clarke, 1953.Richard Powers, Expedition to Earth by Arthur C. Clarke 1953.Richard Powers, Far and Away, a story collection by Anthony Boucher 1955 Ballantine Books.Richard Powers, Star Bridge by Jack Williamson & James E. Gunn 1977.Richard Powers, Conditionally Human by Walter M. Miller, Jr., 1962.Richard Powers, Conditionally Human by Walter M. Miller, Jr., 1962.Richard Powers, Needle in a Timestack by Robert Silverberg,1966.Richard Powers, The Enemy of My Enemy by Avram Davidson, 1966.Richard Powers, Tomorrow Times Seven, a story collection by Frederik Pohl, 1959.Richard Powers, Brain Wave by Poul Anderson 1954.Richard Powers, The Star of Life by Edmond Hamilton, Crest Books, 1959.Richard Powers, The Star of Life by Edmond Hamilton, Crest Books, 1959.Richard Powers, The Star of Life by Edmond Hamilton 1959.The Case Against Tomorrow by Frederik Pohl (Ballantine:1965)Richard Powers, The Aluminum Man by G. C. Edmondson 1975.Richard Powers, E Pluribus Unicorn, a collection of 13 stories by Theodore Sturgeon, 1956.Richard. Powers, The Infinite Cage by Keith Laumer 1974.Richard Powers, Symphonie Fantastique by Berlioz.Richard Powers, No Time Like Tomorrow by Brian Aldiss, 1959.Richard Powers, New Maps of Hell by Kingsley Amis, 1961.Richard Powers, To Open the Sky by Robert Silverberg 1967.Richard Powers, Chronopolis by J.G. Ballard, 1979.Richard Powers, Farewell to Yesterday’s Tomorrow by Alexei Panshin 1975.Richard Powers, The Bright Phoenix by Harold Mead 1956.Richard Powers, The Drowned World by J. G. Ballard 1966.Richard Powers, The Drowned World by J.G. Ballard 1962.Richard Powers, To Live Forever by Jack Vance 1956.Richard Powers, Search the Sky by Frederik Pohl and C. M. Kornbluth 1954.Richard Powers, Costigan’s Needle by Jerry Sohl 1954.Richard Powers, Ahead of Time, a story collection by Henry Kuttner 1953.Richard Powers, Citizen in Space 1955.Richard Powers, Citizen in Space, a story collection by Robert Sheckley 1968.Richard Powers, Citizen in Space, a story collection by Robert Sheckley 1968.Richard Powers, After Worlds Collide by Philip Wylie and Edwin Balmer 1963. It was first published in 1934. A handful of supermen colonize a distant planet – sequel to When Worlds Collide.Richard Powers, Shield by Poul Anderson 1963.Richard Powers, Out of the Deeps by John Wyndham 1961. An explicitly sexual cover.Richard Powers, Worlds Apart AKA Born Leader by J. T. McIntosh 1958.Richard Powers, Slan by A.E. Van Vogt 1961.Richard Powers, Beyond the Barrier by Damon Knight 1965.Richard Powers, The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester, 1957. A classic story of revenge in a world of teleporters.Richard Powers, The Winds of Limbo by Michael Moorcock 1969.Beyond Eden, book cover. David Duncan not to be confused with Canadian SF author Dave Duncan.Strangers from Earth, art by Richard M. Powers, book coverRichard Powers, More than Human by Theodore Sturgeon, 1953, published too early to receive the Hugo it would have won.Richard Powers, A Case of Conscience 1958.Richard Powers, The Voices of Time by J.G. Ballard 1962.Richard Powers, The Voices of Time by J.G. Ballard 1966.Richard Powers, Guardians of Time 1960.Richard Powers, The Impossible Man by J.G. Ballard 1966.Richard Powers, 30 Days Wonder by Richard Wilson 2013, using 1960 cover art.Richard Powers, Gladiator-at-Law by Frederik Pohl and C.M. Kornbluth 1962.Richard Powers, The Space Merchants by Frederik Pohl and C.M. Kornbluth 1953.Richard Powers, Gladiator-at-Law by Frederik Pohl and C.M. Kornbluth 1955.Uncredited artist (Powers?), Angels and Spaceships (AKA Star Shine) by Fredric Brown 1956.Richard Powers, Analogue Men by Damon Knight 1962.Richard Powers, Destination: Universe!, a short story collection by A.E. Van Vogt.Richard Powers, Destination: Universe!, a short story collection by A.E. van Vogt 1964.1961Richard Powers, Another Kind by Chad Oliver 1955.Richard Powers, City by Clifford D. Simak 1954.Richard Powers, Re-Birth, John Wyndham 1955.Richard Powers, Tomorrow Plus X (AKA Time Bomb) by Wilson Tucker 1957.Richard Powers, The Stars Like Dust (UK) by Isaac Asimov.Richard M. Powers, Sardonicus by Ray Russell 1961.Richard Powers, The Goblin Reservation by Clifford D. Simak 1968.Richard Powers, All Flesh Is Grass by Clifford D. Simak 1973.Richard Powers, Time Is the Simplest Thing (1961) by Clifford D. Simak, 1964 cover.Richard Powers, Pebble in the Sky by Isaac Asimov, Galaxy Novel No.14, 1953.Richard Powers, Double Star by Robert A. Heinlein 1968.1957Richard Powers, Star Mother by Sydney J. van Scyoc 1977.Cover for the 1976 edition of StarMother, Sydney J. Van ScyocRichard Powers, Assignment in Tomorrow edited by Federik Pohl, 1954.They Walked Like Men (1962) by Clifford D. Simak. 1967 cover by Richard Powers.Richard Powers, Passport to Eternity, a collection by J.G. Ballard 1963.Cover art Richard Powers 1964This contains an image of:19811998This contains an image of:1979198019801980Richard Powers, The Four Lords of the Diamond by Jack L. Chalker 1983.1983Richard Powers, The 1985 Annual World’s Best SF edited by Donald A. Wollheim 1985.19671965196619641962196319631963196419641962RICHARD M. POWERS – self portrait1962This contains an image of:Richard Powers, A Treasury of Science Fiction edited by Groff Conklin 19571954“Dick” Powers, The Winds of Time by Chad Oliver 1958.Richard Powers, Indoctrinaire by Christopher Priest 1971.This contains an image of:1979 Cover Richard PowersRichard Powers, The Wonder Effect by C. M. Kornbluth & Frederik Pohl 1962 Catalog Ballantine BooksRichard Powers, Tunnel Through The Deeps 1974.Richard Powers, High destiny by Dan Morgan 1973.Richard Powers, World Out of Mind by J.T. M’Intosh 1955.Richard Powers, To Your Scattered Bodies Go by Philip Jose Farmer 1971.Richard Powers, The Undying Fire by Fletcher Pratt 1953.Piers Anthony – Phthor (Berkeley Z3011) on Flickr.Via Flickr: Anthony, Piers Phthor Berkley Z3011 1975 Cover art by Powers, RichardRichard Powers, Star Guard by Andre Norton, Harcourt Brace HC, 247 pp., $3.00.L. Sprague de Camp. The Glory That Was.richard-powers_seven-come-infinity_greenwich-fawcett-nd_d1752Richard PowersRichard Powers, Zacherley was a late night horror show host during the 50s who showed horror movies that were old even then.He Owned the World, book coverOut of Their Minds (1970) by Clifford D. Simak. 1975 cover by Richard Powers.ABOVE: Zach Hughes, The Stork Factor (NY: Berkley, 1975), N2781, with cover art by Richard Powers.Richard Powers, The Broken Lands by Fred Saberhagen, 1968.Richard Powers cover art.scificovers: Gold Medal S-997: 13 Great Stories of Science-Fictionedited by Groff Conklin 1960. Cover Art by Richard PowersPhilip Jose Farmer Book Covers | Ballantine Books – The Alley God – Philip Jose FarmerpowersPublication: Of All Possible Worlds Authors: William Tenn Year: 1955-02-00 Catalog ID: #99 Publisher: Ballantine Books Cover: Richard PowersThe Naked Sun. bantam a1731 by Boy de Haas, via FlickrOut of My Mind, by John Brunner, cover art by Richard Powers, 1967 (first edition)Worlds Without End (1964), Clifford D. Simak, cover by Richard PowersAdventures in Science Fiction Cover Art: The 1950s Surrealist Cityscapes of Richard Powers | Science Fiction and Other Suspect RuminationsDoctor Solar, Man of the Atom #1 published by Gold Key Comics in 1962. Cover by Richard Powers. Here you see it with…Martians, Go Home (1956 edition), Fredric Brown, cover by Richard PowersRichard Powers Neutron Stars by Gregory FitzGerald 1977 Fawcett Gold Medal 1-3905-0The Long Loud Silence, by Wilson Tucker (1954), cover by Richard Powersfantastic vintage science fiction art by modern_fred, via Flickr“Three Times Infinity,” edited by Leo Margulies (July 1963 Gold Medal Book edition); cover art by Richard M. Powers.Mortals and Monsters, Lester Del Rey (1965), cover by Richard PowersMissing Man (1975), Katherine MacLean, cover by Richard PowersPavane (1976 edition), Keith Roberts, cover by Richard PowersThe Eternal Frontiers (1973), James H. Scmitz, cover by Richard PowersUpdates: Recent Science Fiction Acquisitions N. XVIII (Disch + Silverberg + Pohl + Dickson + et. al.) « Science Fiction and Other Suspect RuminationsABOVE: John Crowley, The Deep (NY: Berkley, 1976), D3163, with cover art by Richard Powers.Future Corruption (1975), Roger Elwood, cover by Richard PowersThe Immortals, James Gunn (1962 edition), cover by Mitchell HooksThe Big Eye, book coverThe Ship of Ishtar, A. Merritt (1956 edition), cover by Richard PowersDell Books 608The Girls from Planet 5: The invaders of Earth were Beautiful! Illustration: Richard Powers (Ballentine Books, 1955)Alone by Night, cover art by Richard PowersRichard Powers’ cover for the 1964 edition of The Killing Machine (1964), Jack VanceA Stir of Echoes by Richard Matheson, 1959. Cover Art by Richard Powers.Richard M. Powers cover for William Tenn’s The Human Angle5 Unearthly Visions 1st Fawcett D1868 Conditionally Human by Walter M Miller Jr | eBay(Richard Powers’ cover for the 1958 edition of 43,000 Years Later (1958), Horace Coon)Richard Powers 1973The Frozen Years, James Blish (1957 edition), cover by Richard Powersawesome classic sci-fi book cover Ursula K. LeGuin – City of illusionsSeeker from the Stars, James Nelson Coleman (1967), cover by Richard PowersPowersThe Metal Monster, A. Merritt (1957 edition), cover by Richard Powers