Sun 5 Jul 2015
COLLECTING PULPS: A Memoir, Part 15, by Walker Martin: Death of a Collector: STEVE KENNEDY.
Posted by Steve under Collecting , Columns , Obituaries / Deaths Noted , Pulp Fiction[16] Comments
Death of a Collector: STEVE KENNEDY
by Walker Martin
A friend informed me of Steve Kennedy’s death around 4:00 pm earlier yesterday, and I’ve had problems accepting the news. I last heard from Steve a few weeks ago and at that time he was under a lot of stress due to his attempts to sell his NYC apartment and finish building his dream house in Woodstock, NY. He had been talking to me about both projects for many years and he hoped the money from the apartment sale would finance the completion of the Woodstock house. He had suffered some type of health problem a couple years ago which showed that his blood pressure was very high, and my impression was that he did not seem well.
I still remember my first sight of Steve as though it was only the other day. It was 1987 and he was in the Pulpcon dealer’s room carrying around a cover painting by Rafael Desoto from Dime Detective. He wanted to sell it but was getting no interest at all from the pulp collectors. This was a common reaction in the 1970’s and 1980’s when most pulp collectors were only interested in SF or hero pulp art. If the paintings were from western, detective, or adventure magazines, then there was usually no interest at all even if the price was low.
I know it’s hard to believe now when these paintings often sell for thousands of dollars but back then you could not even get offers when the price was only a few hundred dollars each. The only exceptions were SF and hero magazine covers. I know this for a fact because I built my pulp cover painting collection by paying only $200 to around $400 each for most non-SF genre paintings. In the 1990’s I had to start paying more and eventually due to the prices that Bob Lesser was willing to pay, the cost of pulp paintings really increased.
Since no one was willing to buy the Desoto painting, I bought it for only $325 in 1987. That began our 28 year friendship during which Steve sold me many paintings including some by Norman Saunders, Rafael Desoto, Walter Baumhofer, etc. Even a couple years ago when I told him I wanted a double page spread by Nick Eggenhofer, he sold me a beautiful drawing from the collection of art dealer, Walt Reed.
As I walk through my house, almost every room has paintings that I bought from Steve over the years. He visited my house several times each year for a total of over a hundred visits. Several times we drove out to Pulpcon together in my car. He would arrive the day before and sleep over due to my habit of getting an early start to drive to Pulpcon.
Steve was the only collector that my wife would put up with staying over because he at least dealt with art and paintings and was not covered with pulp chips from the magazines that so exasperate her. Steve and I both felt that there was nothing wrong with a house full of old magazines and books, not to mention pulp and paperback cover paintings!
We often told each other funny stories about non-collectors and in addition to the many visits, we had hundreds of telephone conversations, many late at night at around midnight. Since Steve did not work regular hours being self employed, he often called me late which I had no problem with because I’m always up late during the night reading books and pulps.
The wedding of Steve Kennedy and Jane came as a surprise to all his friends because he was always puzzled by NYC women and was in his 50’s when he got married in 2001. I guess Jane was really not from NYC. The wedding was held at Jane’s parents place in Woodstock, NY and was without a doubt the best wedding I ever attended. Not just the food and atmosphere but they had two bands: a Brazilian jazz group and two classical guitar players.
One funny thing about Steve getting married was that since he had been a bachelor for so long, he was scared of finally getting married. So much so that he called me in a nervous attack one night and asked me to give my opinion. Should he get married? I of course said sure go ahead because Steve was an art dealer and Jane was an art appraiser. Not the typical collector and non-collector disaster!
So, I’m still trying to process the information. Steve Kennedy is gone? No more visits, no more late night phone calls? No more trips to Pulpfest or Windy City? Another of my old friends gone for good? This is hard to believe that someone so much a part of my life can simply disappear.
Goodbye Steve. R.I.P.
July 5th, 2015 at 7:10 pm
It sounds like a beautiful friendship, Walker. I’m sorry for your loss.
July 5th, 2015 at 8:38 pm
I didn’t know Steve for as long or as well as Walker did, but he was one of the good guys. This makes me regret all the more not being able to attend either of the two major pulp conventions the past 3 or 4 years.
July 5th, 2015 at 8:53 pm
Steve was coming to visit us in Ohio in a few days. We were, as usual, so excited to see him. We are in shock.
July 5th, 2015 at 10:29 pm
Rick, yes as Steve Lewis indicates in Comment #2, many collectors have made some good friendships at the pulp conventions. It’s not all about the books but the friends and lifelong contacts that we make also. To all of a sudden have these fellow readers and collectors just disappear is a shock that is hard to get over. I’m so used to talking to Steve Kennedy about original artwork and his dream house…I’ve been doing it for almost 30 years. We all lose such great friends but it’s still a terrible thing. My best friends are all book and art collectors.
July 6th, 2015 at 9:58 am
Our hobby tends to breed a very special kind of person. I am sorry for your loss, Walker, but glad you were able to maintain such a strong friendship over so many years.
July 6th, 2015 at 10:20 am
Thanks Jerry, I appreciate your comment about maintaining such a strong friendship over so many years. I’ve been concentrating on the negative side only but you are right. I should be glad to have known Steve Kennedy for 28 years. Thinking of him looking so young in 1987 carrying around the DIME DETECTIVE painting shown above, cheers me up some because our meeting meant we would be friends and fellow collectors for the next 28 years. A long time when I think of it.
July 7th, 2015 at 1:04 pm
Walker- This is a lovely tribute. I am stunned and saddened by the passing of such a wonderful, gentle soul. I had known Steve for years, through contact at Christie’s, Phillips and now Heritage Auctions- and as a Robert Lesser sidekick. They both were quite a pair together! Steve meeting Jane St. Lifer was a match made in heaven- both so well suited to each other. Dinner at their NYC apartment was simply charming. All of us at Heritage in the Fine Art department are so saddened by his passing and wish Jane all our sincerest condolences. This guy left this world too soon and he will be sorely missed.
Kathleen Guzman
July 7th, 2015 at 6:24 pm
Kathleen, you are so right about Steve leaving this world too soon. He will be missed and it breaks my heart to think that he never saw the completion of his house in Woodstock. A dream that he talked to me about for so many years…
July 11th, 2015 at 3:09 pm
Walker, you are not alone in missing Steve.I always enjoyed meeting him at your place and going to Pulpcon with him.He was a warm,generous guy whom everyone liked.Even though I was not an art collector,I always liked to talk with him because I always learned something new.I agree with Walker that it is sad he never finished his dream house.
July 11th, 2015 at 6:30 pm
Steve Kennedy started building his house in Woodstock, NY after getting the land to build it on. That was almost 10 years ago. He and Jane kept building it over the years but the construction costs mounted with each delay. I guess since he was self employed the banks would not give him the standard mortgage loan so the building of the house dragged on and on.
He was planning to sell his apartment in NYC to complete the Woodstock property and then death interrupted all the plans.
February 16th, 2017 at 11:08 pm
Hello,
Steve was a really good friend and associate. Together we arranged for a killer pulp show at my gallery in Santa Fe, NM. It was a sellout show and we sold some important paintings as well as many gouache studies. I was sorry to hear of his passing these years later. If you feel OK with a request, I would like to send my condolences to his wife. If not she could send me an email atFrankcroft@mac.com. Thank you for your lovely tribute.
Sincerely,
Frank Croft
February 17th, 2017 at 8:06 am
Frank, hardly a day goes by that I don’t think of Steve and wish that he were still around for us to talk about pulp paintings and the pulp magazines. How many times have I stood in front of one of my cover paintings and thought that I would have to ask Steve about the piece and then have to remind myself that he was gone and there would be no more long conversations about the pulps.
He often talked with me about the great exhibits and art shows that he organized in Arizona and New Mexico.
I’ll try and hunt up his wife’s last known address and send it to you.
August 24th, 2019 at 2:12 am
I’m Steve’s niece. I want to say thank you so much for the touching article about my uncle. Even after all these years I still can’t believe he’s gone. I still have a load of amazing memories that I wish I could just go in a time machine and replay. He always gave me tips on how to improve my art but also took time to tell me about pulp and its history. It’s really touching to see how many people he has touched and how much of an influence he was in the genre.
August 24th, 2019 at 10:49 am
Evonne, thanks so much for commenting about my good friend, Steve. It’s been four years since his sudden and shocking early death and I think of him often. I’m just back from the annual Pulpfest convention which Steve and I used to travel to in my car. I bought a couple pieces of original cover art that I know Steve would have liked.
He often mentioned his niece and guess that was you. He was one of the nicest and most kind hearted men I’ve ever known.
September 13th, 2020 at 3:10 am
It still shocks me as well, every now and again I expect a phone call or email from him even though it has been five years now since he has been gone.
One of these years I will have to go to Pulpfest, I’ve always been curious about what they are like since I remember when he use to talk about them or give me a call before heading out to one.
Back when… I want to say I was in middle school, I remember when he took me to a Pulp show I think it was in Brooklyn or Bronx, one of the boroughs in NYC. I remember how he was talking about one of the paintings and it was just amazing about the detail he would go into about the shading and other unique features that was found in that genre.
There’s just so many fond memories I look back on and I just wish I could go in a time machine a relive it again.
September 13th, 2020 at 12:25 pm
Evonne, thanks so much for your latest comment about Steve. He is still missed by his friends and we all have the fondest memories of him. Like me and many book collectors, he would have been so disappointed to see the two big pulp conventions cancelled due to the virus. He loved the conventions and always enjoyed talking and meeting other collectors.