The Other Elaine
Beginning
Elaine Gignilliat (pronounced “Jen-i-lat”) was one of the few women cover artists in the heyday of the bodice ripper. Her crisp style may be familiar to fans of thick, doorstopper epics by Day Taylor or Aleen Malcolm.
Gignilliat started out in fashion illustrations before turning her hand to book cover art in 1974. She soon became a respected artist in her field for her work in historical romances.
The Beautiful Covers
She worked for many established publishing houses such as Bantam, Dell, Signet/Onyx, and Zebra. Like Harry Bennett, Gignilliat painted many covers for Pocket Books‘ Tapestry imprint, as well as covers for Victoria Holt/ Jean Plaidy. Also like Bennett, Gignilliat would be one of the first artists to take advantage of the “wraparound cover” which would stretch the image from the front cover to the spine and onto the back.
She designed covers for hundreds of books. Her artwork was marked by exquisite attention to detail, especially with the textures of fabrics and hair, and her use of bright and dark colors. Like artists such as Pino, Elaine Duillo, Robert Maguire, Ron Lesser, George H. Jones, and many other of her contemporaries, she designed covers not only for historical blockbusters but for smaller, category romances as well.
Elaine Gignilliat Other Art & Legacy
Gignilliat was also a commercial artist for various big-named clients such as Paramount Pictures, Reader’s Digest, and TV Guide. Gignilliat would also create stunning painted plates for the Danbury Mint.
Unfortunately, like so many greats of the 20th century, Gignilliat is no longer with us. She passed away at age 87 in 2015. Her artwork and much of the history behind the cover art can be found on her website, which is still up and running.
LINKS
- Elaine Gignilliat Home Page: Romance Book Cover Art
- My Elaine Gignilliat Pinterest
- Elaine Gignilliat on Goodreads.com
- Paper Bag Palette.Blogspot: The Other Elaine
