Fred Otnes

From The Art Institute and The Academy of Art in Chicago, American artist Fred Otnes pursued a traditional career as an illustrator until an initial experiment combining etching with collage changed all of that.

Since that inspired episode back in the early 1960’s his singular style created its own demand. Initially he turned to the semi abstraction style as magazines were increasingly moving away from illustration in favour of photography. What Otnes created was a hybrid, neither pure photograph nor illustration. He used a variety of techniques that included the transferring of photographic image onto different surfaces such as canvas. To these he would add overlays, use print making techniques, apply printed material and fabric swatches, photographs as well as other elements. As his portfolio grew, so did the commercial client list.

His highly regarded standing resulted in work appearing on magazine covers, film posters, US postage stamps and album covers. Amongst his most famous illustrations is the 1967 Saturday Evening Post cover for an article about conspiracy theories surrounding the assassination of President John F. Kennedy; set on a blood red backdrop the Kennedy motorcade is overshadowed by the silhouette of a sniper.
One of his most celebrated posters was for the 1967 movie ‘A Fistful of Dollars’ which starred Clint Eastwood.

He also became an instructor with the Illustrators Workshop in New York, which came to be known as the Ivy League of commercial art programs. Others in the workshop included Robert Heindel, Mark English, Bernie Fuchs, Alan Cober, and Bob Peak.

During the mid 1980’s Otnes decided to make a full time commitment to creating work for fine art galleries. For him the illustration world had changed and he was no longer part of that. He was represented by the Reece Galleries in New York who staged several successful exhibitions.

The collection of four silkscreen/serigraphs shown by The Red Dot Gallery was published in the 1990’s. Each image was selected by Fred Otnes and with his guidance and stage-by-stage approval they serve to convey the dynamics, texture and scale of the originals upon which they are based. Each print is individually hand pulled on to 300gsm French milled paper. In general each edition has employed 30 or so individual screens. Each and every sheet is numbered and signed by the artist.
The stock forms part of our archive which we have now chosen to offer for sale.