A former Portland, Ore., route operator has joined the art world in a rather familiar way to folks in the coin machine business. Dick McNicholas, who has worked in the industry for 43 years, recently started producing and selling pinball machine backglass artwork printed on canvass, mounted on wood frame and available as gifts from his PINball Art USA company.
So far, he’s gathered and restored images of 93 pinball backglasses to create the art pieces, and is licensed by manufacturers like Gottlieb, Williams, Bally and Midway. His archives include game art going back to the 1930s and extending up to the 90s.
“When we approached manufacturers,” McNicholas said, “we discovered that they didn’t haven’t an archive of their backglasses, so PINball Art USA will also serve as an archive for a long history of beautiful pinball art.”
Gorgeous artwork, as on the familiar Eight Ball Deluxe (Bally’s 1980 outstanding hit), can be ordered on items such as greeting cards (at $6.95); 16”x16” mounted canvass (as on the Gottlieb Card Whiz shown above for $225); and even a framed and lit 26×26” masterpiece for $450.
For a more complete description of McNicholas’s wares, visit www.pinballartusa.com.