Alex Schomburg (American, 1905-1998) Beside the Golden Door, Amazing Stories digest magazine cover, February 1964 Gouache on board 22-1/8 x 17-1/2 inches (56.2 x 44.5 cm) Signed lower right: ALEX SCHOMBURG From the Estate of Alex Schomburg This dynamic Amazing Stories magazine cover showcases Alex Schomburg at the height of his career. The colorful sunset filled with flying saucers highlighting the damaged and buried Statue of Liberty creates an eye catching composition. The cover was created in 1964, one year after the first publication of Planet of the Apes and five years before the film that climaxes with a similar depiction of the Statue of Liberty. Here, Schomburg illustrates Henry Slesar's "Beside the Golden Door," which tells the story of extraterrestrials discovering a distant future Earth where humans have become extinct, leaving behind artifacts like this statue. The aliens quickly decipher records discovering that an earlier group of aliens sought refuge on Earth after a disaster, only to be treated in the same demeaning manner that humans often show to those who immigrate. The story and underlying narrative is mirrored in Planet of the Apes and many science fiction favorites. The concept of taking what is known and loved, the American Dream represented by Madame Liberty, as a ruin is a central feature of what is now known as retro-futurism and key to the genre. This classic image is also reproduced as part of the permanent exhibit of the Statue of Liberty Park on Ellis Island. HID12401132022 © 2024 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved