Fantasy artist Greg Hildebrandt passes away at age 85

Revered fantasy artist Greg Hildebrandt has died at age 85. His partner Jean Scrocco,   posted on Facebook that Hildebrandt had died after a some recent health struggles. 

The light has gone out in my life. At 12:36 pm this afternoon the love of my life, my best friend and soulmate passed away. Greg was 85 years young. He was the sweetest man I ever knew. We worked together for 45 years. We lived together for 33 of those years. We had a beautiful life we were blessed. Greg has been fighting for 5 months to regain his ability to breathe after a serious side effect of a heart medication. He fought very hard to win this battle but in the end he was just too weak. He passed away peacefully in my arms. He knew he was safe and he was loved and he will be missed terribly. I cannot imagine my life without him. He was my guy, yesterday, today, tomorrow and forever. You are my heart and it is broken!

With his twin brother Tim, Greg Hildebrandt created some of the most beloved imagery for the greatest fantasy franchises. They worked as the Brother Hildebrandt and produced art for The Lord of the Rings, star Wars, Marvel and DC and Magic the Gathering. They first gained fame with their art for a series of J.R.R. Tolkien calendars, channeling Normal Rockwell and Maxfield Parrish for imagery that was as boldly emotional as it was dramatically lit. 

From there, they worked on everything, including one of the most iconic Star Wars posters, a famed run on Marvel’s 90s trading cards, the illustrations for Terry Brooks Shannara books, and many contributions to Magic the Gathering which Greg was working on as recently as last year. 

Tim Hildebrandt died in 2006, but Greg continued to work and paint and attend conventions. Other recent work included the covers for Trans Siberian Orchestra albums, many illustrated books, and some work for the charity anthology Comics for Ukraine: Sunflower Seeds. 

As influential as his art was, Greg Hildebrandt was also known as one of the kindest and friendliest people you would ever meet. As a kid and junior Tolkien scholar, I had those calendars memorized, and they held a special place in my heart (so special that in a family fire, they were one of the few things rescued.) 

Many years later, both Greg and Tim were part of the comics/art crowd I was hanging out. I’ll never forget the night an impromptu dance party broke out and I found myself dancing with Greg Hildebrandt – from calendar on the wall to a friend. They say don’t meet your heroes, but Greg Hildebrandt definitely disproved that. 

The Beat sends our condolences to Greg’s friends and family.