Ron Lesser (born 1941) is a Manhattan-born illustrator and painter that specializes in paperback covers, comic books, magazines, and film posters. From 1976 to 1991, Ron was among the premier illustrators, contributing painted book covers for publishers like Doubleday, Dell, Avon, Bantam, Fawcett, and Pyramid.
In 2002, Lesser began a four-year commission as one of the top military artists in America, creating artwork for Civil War Publications and exhibitions at the Gettysburg National Museum, National Civil War Museum, and the Gettysburg Frame Shop & Gallery. In recognition of his work, Lesser has received recognition from The Society of Illustrators and the Art Directors Club of New York.
Early life and education Born in Manhattan in 1941, Lesser was an only child. When he was around age 9 he discovered comic book drawings and gravitated to mid-20th-century cartoonists like Alex Raymond (Flash Gordon), Milton Caniff (Terry and the Pirates), and Al Capp (Li'l Abner). Around the age of 12, Lesser began drawing comics and later graduated from New York City's High School of Music & Art before studying one semester at the Pratt Institute in New York in 1958. Shortly after leaving Pratt, Lesser enrolled in the Art Students League of New York (ASL) and solely studied for four years under Frank J. Reilly, a teacher of drawing, painting, and illustration. There, Reilly taught the tradition and techniques of the French Fine Arts Academy of the 19th and 20th centuries while also offering several publisher-sponsored contests for students to join. Two Western paintings Lesser did while he was a Riley student became his first paperback covers. One was used on one side of the Ace Books Double Lead In His Fists (D-276 WE, 1958) by Tom West. The second, a Riley contest winner, was used for the Berkley Books paperback War Country (G433, 1960) by William O. Turner.Deis, R. and Cunningham, B. and Kingston Pierce, J. The Art of Ron Lesser Vol. 1: Deadly Dames and Sexy Sirens. Subtropic Productions, LLC., 2023, p. 9-16
Career
Shortly after departing the Art Students League of New York, Lesser joined the Fredman-Chaite Studios. The renowned agency would commission advertising representatives to secure illustration assignments for artists. This editorial work consisted of illustrating magazines, newspapers, paperback covers, and ad art. Due to the rise of photography, the studio was driven out of business.Deis, R. and Cunningham, B. and Zimmer, D. The Art of Ron Lesser Vol. 2: Dangerous Dames and Cover Dolls. Subtropic Productions, LLC., 2024, p. 13
Lesser was a prolific illustrator between 1976 through 1991. He painted several thousand paperback covers while simultaneously creating movie art and advertising illustrations. In the 1980s, Lesser made several hundred covers for Harlequin Enterprises' romance paperbacks.Deis, R. and Cunningham, B. and Kingston Pierce, J. The Art of Ron Lesser Vol. 1: Deadly Dames and Sexy Sirens. Subtropic Productions, LLC., 2023, p. 20 In the 2000s, Lesser created paintings inspired by the American Civil War. In the 2010s, Lesser created paintings celebrating polo horses and their riders, pop art from his successful Marilyn Monroe series, and became affiliated with a major celebrity and sports marketing and branding company to illustrate athletes like Derek Jeter, Mickey Mantle, and Muhammad Ali.
Film 1960s
One of Lesser's earliest involvements with the film industry was a movie poster, poster art, and b&w press kit for the 1964 film The Americanization of Emily starring James Garner, Julie Andrews, and James Coburn.Deis, R. and Cunningham, B. and Kingston Pierce, J. The Art of Ron Lesser Vol. 1: Deadly Dames and Sexy Sirens. Subtropic Productions, LLC., 2023, p. 128 Two years later, Lesser painted the theatrical poster for the Mauro Bolognini and Mario Monicelli comedy Queens, starring Raquel Welch.
Lesser was involved with preliminary artwork for the 1967 United Artists theatrical film The Way West. Although the painting was never used for the film, Lesser was still paid for his work. Also in 1967, Lesser painted movie posters for two comedy films, the Italian Spoof film O.K. Connery, released in the U.S. as Operation Kid Brother, and Three Bites of the Apple, a 1967 American romantic comedy.
In 1968, the Len Deighton novel Only When I Larf was adapted into a Paramount Global film of the same name with Lesser's painted theatrical poster. Lesser followed a year later with a painted theatrical film poster for the Paramount Pictures distributed film Paint Your Wagon.
1970s
While at his agent's office, Lesser saw artists making sketches for the 1970 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film Ryan's Daughter. He submitted two paintings to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer advertising the film and the studio purchased both. That same year, Lesser created a print ad art for the Columbia Pictures film There's a Girl in My Soup starring Peter Sellers and Goldie Hawn.Deis, R. and Cunningham, B. and Zimmer, D. The Art of Ron Lesser Vol. 1: Deadly Dames and Sexy sirens. Subtropic Productions, LLC., 2023, p. 14,135
In 1972, Lesser painted movie posters for the Clint Eastwood film Joe Kidd for Eastwood's Malpaso Productions. and the The Revengers, distributed by National General Pictures.
1973 was a productive year for Lesser's film artwork. He painted two iconic western movie posters, the iconic Clint Eastwood film High Plains Drifter in 1973. and the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer 1973 film Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid. Also the same year, Lesser painted movie posters for the crime film Lady Ice starring Donald Sutherland. and Massacre in Rome, an adaptation of the 1967 Robert Katz novel Death in Rome.
Lesser painted the theatrical poster for the 1974 20th Century Fox (now 20th Century Studios) film Zardoz. The painting was awarded the best movie art of the year from the Art Directors Club of New York.Deis, R. and Cunningham, B. and Zimmer, D. The Art of Ron Lesser Vol. 1: Deadly Dames and Sexy sirens. Subtropic Productions, LLC., 2023, p. 127 That same year, Lesser painted the poster for the French film L'amour a la bouche, released in America as Mannequin.Deis, R. and Cunningham, B. and Zimmer, D. The Art of Ron Lesser Vol. 1: Deadly Dames and Sexy sirens. Subtropic Productions, LLC., 2023, p. 137
Comics
In 2012, Ron Lesser painted the pulp hero Spider for the Dynamite Entertainment covers of The Spider #1, #2, #3 (May–July 2012).
Lesser's 2014 painting Sin City: A Dame to Kill For features actress Rosario Dawson as the character Grail. The painting was featured in the Dark Horse Comics limited series A Dame to Kill For.
Lesser paired with Titan Publishing Group for the first issue of the Max Allan Collins title Quarry's War (Nov. 2017). The artist was featured in the story "The Beginnings of Quarry" alongside iconic artist Robert McGinnis.
The Exclusive Jetpack/Forbidden Planet variant for the Dynamite Entertainment title Bettie Page (Nov. 2018), based on the celebrity Bettie Page, was painted by Lesser.
The first issue of the Dynamite Entertainment title Charlie's Angels vs The Bionic Woman (July 2019) features Ron Lesser's painted cover on Variant C and Variant E.
After his submission of artwork used on the Charlie's Angels vs The Bionic Woman comic, the individual manager of Dynamite Entertainment reached out to Lesser for an art piece for their Red Sonja comic issues. In The Art of Ron Lesser Vol. 2: Dangerous Dames and Cover Dolls, edited by Robert Deis, Bill Cunningham and David Zimmer, Lesser explained his limited involvement in the series:
"I made a painting of her with a big axe and he liked it, but it didn't end up being used. I liked it, too, though and it sold pretty well quickly through an online art site. Since then, I've done several other Red Sonja paintings."Deis, R. and Cunningham, B. and Zimmer, D. The Art of Ron Lesser Vol. 2: Dangerous Dames and Cover Dolls. Subtropic Productions, LLC., 2024, p. 66
Books
In 1959, as Lesser was honing his craft, he was hired by Midwood Books to paint the first published novel by the acclaimed crime-fiction author Donald E. Westlake, the creator and writer of the iconic heist-fiction series Parker (Stark novels character). That same year, Lesser painted the cover for iconic crime-fiction and mystery writer John D. MacDonald's paperback The Crossroads, published by Fawcett Publications imprint Crest Books.Deis, R. and Cunningham, B. and Kingston Pierce, J. The Art of Ron Lesser Vol. 1: Deadly Dames and Sexy Sirens. Subtropic Productions, LLC., 2023, p. 28-29 Lesser used models Steve Holland (actor), Lisa Karan, and his wife, Claudia Lesser.Deis, R. and Cunningham, B. and Zimmer, D. The Art of Ron Lesser Vol. 1: Deadly Dames and Sexy sirens. Subtropic Productions, LLC., 2023, p. 34
+ 1950s Year Title Publisher Number1959 All My Lovers Midwood 151959 Crossroads, The Crest S4001959 Lead in His Fists Ace D-2761959 Long Dream, The Ace K-100
In the 1960s, Lesser was hired by publishers like Berkley Books, Lancer Books, Avon (publisher), Midwood Books, Dell Publishing, Pyramid Books (now Jove Books), and Fawcett Publications to paint paperback covers.
The 1960s aligned Lesser with three best-selling fiction series titles, Shell Scott by Richard Prather, Johnny Liddell by Frank Kane, and Travis McGee by John D. MacDonald. Additionally, Lesser was commissioned by Lancer Books to paint two covers for the Steve Bentley series, authored by Watergate scandal conspirator E. Howard Hunt, a former officer in the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) who experienced success as a mystery and spy-fiction author from the 1940s through the 1990s. Lesser also painted for the popular Carter Brown mysteries.