[2] Over a career spanning 60 years, he was the artist for the covers of many science fiction books including Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels.

His parents were Charles William and Ellen (née Marsh) Kirby who ran a grocery shop together, although his father was also a ship owner's freight clerk.

While he was there, his Old Master-style portraits earned him the nickname "Josh" when colleagues likened his work to that of the painter Sir Joshua Reynolds.

[6] After leaving art school, Liverpool City Council commissioned him to paint the Lord Mayor, Alderman Joseph Jackson Cleary, in 1950.

Working alongside designer Eddie Paul, Kirby depicted the characters for Star Wars: Return of the Jedi; films The Beastmaster and Krull, among others.

[6] When the market for film poster illustration dried up in the mid 1980s, Kirby switched his attention to role-playing games.

[3] Working for publishers including Panther, Corgi, Four Square and NEL/Mayflower,[6] he illustrated over 400 covers for authors including Brian Aldiss, Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, Stephen Briggs, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Craig Shaw Gardner, Ron Goulart, Robert Heinlein, Alfred Hitchcock, Jack Kerouac, Ursula Le Guin, Richard Matheson, Guy de Maupassant, Terry Pratchett, Robert Rankin, Jimmy Sangster, Jules Verne, and H. G.

[3][6] Upon his passing, his successor Paul Kidby painted a portrait of Kirby into the cover art of the novel Night Watch, in tribute to the artist.

The oldest was Hieronymus Bosch, famous for his fantastic imagery, detailed landscapes and illustrations of religious concepts and narratives; next was Pieter Bruegel, whose religious and mythological depictions expanded the viewer's perspective of reality; and finally muralist Frank Brangwyn, an avant-garde artist-craftsman notable for his boldly coloured murals.