The Butler Institute of American Art: STERANKO AND THE AMERICAN HERO

Get an inside sneak peek inside the galleries of The Butler Institute of American Art where "America's Museum" has joined forces with legendary literary and cinematic artist Jim Steranko to bring audiences of all ages STERANKO AND THE AMERICAN HERO - the premiere exhibition of sixty-five paintings showcasing the most popular heroes of today’s entertainment scene.
Across all mediums, from the cinema to comics, STERANKO was cited by Stan Lee as one of the prime architects of the Marvel Universe; the co-creator of NICK FURY, AGENT OF S.H.I.E.L.D.; and the artist-writer of CAPTAIN AMERICA, THE HULK, SUPERMAN, and THE X-MEN (for which he designed the classic title logo). He generated more than 150 original storytelling devices and techniques that changed the direction of the comics’ medium, and evolved a devoted cult of followers who nicknamed him The Innovator.
As a musician, he gigged with Bill Haley in the early days of rock 'n' roll; as a pop-culture icon, he appeared at more than 400 events and exhibited his work worldwide, including at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, DC and the Louvre in Paris. His two volumes of THE STERANKO HISTORY OF COMICS have sold more than 100,000 copies each. As an escape artist, his death-defying performances inspired the character Mister Miracle and, according to Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Michael Chabon, he was the man upon whom the protagonist of THE AMAZING ADVENTURES OF KAVALIER & KLAY was based; and more—designer, historian, magician, photographer, ad-agency art director, sideshow fire-eater, male model, typographer...the list goes on.
Steranko has painted a multitude of movie posters, record albums, and book covers; and in 1975, created RED TIDE, the First Modern Graphic Novel. As the editor-publisher of the international newsstand entertainment magazine PREVUE, he conducted hundreds of superstar interviews and penned more than three million words. He numbers among his friends and associates writers Mickey Spillane, Arthur C. Clarke, and Ray Bradbury, and directors Federico Fellini, John Huston, and Orson Welles.
As a filmmaker, he collaborated with Steven Spielberg, George Lucas—for whom he created the look of Indiana Jones—and Francis Ford Coppola on some of their most popular films. His cover art on ACTION 1000 and DETECTIVE 1000 set sales records. Recent polls cite Steranko as the 5th Most Influential Creator in the history of the narrative art form. He set what might be a world's record for visualizing more classic fictional heroic characters—including Sherlock Holmes, the Fantastic Four, Luke Skywalker, The Spider, Mike Hammer, the Green Hornet, James Bond, Batman, Han Solo, the Phantom, Sam Spade, Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock, Conan, Doc Savage, Buck Rogers, and The Shadow (for which he painted 30 book covers)—than any other artist. All, and more are represented in the exhibit on view at The Butler Institute of American Art in Youngstown, Ohio from March 13 through May 29 , 2022.
The exhibition was funded in part by the Mahoning County Convention and Visitors Bureau-Youngstown Live and The Ohio Arts Council.