Description
Robert K. Bishop was an American bondage artist, often credited as The Bishop or simply Bishop. Born in Michigan, he has been compared with John Willie and described as the Rembrandt of bondage art. He committed suicide at the age of 46.
Most of Bishop’s art appeared in magazines and catalogs from 1971 to the 1980s. By the mid-1990s, Bishop’s art had long been out of print. The originals had largely been lost or destroyed. Even a partial reprinting in 1992-1993 was based on previously published copies. His work has been published extensively in bondage magazines, especially those of Centurions Publications and the bondage publisher House of Milan. His work was known for being very detailed and vivid. His main theme was extremely tight and/or reinforced bondage that showed its subject straining against their restraints, often as part of a predicament bondage. The bondage depicted often involved elaborate harnesses and gags designed by Bishop, and Bishop’s illustrations were mostly in black and white pen and ink, with spot use of airbrushing for shading. His work makes much play with the contrast between pale skin and black restraints and latex garments, and with the use of shading to imply shiny rubber textures and musculature. His color illustrations were mostly for magazine covers, due to the economic constraints of bondage magazine production. He also drew in a softer pencil style, with subtle use of pencil shading.
