The November, 1954 issue of “Beyond Fiction” is is the fourth (that I know of!) cover illustration created by René Vidmer for the Galaxy Publishing Corporation, his prior works having illustrated the November, 1953 and July, 1954 issues of Beyond, and the August, 1953 issue of Galaxy Science Fiction. A cursory internet search reveals remarkably little information about the man, other than his artography at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database – which indicates that his work in the fields of science-fiction and fantasy occurred between 1953 and 1955 – and, mention at artist and designer John Coulthart’s { feuilleton } blog. Otherwise, he seems as enigmatic as his paintings.
Like this one.
The ladies in this painting convey the same mood as does the cover of the magazine’s issue of November ’53: At first glance both young and attractive; on second glance one pale, ethereal and translucent; with third glance, the woman in the background is incomplete – surreal. Are they ghosts? Probably not, for on a closer look the background is not a cemetery, but instead a desolate, moss covered ruin conveying the passage of time. The women – their spirits? – seem demure and shy, yet their subtle smiles reveal that they are not unhappy.
They are content to tend; to contemplate, their garden.
It is small, but it is theirs.
