Tim Hildebrant 1936-2006

June 12, 2006 1:44 PM

Tim Hildebrandt, half of the Brothers Hildebrandt artwork team, died yesterday due to complications from diabetes.
posted by WolfDaddy (28 comments total)

Sorry the "died" link should direct here, even though it's rendered in eye-blearing black on red.
posted by WolfDaddy at 1:48 PM on June 12, 2006

Nice pinups - Rrreow!
posted by notsnot at 1:56 PM on June 12, 2006

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posted by Richard Daly at 2:00 PM on June 12, 2006 [1 favorite]

The Brothers Hildebrandt did a series of trading cards for Marvel comics. It was, IMHO, one of the best representations of many of my childhood heroes.

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posted by NationalKato at 2:04 PM on June 12, 2006

Oh, that's sad news. I absolutely loved the Hildebrant Brothers in my formative art years.
posted by LuckySeven~ at 2:08 PM on June 12, 2006

I needed a fireplace made in an old house I bought years ago. The builder asked me what I wanted it to look like. I showed him a Hildebrandt calendar of scenes inspired by the Lord of The Rings books.

I think it was the fireplace in Tom Bombadil's house with Goldberry standing in front that we chose as a model. The builder said no way could he make a fireplace that looked as if it came from a 1000-year old English cottage, but he would give it his best shot. To this day, it is a lovely fireplace in what is now my first ex-wife's house.

Then I went through life looking for a wife that looked like the Hildebrandt's vision of Goldberry--found her in Brazil.
posted by BillyElmore at 2:09 PM on June 12, 2006 [1 favorite]

The LOTR images created by the brothers were, until the movies, the images that were in my mind when I read and re-read the series through my youth.
posted by thanotopsis at 2:23 PM on June 12, 2006

Their rendering of "The Unexpected Party" (from The Hobbit) was my favorite.
posted by SPrintF at 2:42 PM on June 12, 2006

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posted by rockabilly_pete at 2:46 PM on June 12, 2006

The Hidebrandt images from Sword of Shannara were all that remained in my mind as I carefully erased the book from memory.

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posted by Sparx at 2:50 PM on June 12, 2006

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posted by Foosnark at 2:58 PM on June 12, 2006

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posted by doctor_negative at 2:59 PM on June 12, 2006

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My mom kept their Tolkien calendars up long past the use date in our house when I was very young. It shaped how I saw the books once I could finally read them too.
posted by Electric Elf at 3:03 PM on June 12, 2006

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posted by djeo at 3:05 PM on June 12, 2006

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posted by Ber at 3:08 PM on June 12, 2006

Wow, this is really sad. Both brothers were hugely inspiring to my teenage self. My favorite paintings of theirs were those they worked on together, the LOR stuff in particular. The black and white fantasy college Coke ads were awesome, too. So sad that there will never be another collaboration between the twins.

Many years ago I had the opportunity to see a few of the LOR originals in person. They were much bigger than I expected and the color was beautiful.

Those guys could really paint.

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posted by crumbly at 3:17 PM on June 12, 2006

Aww, that's a major bummer. My stepmom used to work for the Hildebrandts, and both of my younger brothers (dad's other kids) were models for Greg's paintings in the Peter Pan book - the one in the hat in these two paintings is one of them.

Nice people, and fabulous artists. Tim will be missed.

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posted by zoogleplex at 3:20 PM on June 12, 2006

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posted by Scoo at 3:52 PM on June 12, 2006

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posted by Parannoyed at 6:25 PM on June 12, 2006

I remember the Magic stuff, and I never realized they did the Shannara artwork.

RIP.
posted by Alexandros at 7:23 PM on June 12, 2006

I sure wish I'd saved my three original LotR calendars.

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posted by yhbc at 7:24 PM on June 12, 2006

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posted by Lynsey at 8:52 PM on June 12, 2006

I love their artwork. That rich, warm depth that a kid really likes in a storybook, pictures one can travel into, an invitation to deep daydreaming.

May Tim Hildebrandt rest in peace.
posted by nickyskye at 9:43 PM on June 12, 2006

Billy Ellmore: Funny enough, that is exactly the image I remember most from the brothers' work. Always thought it was rather unusual looking. Have a photo of the fireplace?
posted by Goofyy at 11:15 PM on June 12, 2006

I gotta concur with NationalKato, their Marvel Masterpieces trading card artwork was beautiful stuff. Their use of lighting is superb.

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posted by PenDevil at 12:05 AM on June 13, 2006

There used to be a van in my area which reproduced the Hildebrandt-themed Star Wars marquee poster. This was back in the days when a waterbed, some Yosamite Sam mudflaps, domed windowes, disco sphere and vinyl magnifiging lens on the rear window were the height of 70's style.

The Star Wars van blew all that shit out of the water. Even the later fan-themed vehicles such as the speeder car and the TIE cycle were but pale imitations.

I last saw it a decade ago; it was an old, grey, rust-eaten beast, with the faintest outline of the original paint scheme. I was shocked to see how far it had gone, but in the end, I had to move on as it had.

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posted by Smart Dalek at 4:38 AM on June 13, 2006

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posted by safetyfork at 10:08 AM on June 13, 2006

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posted by Faint of Butt at 11:26 AM on June 13, 2006