The artwork of Frank R Paul is of course quite retro for sci-fi illustration, compared to modern day standards, but I think that's what gives it such naive appeal. I say naive, but it is arguably more advanced than contemporary sci-fi illustration, I expect because Frank R Paul was right in the middle of the post-war upswing in science & tech which was so creatively infective. His imaginative etchings ooze futuristic optimism in a way we fail to do. To Frank R Paul, the future was rich in possibility and daring. To us, living through this shit, each day is just another dystopian keystroke recorded on a surveillance server somewhere in Iceland.
