ABOUT FRANK KALAN

Frank Kalan (1922-2003) was an American illustrator and painter. Born in Ely, Minnesota, he studied at the American Academy of Art in Chicago, and soon after got his start as an apprentice to pin up artist Al Buell. Like many of his generation, Frank served in World War II, deploying to Europe as an aerial gunner. Upon his return, he worked for clients such as Brown and Bigelow, The Saturday Evening Post, Colliers and Playboy, there under the direction of Art Paul. Chicago friends and colleagues included Joyce Ballantyne, Ben Denison, Marilyn Conover and Thornton Utz.

In the late 1950s, after a short stint in Atlanta, Frank joined NYC's Fredman-Chaite Studios, working alongside Robert McGinnis, Frank McCarthy, Bob Peak and Darrell Greene, among others. Accounts included Chesterfield Cigarettes, Norelco, and Coca-Cola, for which he did magazine work and a series of paintings exhibited at the 1964-65 World’s Fair. Frank also did many commissions for paperback publishers such as Pyramid and Ballantine—spy thrillers, action-adventure, suspense, mystery, drama—and several movie posters including Georgy Girl and King of Hearts.

The Harlequin Years
During the 70s, 80s and 90s, after photography displaced traditional art studios, Frank produced romance novel cover art for Toronto-based Harlequin Enterprises. Working with their Harlequin Romance line—contemporary stories with moderate heat, emotional conflicts and wide-ranging locales—Frank’s compositional skills and light brushwork created relatable scenes that helped cement the sale and gave the reader an image to connect with while imagining the life of the heroine.  He produced one or sometimes two covers per month, working in oil on 16” x 20” boards.

The "home archive" project began when physical art no longer had to be shipped to Harlequin. Frank kept not only 300+ original covers but also most of the corresponding Art Director notes, instructions, model photos, and final jacket samples. The collection now represents a unique visual, cultural, and historical record of how a Harlequin cover was made. Six full sets, from instruction to final product, can be seen on the Process tab. A selection of roughly 100 covers appear on the Work tab, grouped by theme, and the rest can be seen here.

In 2017, Frank's family donated 130 covers and supporting materials to the Browne Popular Culture Library at BGSU in Ohio, where they now make up The Frank Kalan Romance Cover Art Collection. Frank’s daughter maintains the remaining archive and this website.  You can read about her inheritance experience here.

Feel free to get in touch with any questions, and thanks for visiting the site.

Note: When viewing artwork if you see the codes BGSU, NFS or NA in the caption, that means the cover is either donated or not available.

Site design by Lindsey Warren