Frank in the museum he designed, back in the day.

Back in the fall of 1999, my then-girlfriend wanted to fly me out to see her in Pennsylvania. She asked about places I wanted to visit in the Quaker State. Top of my list? The Frazetta Museum in East Stroudsburg. Sadly that was during a fairly brief period when the original museum was closed and the new, final museum—designed by Frank and spearheaded by Ellie—was still under construction. I missed the grand opening by about a year and a half.

I had a blast on that trip. I certainly can’t complain about the hospitality. Did I mention she had that Dejah/Luana/’Frazetta Girl’ look? That said, I regret to this day not visiting East Stroudsburg. The closest I’ve gotten since then is St. Louis. Making it to that shrine in the Poconos is on my bucket list.

So, today I saw this courtesy of Lori Frazetta, co-proprieter of the Museum along with her husband, Frank Jr.:

'Hello everyone,
It's hard to believe it has been over 20 years since we first broke ground on the Frazetta estate to construct the beautiful Art Museum.
Today marks the 20th anniversary of the official Grand opening of the Frazetta Museum, located in East Stroudsburg, Pa.
In celebration of this gala event, we would love for you to take part on this memorable day, and giving tribute to Frank and Ellie Frazetta by sharing your memories and photos with all of us and what Frank’s incredible artwork meant to you. His wife Ellie stated adamantly, the museum was constructed solely in appreciation to his loyal fans, and without them, he could never be recognized throughout the world as a master illustrator. It was all of you that inspired my father to reach deep down into his abyss of God given talent to create these masterful works of fantasy illustrations.
From Wednesday June 9th through Sunday June 13th, the Official Frazetta Museum will be offering 2 commemorative collectibles for this extra ordinary occasion.
The Frank Frazetta Tribute Bust, regularly $630 for $399.99
http://frazettamuseum.com/.../STAT-PAINTEDFrazettaBust.html (sale calculated at checkout)
And the newly offered Grand Opening Commemorative Print of Death Dealer 3 revised. 2001-2021, Only the first 100 will be signed and numbered by Frank Jr, for $50.
http://frazettamuseum.com/product/APN-anniversary.html
We look forward to sharing all your fond memories and photos in celebration of this memorable day. Please share stories and pics on our sister group, The Frazetta Art Museum Lounge [on Facebook] or any other Frazetta pages!
Thank you,
Frank and Lori Frazetta'

The Grand Opening Commemorative Print of Death Dealer 3.

Very cool. Here's the home page for the Museum:

http://frazettamuseum.com/MUS.html

There is one paragraph from their home page that I consider very important:

'We do not sell original pieces of artwork unless it is absolutely necessary to preserve the rest of the artwork and to keep the museum open. To date we have only sold two originals-- the first to buy the museum and the second to keep it open. If you see original art being sold, there is a very, very low chance of it being sold from us-- after all, there couldn’t be a museum without the artwork!'

About ten years ago, all of Frank Frazetta's artwork was split up between Frank Jr. and the other three Frazetta siblings. Put "Frazetta painting sells" into a search engine. There have been a lot of iconic Frazetta paintings sold off to private collectors over the last decade. Only two of those were sold out of the Frazetta Museum. Any painting sold to a private collector can't be seen by some average Frazetta fan. It certainly can't be seen along with many of Frank's other iconic paintings.

Being able to go and see, in real life, the paintings that Frazetta created—in the museum that he designed and Ellie made reality—is something that could go away. Frank Jr. and his family are committed to keeping Frank and Ellie's legacy alive and open to the public. That should be supported.

Congratulations to the Frazetta Museum for twenty years of giving Frazetta fans the opportunity to see his paintings!