CHARLES GEHM, A Master of Realism

I took notice of Charles Gehm at about the same time as I did Victor Livoti. Both men were highly skilled realist painters with not dissimilar styles and thematic inclinations, and both were producing cover art for many of the same New York publishers while also living in Connecticut. Someone told me once that they may have been good friends, part of a small social art circle. If nothing else they like-minded colleagues of relatively similar ages, Livoti having been born in 1923 and Gehm in 1929.

Gehm attended the Columbus College of Art and Design in Columbus, Ohio, the beneficiary of a 1948 Scholastic Art Award Certificate of Merit and a Scholarship. After that he attended the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts, where he completed two more years of study.

Charles Gehm, like Livoti, began illustrating paperback covers sometime during the mid 1960's, perhaps even earlier. He produced cover art for adult, children and teen titles until at least the late 1990's, while working for nearly every major publishing house that existed. To keep diverse, Gehm also produced portraits, fine art paintings, record jacket art, advertising art, and interior illustrations for popular magazines, among them Argosy, Life, Time, Newsweek, Redbook, Readers Digest, Good Housekeeping and Ladies Home Journal. He also created various collectible art and plates for clients such as The Marks and The Bradford Exchange, and poster art for movies.

Gehm was a lifelong member of the prestigious Society of Illustrators, in addition to a few other formal and informal art groups. As an adjunct professor, Gehm taught life drawing and painting at the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts, illustration at the Pratt Institute, and drawing, design, painting and illustration at Western Connecticut State University. All in all, Gehm was a successful professional artist and teacher for more than sixty years.

Gehm passed away in Connecticut in 2015 at the age of 86. His survivors include his wife Judy York, also an outstanding book cover illustrator and fine arts painter. 

This is the earliest cover I know of by Gehm. Leonard Holton's Out of the Depths was published in paperback by Dell in 1967. It's the sixth entry in the eleven volume Father Bredder mystery series. Holton is actually Leonard Patrick O'Connor Wibberley (1915-1983), an Irish born, American emigrate writer and journalist, with over 100 books to his credit, most of them written within a mere thirty year period. He authored several different fiction series, including the satirical "Mouse That Roared" series which spawned two films. My introduction to Bredder came from Deliver Us From Wolves (Dell, 1966), a paperback I've had in my possession since I was a child but only just recently read. I can't say enough good things about it either, or the above featured title. In fact, I plan to read the rest of the Bredder volumes as soon as I can.

"Father Bredder of the Church of the Holy Innocents and his friend Lieutenant Minardi of the Los Angeles Police Department were engaged in the pleasant pastime of fishing from a pier that jutted out into the Pacific. It was Father Bredder who first hooked onto something which felt like a prodigious strike but which turned out to be part and parcel of a scuba diver's gear. A police launch confirmed the ghastly suspicion---deep in the dark waters below them lay the lifeless body of a scuba diver in his full equipment."

Gehm captured the morally conflicted personality of James Mitchell's MI5 styled assassin Callan about as well as anyone ever has on a book cover. A Red File For Callan (Dell, 1974) was originally published in the U.K. in 1969, under the title, A Magnum for Schneider. British television had already turned Mitchell's character into a series in 1967 based on his initial teleplay, lasting five seasons. Edward Woodward starred as the titular anti-hero. Although warmly remembered in England, I'm not sure if it ever aired here in America, and if it did I don't remember it. Mitchell wrote more than 70 novels (six are Callan's), and at least 100 television scripts, mainly for British action-oriented shows such as The Avengers, The Troubleshooters, and Justice. 

"It was a very special security agency with very specialized operatives and a very specific function: murder. Callan's mission was quite routine: an execution on demand. Callan's problem was another matter, a matter of knowing and liking his intended victim, a dangerous matter of personal choice that offered only two alternatives: killing or death."

Ah yes... back when a white shirt and jeans made someone practically irresistible, er, wait, I mean, a white nurse's uniform! Lake Resort Nurse by Arlene Hale was published in paperback by Ace in 1974 (Note: Gehm's original gouache painting has a much larger dimension than what is seen on the paperback). Arlene Hale (1924-1982) wrote more than a hundred romance novels, most under her own name but also using the pen-names Gale Everett, Mary Tate, Louise Christopher and Lynn Williams. Her novels were published in hardback form and as paperbacks.

"Lovely Reba Rollins, R.N., couldn't remember when she'd been so happy, so contented and pleased with life. Not only did she have an exciting job at the nearby lake resort---but there was the promise of a love-filled future with her beloved Skip Thornton. Yet, in a single day, her contentment came to an abrupt end. For her Uncle Charley had returned, and with him was a handsome young stranger named Lee Chandler. Reba was swept off her feet by the good-looking Lee. This must surely be love, she thought. But there was pain in his eyes, and Reba knew tha some dark secret in Lee's past was torturing him. Meanwhile, there was Skip---dear, loyal Skip---hovering in the background. Then one day, matters came to a startling head. And Reba knew, once and for all, whom she really loved..."

Gehm's montage on Anya Seton's historical novel The Turquoise undoubtedly set a high standard for every cover he would produce after this. All I have to say is WOW! Anya Seton (1904-1990), the daughter of writer/naturalist Ernest Thompson Seton and his wife Grace Gallatin Seton Thompson (also a writer, of travel), started out writing "love pulps", but soon transitioned into historical fiction, or as she preferred they be called, "biographical novels." Of her twelve novels, Dragonwyck (1944) and Foxfire (1950) remain her most famous, both made into Hollywood films. The Turquoise was published in paperback by Fawcett Crest in 1974.

"It was not that Fey Cameron was so beautiful. It was just that she seemed to be. There had always been something regal about her. Despite her humble background, she carried herself like a princess. There was another remarkable thing about Fey. She was gifted with second sight-- a frightening and awesome power for one so young. At 17 Fey left behind the impoverished New Mexican desert town and went off with a laughing, curly haired Irish rogue named Terrence. With him she crossed the continent in search of wealth and respectability-- and love. But Terry was on the beginning for her. She soon found herself a more illustrious benefactor-- Simeon Tower-- one of the most powerful men in New York. Soon the cream of Gotham society was welcoming this strange and wonderful creature, whose origins were mysteriously vague. Only a handful knew the truth about her background. Then one of them attempted to destroy her..."

Swim wear or undies? You decide. Game Plan by Casey Taylor is one of those unfortunate novels from the 1970's that has become completely inconsequential. Not that it ever was really consequential; reviews of it were practically non-existent back then, just like now. Fawcett Crest published Taylor's novel in 1976 following Atheneum's 1975 hardcover edition. I have to believe that Gehm's sensuous cover art would have made a sizeable sales difference between the two forms; I know it's the version I would've bought.

Atheneum edition, jacket artist unknown.

"A young football player learns that it takes more than honest skill to have the money and sex that could come as rewards for professional play."

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Gehm's poster for the film Barry Lyndon (1975) is perhaps his most accomplished one out of the several he produced for Hollywood, the exact number of which are unknown to me. The known's are: The Betsy (1978), The Island (1980; seen further below), and The River (1984). Supposedly, Gehm produced a version of Death on the Nile too (1978), but the only other poster besides Richard Amsel's that I could find is the one that was created for British audiences, a handsome blend of photography and illustration. I'm going to assume that's Gehm's work unless otherwise informed.

One of the fun aspects of being a paperback artist is staging your models during your photo shoot. Yes-- that's how realist illustrators work, not that they couldn't get away with drawing entirely from memory, these guys are practiced after all, but with realism it's important to render each figure as accurately as possible, just like Gehm always did. North From Rome by Helen MacInnes was published in paperback by Fawcett Crest in 1976.

"North From Rome-- a taut, nerve-tearing chiller of a young American who stumbles onto a vicious underworld syndicate and finds himself caught up in a sinister web of murder, espionage and international intrigue."

The Bar Studs was actually written by Len Levinson, but published by Fawcett Gold Medal in 1976 as a paperback original under his oft used pseudonym Leonard Jordan. The book sold around 95,000 copies, making it the prolific author's bestselling novel ever. Levinson has said that he loved Gehm's cover art, which I believe played a major role in the book's success.

"ADRIAN: He was two-timing his mistress who was also his boss-- until he got caught in the act.  JOHNNY MASH: Big, dark, good-looking. The kind of stud women fantasize about when they're alone in bed. A few lucky ones get to take him home for an after-hours party.  LEO: A nebbish. A good bartender, but a zero with the ladies. The only girls he gets to see without clothes are on his calendar or in his dreams.  TEDDY: Handsome and gay, he takes a stranger to bed--and regrets it ever after.  JAKE: A Bowery bartender. He gets seduced by a kitten and a hooker and is betrayed by both.  HOULIHAN: He barkeeps in the Oak Room at the Plaza where he meets only the best people. When some of them invite him to share their diversions, the results are astonishing.  THE BAR STUDS: A bold, no-holds-barred novel about sex, booze, drugs, and six men who did it their way."

I posted this Gehm cover in a previous rant about tennis novels, but I liked it so much that I wanted to show it again. I just can't get enough of that period clothing, Yonex racquet, or car. The Terrarium by Lee Head was published in paperback by Fawcett Crest in the year 1976.

"The Terrarium: This world-famous beauty spa certainly didn't appear ominous. It seemed to be exactly the kind of elegant hideaway spoiled, super-rich women demanded. But to Lexey Jane Pelazoni, a bright, crafty and very wealthy widow with an eye for detail and a nose for trouble, the celebrated health resort was merely a coverup for a multitude of dark sins. Something funny was going on here. Something very evil. Lexey Jane was certain the place was just a front for organized crime. She was even more certain when she realized that somebody had put a contract out on her..."

Even realists have playful sides, here demonstrated to full effect by Gehm on the cover of Donald E. Westlake's classic comedy caper Dancing Aztecs. Fawcett Crest published this paperback in 1976.

"Lost: One Dancing Aztec Priest, eighteen inches high, solid gold, with emerald eyes. Somewhere in New York City. Reward to finder: one million dollars.  The solid gold statue, stolen from a museum in South America, was smuggled through American Customs in a shipment of plaster copies. Only somebody goofed, and the real Dancing Aztec got delivered to party or parties unknown. Now somewhere in New York City, down some subway tunnel or around some corner or up some fire escape, glitters the million dollar treasure. And hot on the trail are wildest assortment of larcenous New Yorkers you'll ever meet, scrambling from Harlem to Greenwich Village, from Long Island to Connecticut, sweeping through the city with manic energy in search of this fantastic treasure."

These folks don't look like professional models to me. My guess is that Gehm framed some of his friends or associates to create this cover painting. Nobody's Perfect by Donald E. Westlake was published in paperback by Fawcett Crest in 1977.

"The Dortmunder Gang is back! And this caper is their zaniest fiasco yet. They are hired by one Arnold Chauncey to heist a priceless oil painting from the latter's fashionable East Side Manhattan townhouse. The scheme is all but foolproof: Chauncey collects from the insurance company, pays the boys handsomely for their professional efforts, and ens up with both a tidy profit and his cherished artwork back. Simple? Not on your Westlake."

Hurry up, baby! My leave runs out in an hour! Enough contained two novella's by Donald E. Westlake. The first one concerns a murderer who turns detective but can't stop murdering; and the second one is about a sailor who decides to visit his ex-wife one last time after learning she has become a movie star (hence my snide, sexist comment). Fawcett Crest published this paperback with Gehm's deceptively provocative cover art in 1977.

Gehm was the cover artist on most of Dorothy Gilman's Mrs. Pollifax novels when they were being issued in paperback by Fawcett Crest in the 1970's and 80's, perhaps totaling as many as seven or eight, and more when you include her non-Pollifax novels. Mrs. Pollifax on Safari, the fifth of fourteen series books, was published in 1977. I've never been partial to these types of whimsical spy/crime/mystery stories (Westlake aside), but I do love Gehm's whimsical approach to the covers. Brings a smile to my face every time I see one.

"Now the incredible Mrs. Pollifax, part-time geranium expert, part-time spy, has been sent on a safari to smoke out a very clever international assassin whose next target is the President of Zambia. "Just take a lot of pictures of everyone on that safari," the CIA man told her. "One of them has to be our man." It sounded simple enough. But it wasn't. Because shortly after Mrs. Pollifax started taking pictures, someone stole her film. And right after that she was kidnapped by Rhodesian terrorists. And right after that-- well, read it for yourself..."

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This is one of Gehm's earliest wraparound montages, excluding the ones he did for author Saul Bellow at around the same time. Those particular covers deserve their own posting which I hope to facilitate someday. Judas Flowering by Jane Aiken Hodge was published in paperback in 1977 by Fawcett Crest. Aiken is the daughter of Pulitzer prize winning poet Conrad Aiken, and sister to Joan Aiken, also an award winning writer. Jane may not have garnered any awards herself but she was no slouch either, publishing at least forty romantically styled novels and three acclaimed non-fiction books in her lifetime.

"Set against the background of war-torn Savannah during the Revolution, this enchanting novel unfolds the saga of a family divided---and a beautiful heroine, Mercy Phillips, caught desperately between the passions of Rebel and Tory. Mercy Phillips was a penniless English orphan when Hart Purchis, wealthy young heir to the Winchelsea Plantation, rescued her from the mob. Hart did not know it then, but Mercy was to play a part in his life that would shape not only the future of Winchelsea but the whole American Revolution itself."

After the success of Jaws everyone started reading Peter Benchley. When he came out with a new book you just had to have it. The Island was no exception. Bantam published it in paperback in 1980 and it sold very, very, well (of course, it always helps when a book is being touted as a film). Gehm produced a powerful illustration for the paperback edition, which to no one's surprise was transferred onto the movie poster. We geeks know that Roger Kastel produced the now legendary cover art on Jaws, but I'll bet that you didn't know it was Lou Feck who painted The Deep. That's pretty good company for Gehm to be swimming with.

Gehm's print styled signature can be seen just above the word 'Production'. On the paperback it appears to have been removed.

What's the best thing about being an artist? Why, staring at a beautiful model for hours at a time. Regina's Song is one of seven novels that Sharleen Cooper Cohen wrote before she became a relatively successful Broadway producer. Dell published it in paperback in 1980. Cohen's Broadway credits include, among others, Street Corner Symphony, Sheba, Bingo, Duet, Stormy Weather and An Officer and a Gentleman.  

"Once Regina had no one, nothing. Overnight her star rose. As lead singer of Majesty, she won it all... fame, money, power-- and love! But love, like Majesty, self-destructed. Cord, the man who possessed her soul, refused to forgive-- or forget. She married Mike, made her own place in the limelight. She had everything... until Majesty came back together for the reunion concert that would rock the nation. From New York to Las Vegas, from idea to opening night, swept up into the dazzle, the pain, the passion of stars who made music for a living and love for more reasons than pleasure, Regina risked it all. Suddenly she was back in Cord Crocker's arms... and the music began-- all over again."

James D. Horan (1914-1981) was responsible for writing one of my favorite historical novels, The Shadow Catcher. He also wrote many other fine works of fiction and non-fiction, but according to Kirkus Reviews, Ginerva is not one of them. But maybe you are of a different mindset, and actually like reading about crazy cults and their even crazier cult leaders. Then most definitely Generva is your cup of Kool-Aid. Horan's novel was published in paperback by Ace in 1981.

"A beautiful and mysterious woman, a prophet and a healer. Is hers a plot to fool the public and make millions, or is she the true messenger of God? Richard Hillers, a former news correspondent becomes obsessed with Ginerva. As her predictions startle and entire nation, and thousands fall under her spell, he goes undercover to investigate the inner workings of her cult, The Society of the Chosen."

The Mill, by long time Massacusetts public school educator James F. Murphy, Jr., was published in paperback by Avon in 1981. I once visited an actual textile mill turned museum in Lowell, Massachusetts, so the only thing I would've wanted more from Gehm's cover art is for him to have inserted a mill room scene. Perhaps a wraparound illustration would've been more conducive for that though.

"There was nothing left in Ireland for Mary Roark but trouble and sorrow. Across the sea, America beckoned to her with the golden promise of a better life. But in the new land of Massachusetts, hopeful young immigrants like Mary Roark were welcomed only as cheap labor for the textile mills whose iron machinery was powered by their tears and blood. And Mary learned too soon that her beauty alone could lift her above the backbreaking hardship and squalid misery her people were made to suffer. Brendan McMahon came to America to find Mary. He had killed for freedom in Ireland. Now, with a price on his head, nothing in this world-- not even the rich man who bought Mary's life-- could keep him from claiming his childhood love and the destiny they had so long dreamed of sharing."

Gehm could have easily replaced his model with Joanna Barnes on the cover of her historical novel Pastora (Avon, 1981), because Barnes was just as beautiful as she was. Barnes, who passed away this year at the age of 87, was almost as ambitious and accomplished as her titular heroine too: she graduated Phi Beta Kappa from prestigious Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, in 1956, majoring in English. She received the college's award for poetry, the immediate successor to Sylvia Plath for this recognition. She took up acting shortly thereafter, appearing in literally scores of TV shows and at least 20 movies. One film, Auntie Mame (1958), earned her a Golden Globe Award nomination. A frequent panelist in the early years of What's My Line, she also wrote a popular syndicated column about home decorating which coalesced into a full-blown book on the subject. Naturally, writing was as much her thing as acting, proclaiming: "It is something you do yourself. With acting, if you win an Oscar or an Emmy, you have to thank everybody. If you write a book, it is completely your own." In addition to her non-fiction book, Barnes wrote and published four novels.

"San Francisco was a wild and lawless town, and no place for a beautiful young woman alone with two children. But it was the Promised Land of boundless dreams, and the woman they called Pastora was a new breed whose spirit and daring raised an empire from the wilderness. Orphaned at fifteen, widowed at sixteen, she survived the perilous cross-country trek from St. Louis to California to become San Francisco's most celebrated Woman of Property. Society tried to snub her, but she made her own way to the top. Men tried to possess her, or break her, not understanding that behind her softness and allure burned ambitions she refused to sacrifice. Through all her passionate struggles, tragedies, public scandals and triumphs, Pastor would keep faith with herself and seize a golden destiny for those she loved."

I wonder if Gehm enjoyed painting period clothes and cars much as we like looking at them. The Onyx was published in hardcover by Delacorte in 1982. Jacqueline Briskin (1927-2014) was a British born American, emigrating to the U.S. in 1938 with her mother and father and becoming naturalized in 1944. All fourteen of her historical novels were bestsellers, selling more than 23 million copies.

"The ONYX: The fabulous shining symbol of boundless prosperity and surging hope. A bold new enterprise for a bold new century. The ONYX: America's first and greatest popular motor car. Beginning as the dream of a brilliant but penniless young man, Tom Bridger, it came to symbolize the hopes and dreams of a generation. The ONYX: An epic novel of ambition, success and failure; of a promise made and disastrously kept, of a fiercely passionate love that outlasted death and destroyed a proud family."

Crying in the Wilderness was purported to be the beginning of a new series called The Caribbean Chronicles, but its author, Floydene Partain, only managed to publish this one single volume. Avon released it in paperback with Gehm's cover art in 1983. The Texas born Partain taught English, Spanish and creative writing at Florida's Seminole High School in 1954-55, and again in 1961-63, and she had a lone poem published in the Avalon Anthology of Texas Poets (Different Press, 1963), but beyond that all I know about her is that when she passed away in 2001 at the age of 77 she left behind a very large family.

"A GOLDEN ISLAND EMPIRE FALLEN IN FLAMES: She was Ana, near goddess to her people, wife to the fabled chieftain of their glittering Caribbean empire. When Columbus came with his white soldiers in winged canoes, they were greeted in friendship. But the strangers came to plunder and rape and enslave... and Ana's island paradise was swept by a storm of bloodshed. She alone, her husband killed in battle, would lead her people against the enemy. She would give courage to the son who became a fierce warrior. She would shed tears for the beautiful daughter sold into slavery. A NEW WORLD CLAIMED BY THE SWORD: With the flag of Spain over the Caribbean, a new world called to the old. Some came for adventure and gold. Some came to make new lives. Daniel and his childhood sweetheart Rachel fled the Inquisition. Now, in this embattled land, fighting to build a haven for their love, and their son, the would be caught up in the violent birth of a world called America."

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Kate Bowe (aka Mary Ann Taylor) has just two romance novels attributed to her. The second one, Horizons, was published by Harlequin in 1984, and is set in the mountains of Nepal. Gehm's magnificent wraparound cover art put us right there among the peaks and temples.

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Ernest K. Gann (1910-1991) is one of the greatest aviation writers of the twentieth century, with more than 25 books about the subject published to his credit. At least eight of those works were turned into feature films (none were true to Gann's actual stories of course), including his memoir Fate is the Hunter, regarded by many as the greatest book ever written about flying. In retrospect, Gentlemen of Adventure isn't half bad either; it was published by Signet in paperback in 1984 with a great wraparound illustration by Gehm to make it airborne. 

"This is the story of Kiffin Draper and Toby Bryant, pioneer airmen who flew to danger and glory-- in peace and war-- from the first days of makeshift flying machines to the age of the mighty jets... who shared adventures with the likes of Charles Lindbergh, Amelia Earhart, Billy Mitchell and Howard Hughes... who loved Lily, the daredevil beauty who married one and had an affair with the other, and alone had the power to save their friendship or destroy it. This is Ernest K. Gann's epic multigenerational novel of aviation and airplanes-- and the fiercely independent airmen whose dreams and guts and passions were the very stuff of soaring flight itself..."

Too Deep for Tears became a New York Times bestseller after it was published in paperback by Pocket in 1990 (with a gorgeous stepback cover by Gehm). Of course that inspired Kathryn Lynn Davis to write a sequel, four of them in fact, in addition to 21 other romances. All well and good for Davis until suddenly it wasn't, when necessity forced her to rebuke another author who callously criticized her on twitter for writing what they perceived to be as racially offensive descriptions in one of her books. And because both authors were standing members of the Romance Writers of America, the situation quickly turned into a full-blown scandal, with resignations tossed around like confetti. Sad too, because all of it could've been resolved through simple tea and talk. As far as organizations go, I'll just leave you with what my dear old Dad used to say to me: "Son, I wouldn't want to be a member of an organization that would want me as a member in the first place."

"Dashing English diplomat Charles Kittridge relished the abundant pleasures of the world... and in his far-flung wanderings, he left behind three remarkable daughters: ALISA ROSE, a beauty of the Scottish highlands, endowed wither her father's lust for adventure. She betrays her heart to follow the one man who promises her the world. LI-AN hates the devil-father who made her a blue-eyed outcast in her Chinese homeland. But with her brilliant, reckless lover, she almost forgets her shame... until he is wrenched from her arms. GENERVA, the gentle English daughter, lives amidst the splendor and squalor of India. Through unexpected passion promises her a joyous love, she must fight to escape the terrors and scandals of the past.   Each of them has grown to womanhood haunted by a legacy of betrayal, longing and dreams. Now their father has but one final desire... to bring together the daughters he has never known..."

The Oath, an unorthodox turn of the 20th century romance novel written in the year 1991 and published in paperback by Berkley Diamond, is about as timely now in the year 2022 as any book you will ever find. Admiration must goes out to the author Leslie O'Grady, a bold writer publishing under the pseudonym Lindsay Chase. O'Grady also wrote Honor (1994), a connected sequel of sorts to the Oath. It tells the courageous story of the female lawyer who defended the embattled female doctor in the first book. I don't know if Gehm produced the stepback art on that particular title, but it makes sense that he would.

"After witnessing the painful death of her mother at the hands of an incompetent physician, Catherine Stone vows to become doctor-- at any price. Disowned by her family, an outcast in the eyes of society, Catherine must face the prejudices of the male-dominated medical profession as well as the ignorance of many of her patients; endure the outrageous scandal of public controversy; and even risk her life in order to doctor the women who need her so desperately. But she has needs of her own-- the needs of a passionate woman-- and when her wealthy, possessive husband forces her to choose between medicine and his love, Catherine must look into her heart and make the boldest sacrifice of all."

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Peggy Murphy Petkus set both of her historical romance novels in of all places, Cleveland, Ohio. Why Cleveland? Well, perhaps that's where she grew up, but more likely it's because Cleveland was home to "Millionaires' Row" on Euclid Avenue, which from 1870 until 1930 was the grandest residential avenue in America (situated just above the city's bustling Avenue District), and home to such prominent figures as John D. Rockefeller, Marcus Hanna, Amasa Stone, John Hay, and Charles F. Brush. In 1910, the wealthy iron ore shipper Samuel Mather built one of the most spectacular mansions in all of America there, a 45 room behemoth, with handcrafted stone, brick and woodwork, and a third-floor ballroom with a 16-foot ceiling that could easily hold 300 guests. What place says write about me more than Cleveland's historic Millionaires' Row! Zebra published Petkus's novel of the same name in 1989, followed by Millionaire's Hill in 1991. Gehm produced the cover art on both paperbacks.

Beauty From Ashes is the third book in Eugenia Price's Georgia Trilogy, and the last book she published in her lifetime. St. Martin's issued it in paperback in 1996, with Gehm providing the exceptional cover and stepback art. Price died shortly thereafter at the age of 80 of natural causes. While she is mostly known for her best-selling historical fiction set in the American South, she also wrote radio scripts, devotional books, and three autobiographies. She often traveled around the country giving inspirational talks to packed rooms, and to promote her books. To date they have sold more than 40 million copies.

"Anne Couper Fraser has often endured sorrow-- the death of her beloved husband and daughter and the loss of the family home. Now, frightening rumors of a war between the states are circulating, and Anne, an ardent Unionist, can only watch and pray as her cherished son enlists in the Confederate Army. But, when the tide of war turns against the Southern cause, Anne finds new strength, fighting to keep her family-- now cruelly divided by war-- bound to each other by faith and love.

This is one of the last covers I know of painted by Charles Gehm, an oil on board approximately 24 x 15 inches. It was produced for The Midnight Moon, a romance novel written by Stobie Piel and published in paperback by Leisure in 1998.

BY THE EARLY 2000's, with the exception of certain genre books, digital and computer generated graphics had almost completely overtaken traditionally painted cover art. Whether Gehm embraced this new methodology I can't say (even though the above painting looks practically photo-realistic to me), but his wife certainly did; Judy York is now considered one of the premier digital artists in publishing. Nevertheless, I'll try and post a feature on her pre-digital cover art sometime in the future.

[© July, 2022, Jeffersen]