Remembering artists Castle, Kelley, Hague, and Holland
- May 1
- 2 min read
I wanted to pay tribute to four illustrators who passed away recently. My thoughts go out to their families and friends. We’re on the cusp of losing a generation of masters.
Philip Castle (1942-2026)
Castle, who died last February, was the English illustrator behind such legendary movie posters as A Clockwork Orange and Full Metal Jacket for Stanley Kubrick, the concert tour campaign for Paul McCartney’s Wings, and record sleeves for albums by David Bowie, Mott the Hoople, The Cars, Elkie Brooks, and Pulp.
I saw some of Castle’s original work in Beverly Hills a number of years ago, and they are remarkable to look at in person. Using an airbrush is damn near impossible to master (not that I’ve done it). That Castle could impress a guy like Stanley Kubrick is a testament to his skill and artistry.
Gary Kelley (1946-2026)
Kelley, who died last February, was the illustrator behind the elaborate murals featured in Barnes & Noble bookstores across the country, and a massive exterior mural for the Google Data Center in Council Bluffs, Iowa. He also illustrated 30-plus picture books for publishers in the U.S. and Europe, created two NFL Super Bowl posters in the ‘90s, and US postage stamps issued just weeks before his death.
His client list has included The New Yorker, Rolling Stone, Playboy, The Atlantic, Time, Newsweek, GQ, the Kentucky Derby, NFL, NBA, MLB, CBS Records, Santa Fe Opera, and many major publishers and advertising agencies.
Michael Hague (1948-2026)
Hague, who passed away on March 10th, was a prolific artist behind a number of classic fantasy and children’s book illustrations, including editions of The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame, The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum, and The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett.
Hague’s art for the 1984 Houghton Mifflin edition of The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien was especially acclaimed, and, like Alan Lee, the brothers Hildebrandt, and Tolkien himself, his visuals greatly influenced the look and style of the Peter Jackson films.
Brad Holland (1943-2026)
Holland, who died March 27th, was an illustrator whose work appeared in Time, Vanity Fair, The New Yorker, Playboy, Rolling Stone, The New York Times, and many other national and international publications. He also did album covers for Billy Joel and Stevie Ray Vaughan.
Holland's drawings, in particular those about the Nixon administration's Watergate scandal, became the single largest body of work to be published in the first book of op-ed art: The Art of the Times, edited by Jean-Claude Suares and published in 1973 by Darien House.
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