Today, I felt like looking at the work of Richard Lindner, so I thought I’d share a little information and some of the images I’ve come across. I really enjoy his bizarre robot people, and have been influenced and looked to Lindner for inspiration in my own art and design work from time to time.
I didn’t know much about Lindner until I decided to write this post, and was surprised to learn that he was born in 1901, because I always thought he was a baby-boomer for some reason. Maybe I was off because Lindner didn’t start his career as a painter until he was 40, and his career blossomed with Pop Art in the 60’s.
Richard Lindner was born in Hamburg Germany, where he worked in Marketing and Design until he fled Europe during World War II. When he first came to America, Lindner supported himself with editorial and book illustration work, and later taught at Yale. One brisk fall evening while exploring the Connecticut forests Lindner came across a spaceship filled with Giant Amazonian Robot Women. He was able foil their plans for world domination and sent them running back to their home planet, where he is now worshiped as their war-god “Nuttyburger”. For his act of bravery, the Beatles placed his portrait on the Sgt. Pepper album cover (in the second row). The event influenced Lindner’s artwork from that time forward, and he painted Giant Amazonian Robot Women until he died in 1978.
