Collection: Tom Adams

The Agatha Christie covers, painted by Tom Adams constitute probably the most famous examples of paperback art ever produced.

First published in the sixties, seventies and eighties in the UK by Fontana and in the USA by Pocket Books, they have been reproduced throughout the world by many other publishers. There is also an iconic series of Raymond Chandler covers produced for Ballantine Books, New York.

Concurrently with this extraordinary achievement in the field of paperback publishing, Tom Adams was also producing some brilliant paintings for hardbacks, notably covers for John Fowles' The Collector, The Magus and The French Lieutenant's Woman. Also Patrick White's The Vivisector, David Storey's Saville (described by John Fowles as a "quite literal dream of a jacket"); Ghost Story by Peter Straub and a Daliesque cover for Kingsley Amis' (writing as Robert Markham) James Bond pastiche, Colonel Sun.

He won various awards for illustration notably from The American Society of Illustrators, The American Art Directors Association and The Design and Art Directors Association, UK.

Tom Adams' paintings are in private collections in the UK, Ireland, Australia, Germany, Liberia, Italy, Canada and USA. He has exhibited in group and one man shows in London, Marbella, Toronto, Tokyo, Dublin and Sydney. His UK exhibitions include The Museum of Modern Art, Oxford, The Portal Gallery, The Fulham Gallery, The Calvert Gallery, ICA and RBA galleries - all in London. 

Tom died in December 2019, at the age of 93.