I was reading through some of my old figure books and ran across some names and examples of work from some very talented figure painters and sculptors that did alot to inspire me back in the 70's. Curiosity got the best of me, and I was wondering what these folks were up to and if they are still active in the figure community.

Ron Burgess
Graham Bickerton
Ray Anderson
Edward Suren
Eugene Lelievrepre
Mac Kennaugh
Pierre Conrad
Josaine Desfontaine
David Fordham
Peter Gilder
Nicholas Larkin
Philip O Stearns

I suspect many have gone to the great figure show in the sky. Pierre Conrad was killed in an auto accident a few years ago and Philip Stearns passed away three years ago.

Peter Gilder, known for his 25 mm napoleonics and his wargame rules also passed away. Sorry, don't know more.

Last I read somewhere, Ray Anderson stopped making dioramas about 15 years back. Eugene Leliepvre was about 95 years old! Josaine desfontaine's stopped modelling due to failing eyesight some time back. I also read that Peter Gilder died of a condition linked to lead poisoning.

Hadn't heard of Pierre Conrad being killed, shame. Some of his work was amazing.

Don't know if he's still active but Graham Bickerton was still painting quite a bit beyond the days of his appearances in Mil Mod and a few books. He painted one or more of the boxart examples for the Poste Mil busts of the Native American subjects.

Einion

I have a name as well. I was a fan of Stan Cheffey's work. I had not seen Stan for some time but was really happy to run across him again at the Boston WE. If anyone knows how I can get back in touch with him, I would appreciate any help.

Joe

Ray Anderson is very much alive and well. He's an extremely successful painter of Western art and commands six-figure prices for his large canvasses which are excellent. He and Shep Paine used to each say they each taught one another to paint!

Whatever Happened to....?

Sorry... I meant ROY Anderson who was a well-known Chicago painter in the 60's and 70's, not Ray Anderson.

While we're on the topic, what about Andrei Koribanics? His stuff was incredibly creative. At a time when most of us were painting military subjects, he was branching out on some pretty amazing non-traditional subjects.

Cheers,

Brian

Andrei Koribanics was at MFCA last year with a display of some of his well know pieces.

Phil Stearns is painting at his workbench in the sky. One of the founders of our hobby.

Thanks for the info guys.

Here are a few folks that some may recognize from the 80s and 90s and a little later. ~Gary

Preston Russell Now retired and working as a fine artist. He did a LOT of Rvolutionary War and Civil War conversions.

Chris Walther Good painter and sculptor. He was a law student when I knew him, and last I knew was a corporate attorney.

Jim Wildt Scratchbuilt figures. His stuff was really looking good when he left the hobby.

Hans Reuters (sp?) Scratchbuilt figures. Did some commercial work.

Emmanuel Valerio Scratchbuilt some great mounted pieces.

Phil Bracco Scratchbuilt a lot of Native American type stuff.

Derek Hansen I'm sure most know his work. He was one of the best.

Chris Walther spent several years in the Japanese office of the company he works for, but he's back in the US now.

How about Jim Holt? Where is he now?

I'd like to know what happened to Ron Hinote, sculptor of the Little Generals line of figures? He just seemed to drop off the face of the earth one day like several of those listed above.

I'm equally interested in Eugene Lelievrepre. I don't think that either he or his son are involved in the new incarnation of HISTOREX a la Nimrod any longer.

I do believe that Josaine Desfontaine and Edward Suren have passed away.

I believe Mr. Hinote passed away also. ~Gary

Phil Bracco paid a terrible price for using A&B epoxy. It was absorbed through his skin and he was hospitalized for a long time. Thankfully he recovered but cannot work with the medium ever again.
He's a great guy and his skills are missed.

That is correct

Eugene Leliepvre

Eugene Leliepvre celebrated his 100th birthday several months ago.

I remember reading about a book being written (by one of his grand daughters, IIRC) to conmemorate Egene Leliepvre´s 100th birthday, but can't find anything about it on the web. What I did find is a very basic website HERE