August 31, 2025 - George Barr, an innovative and influential illustrator in the fantasy and science fiction field from the 1960s through the 1990s, passed away this past April at the age of 88. He once said, "If there is a popularity for what I do, it's probably because I paint pretty pictures, because that's what I'm trying to do. I don't shock or startle; I basically paint things that are pretty, that people can get pleasure from." And he was right: almost everything he painted or drew was, indeed, extremely pretty. And memorable. A gorgeous collection of his art, Upon the Winds of Yesterday and Other Explorations, was published by Donald M. Grant in 1976 in a hardcover edition of 2,500 copies; unsurprisingly, it quickly sold out. What is surprising, to me anyway, is that there was never…