Zacron, born Richard Drew[1] (1943 - January 2012) was an English artist who designed the Led Zeppelin III album cover.[1] [2]
Zacron was born in Sutton, Surrey in 1943.[3] He studied painting, drawing, design and etching at Studio 35 in Surbiton from 1957-1960 with Eric Clapton, and later at Kingston College of Art where he met Jimmy Page. He lectured at Leeds College of Art from 1967-1970.[3] He taught at Acton County School. He also taught for a short while at Elliott Comprehensive in Putney.
Zacron's innovation in graphic techniques laid the foundation for his creation of the Led Zeppelin III album cover in 1970.[3] This album cover is a small component of a vast and varied body of work spanning five decades, with much of his work having a close association to rock and roll.[4] He also designed the sleeve for Fancy's 1975 album Something To Remember.[1]
Zacron has been described as "multi-sided and multi-talented" with "a robust ethos of independence and bravery, a lifelong quest for knowledge".[4] He was a public advocate of artistic freedom and a notable financial contributor to the Great Ormond Street Hospital in London for terminally ill children, organised by Light and Sound at Abbey Road Studios.[3]
He died in January 2012 from bowel cancer, but his death was not revealed publicly until August that year.[1]