Verkerke Reprodukties NV was started in 1957 when its founder Engel Verkerke realised that there was a niche in the market for reasonably priced art reproductions. Their first poster was The Chinese Horse by the artist Xu Beihong from China. For the second one, Verkerke personally visited Pablo Picasso to obtain the rights for his 1955 drawing Don Quixote. Thereafter, with Picasso on board, it was relatively easy to get access to the works of other repected artists and business flourished. In 1970 in addition to fine art they expanded their range to include popular art, such as the well known portrait of Che Guevara and, as time went by, pop and film stars and other themes. As their business grew they were noticed by other, larger. publishing houses and were ultimately take-over first by the Italian company Arnoldo Mondadori Editore in 1987 and then The US company Hallmark Cards in 1997. Verkerke remained as a director until the business was closed in 2001.
It is no surprise that Verkerke wanted to publish some of Boris' fantasy paintings. Their first offerings were produced in 1979 for the European market only – presumably this was for copyright reasons because Portway Publications were producing Boris posters in the US. As well as posters, his art was also produced on postcards and greetings cards (I assume these ranges were a consequences of Hallmark's take-over.) Most of the artwork used was from Boris' existing portfolio but several pieces (the two Penant Posters, The Archer and Snake Attack plus Mistress of the Felines were commissioned by the company. I am not certain that a few others (The Future is Here, The Four Horsemen, Gryphon Keeper, Angel and In Praise of a Higher Spirit) were not also commisioned by them too. My understanding is that in some cases the commission was simply a request for some paintings, the precise subject being left to Boris' discretion!
I am deeply indebted to Marinus Heijting for providing the information that follows. As usual, I have shown the complete painting but, of course, the image would have been cropped to fit the format of the relevant publication – for example Julie Bell's painting Beauty and the Steel Beast, which is square, has been produced as both Midi and Maxi posters which are horizontal and vertical formats respectively whilst the two Penant Posters were reduced to only their top halves in their postcards and greetings cards.
The titles are those used by Verkerke. I have used parentheses where I do not know their title. The catalogue numbers shown have been updated to reflect Verkerke's latest numbering scheme but please be aware that some of the posters may have been discontinued before their original numbers were amended.
Posters
| Midi Posters (40 x 50 cms) | ||
11427 Beauty and the Steel Beast (J) |
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| Mini Posters (24 x 30 cms) | ||
11700 (Conan the Magnificent) |
11701 Storm |
11702 (Full Moon) |
11703 (The Mercenary) |
11704 (Primeval Princess) |
11705 Woman Wrestlers |
| Gallery (62 x 93 cms) | ||
17013 The Arm |
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| Penant Posters (53 x 158 cms) | ||
22216 The Archer |
22217 Snake Attack |
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| Maxi Posters (62 x 93 cms) | ||
26086 The Broken Sword |
26087 Demon in the Mirror |
26088 The Lavalite World |
26089 The High Couch of Silistra |
26090 A Hostage for the Hinterland |
26091 The Maker of Universes |
26322 Unicorn |
26344 Tattoo |
26367 Soap |
26380 Eagle |
26381 Boots |
26659 (Curl) |
26677 American Football |
26704 Dinosaur |
26760 The Four Horsemen |
26761 Mistress of the Felines |
26873 (Gryphon Keeper) |
26901 (Angel) |
| 27135 Beauty and the Steel Beast (J) |
27392 (In Praise of a Higher Spirit) |
|
Calendars
| Calendars (32 x 30.5 cms) | ||
905 Boris's Heroes |
||
Postcards
| Postcards (10 x 15 cms) | ||
34239 Noobos |
34240 Siren Song |
34241 Angel |
| 34242 Soap |
34243 Tattoo |
34244 Boots |
34836 Barbarian |
34837 American Football |
34838 Woman Wrestlers |
| 34839 Storm |
34884 The Archer |
34885 Snake sic |
Greetings Cards
| Greetings Cards (13 x 18 cms) | ||
| AC9216 Unicorn |
AC9347 Siren Song |
AC9348 Eagle |
AC9349 (Vampire's Kiss) |
AC9350 (Perfect Instants) |
AC9351 Boots |
AC9352 (Alone) |
AC9353 Fire |
AC9354 Butterfly |
AC9355 (The Triton and the Mermaid) |
AC9356 Soap |
AC9357 Angel |
| AC9358 Tattoo |
AC9388 The Broken Sword |
AC9389 The Lavalite World |
| AC9390 Demon in the Mirror |
AC9391 A Hostage for the Hinterland |
AC9392 The Maker of Universes |
| AC9393 The High Couch of Silistra |
AC9394 (The Dragon and the George I) |
AC9395 A Private Cosmos |
AC9396 (Secrets of Synchronicity) |
AC9397 (Enchantress of Venus) |
AC9398 (Haesel the Slave) |
AC9399 (Nomads of Gor) |
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