AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS

Painting reveal and exclusive digital wallpaper

Michael Everett

and

Michael Whelan

Jan 26, 2025

∙ Paid

A closeup view of an Antarctic explorer reveals snow frosting his beard and scarf as he holds up a green five-pointed star. He stares at the audience in horror with his mouth in a slack downward arc. The texture of the star looks like engraved jade with another star at the center and tentacles reaching to the points. Three of those points are broken off. The left lens of the man's goggles flares with light while the other reflects an abstract horror with dozens of eyes and jagged teeth. The mountains in the background climb upward to the left. Over the shoulder of the explorers fur-lined parka a jagged cluster of rock takes the shape of a trio of skulls. — AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS (2024), Acrylic on Panel - 24” x 36”

Back in October, I teased the reveal of Michael Whelan’s long awaited cover for At the Mountains of Madness, commissioned by Centipede Press for the classic horror novel by H.P. Lovecraft. I should have known better given the pitfalls of the project.

This haunted masterpiece has been over a decade in the making, and as it turned out Michael wasn’t quite done with finishing touches in time for Halloween. He’s ready now, and I’m pleased to share the painting today.

As you might suspect over such a long stretch of time, preliminaries for the cover abound like lost star relics in the Antarctic. Once we pull all that work together, we’ll be posting an extensive feature detailing Michael’s process—wrong turns and all. Along the way, expect more Lovecraft originals to be listed in our shop as they come out of the studio.

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Additional images from AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS

LEFT: Foreground detail from AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS featuring an Arctic explorer in fur-lined parka holding up a five-pointed jade star with most of the tips broken off. The left lens of his goggles flares with light while the other reflects an abstract horror with dozens of eyes and jagged teeth forming an angled, distorted maw. A scarf partially covers the explorers chin, and his beard frosted with an accumulation of snow that is still falling. CENTER: Background detail from AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS featuring skull shapes in a cluster of rocks projecting to the upper left. Drifts of snow fill the low ground between the rocks projecting out. RIGHT: Foreground detail from AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS featuring the five-pointed star in the explorer's mittened hand. The gloves are unique in that only the index finger and thumb are separate. The texture of the starfish-shaped relic looks like engraved jade with a simpler five-pointed star set at the center. A tentacle shape reaches to the points of the outer star set with a glossy bead. The other three points visible are broken off. — Details from AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS

Exclusive Digital Wallpaper

Paid subscribers will find a link to exclusive digital wallpaper of AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS at the end of this post.

Since comments are restricted to paid subscribers, I opened a Lovecraft chat thread so everyone can share thoughts on this new work of horror. You can also reply directly to the newsletter email to share comments with us directly.

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Weekly Art Recap

Grid of images 3 across in 2 rows corresponding to the list below. — Art featured from Jan 20-25

Smiler - cover illustration for The Year’s Best Horror Stories
Lumen 6 - looking for the light, a moment of discovery at last
Alex - a non-Elric cover for Michael Moorcock and an artist favorite
The Mad Poet - exploring the creative intersection of madness and magic
Hot Sky at Midnight - cover for a Robert Silverberg novel about a decaying Earth
The Dark Tower: Patrick - interior illustration for Stephen King

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Banner reading LEFTOVERS & PALETTE GREMLINS 2025 GALLERY PROJECt. The accompanying art is from EXO ENCOUNTER and features a spherical probe droid hovering over a mountain lake. The near foreground is obscured by colorful jagged rocks. On the far right are two small figures in orange spacesuits staring at the massive droid. A small alien lizard can be seen on the far left. The far side of the water is a mix of rock formations and glacial ice. Beyond that rises an escarpment that obscures partially obscures cloudy skies.

Coming Soon…Leftovers & Palette Gremlins 2025

Michael has begun work on the first L&PG of the year. We hope to kick off the 2025 gallery earlier than usual this year with a tentative date of Feb 5 for the first reveal.

If you like in-depth content about Michael Whelan’s art, please consider subscribing. Our weekly newsletters are free, and we offer additional perks for paid supporters like today’s exclusive digital wallpaper of AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS.