illustrators
1819-1821 Turner, Illustrator of the English Countryside
2012 SOLD 217 K£ including premium
PRE SALE DISCUSSION
Turner loved the scenery and atmosphere of the English countryside. His watercolors on this topic are often part ofprojects of publications by local editors.
After illustrating the history of Leeds by Whitaker, the artist studied for the same historian the landscapes of Richmondshire, a district in Yorkshire. The watercolor, 29 x 42 cm, for sale by Bonhams in London on January 25, belongs to the latter series.
The artist is mastering his immense skill. This poetic view of Kirkby Lonsdale was admired and commented by Ruskin.The river and the hills in the morning light illustrate the pre-Impressionist style that made forever the glory of Turner, but the foreground with a group of playing boys has a beautiful clarity.
Whitaker started working on the Richmondshire project in 1819 and the original edition of the Kirkby Lonsdale print is dated 1821. The watercolor is estimated £ 200K, and is illustrated in the release shared by AuctionPublicity.
The art of Turner as an illustrator of England has already been discussed in this group. On July 13, 2011, a watercolor of Kent realised in 1824 was sold £ 252K including premium by the same auction house.
POST SALE COMMENT
The price is not surprising: £ 180K before fees, 217K including premium.
Turner loved the scenery and atmosphere of the English countryside. His watercolors on this topic are often part ofprojects of publications by local editors.
After illustrating the history of Leeds by Whitaker, the artist studied for the same historian the landscapes of Richmondshire, a district in Yorkshire. The watercolor, 29 x 42 cm, for sale by Bonhams in London on January 25, belongs to the latter series.
The artist is mastering his immense skill. This poetic view of Kirkby Lonsdale was admired and commented by Ruskin.The river and the hills in the morning light illustrate the pre-Impressionist style that made forever the glory of Turner, but the foreground with a group of playing boys has a beautiful clarity.
Whitaker started working on the Richmondshire project in 1819 and the original edition of the Kirkby Lonsdale print is dated 1821. The watercolor is estimated £ 200K, and is illustrated in the release shared by AuctionPublicity.
The art of Turner as an illustrator of England has already been discussed in this group. On July 13, 2011, a watercolor of Kent realised in 1824 was sold £ 252K including premium by the same auction house.
POST SALE COMMENT
The price is not surprising: £ 180K before fees, 217K including premium.
1824 Bad Weather over Kent
2011 SOLD 252 K£ including premium
PRE SALE DISCUSSION
Turner lived in Margate for a long time. He was inspired by bad weather on the landscapes of Kent. So it was naturally to him that WB Cooke ordered the pictures for the project of a portfolio of engravings.
The edition of 1826, entitled Picturesque Views on the Southern Coast of England, brought together 40 works by Turner. The original art of the plate number 1 is for sale on July 13 in London by Bonhams.
Entitled Whitstable Oyster Beds in a cartouche, this watercolor executed in 1824 shows oyster farmers with their horses under a stormy sky. It is a typical work of the master, with expressive colors, perfect perspective, and hardly outlined details that give realism to the whole scene.
It is shown in the press release shared by Artdaily. This small masterpiece, 16 x 24 cm, might deserve better than its estimate, £ 120K.
POST SALE COMMENT
Sold £ 210K before fees, 252K including premium. As expected, the estimate was exceeded by far.
Turner lived in Margate for a long time. He was inspired by bad weather on the landscapes of Kent. So it was naturally to him that WB Cooke ordered the pictures for the project of a portfolio of engravings.
The edition of 1826, entitled Picturesque Views on the Southern Coast of England, brought together 40 works by Turner. The original art of the plate number 1 is for sale on July 13 in London by Bonhams.
Entitled Whitstable Oyster Beds in a cartouche, this watercolor executed in 1824 shows oyster farmers with their horses under a stormy sky. It is a typical work of the master, with expressive colors, perfect perspective, and hardly outlined details that give realism to the whole scene.
It is shown in the press release shared by Artdaily. This small masterpiece, 16 x 24 cm, might deserve better than its estimate, £ 120K.
POST SALE COMMENT
Sold £ 210K before fees, 252K including premium. As expected, the estimate was exceeded by far.
1892 Rabbits by Beatrix Potter
2008 SOLD for £ 290K by Sotheby's
PRE SALE DISCUSSION
Under the title The Rabbits' Christmas Party, the illustrator Beatrix Potter has drawn in ink and watercolors circa 1892, each with several variant copies, six scenes from the life of rabbits. Sotheby's could not wait for winter to sell three of them, on July 17 in London. The formats are 15 x 15 cm.
For £ 40 K, at number 288, we see five rabbits, refrigerated despite their heavy coats. They approach the house, one of them knocking at the door. This drawing comes directly from the artist's family.
For £ 20 K, at number 289, a rabbit standing on a stool is playing bagpipes, and around him six other dance with frenzy. The explanation for this lower estimate is not obvious from reading the catalogue. It is possible that the colors are weaker.
For £ 40 K, at number 290, they put on their coat, kiss and leave.
For £ 40 K, at number 291, three rabbits are conscientiously busy devouring buns, or more exactly the label they just pulled from the cylindrical box containing them. A second box is still intact, and you can read despite the attack of rodents the following: "A Merry Christmas and Plenty of Buns - H.B.P." This drawing is the most interesting of the four, first of all because it is not part of the series of six Christmas Partys, then because it is considered as previously unknown, finally because it is the most funny and original.
This reminds, of course, Alice in Wonderland and well-known drawings by John Tenniel. Tenniel and Potter are not often seen in auctions, even in London, and this group could generate more than just a success of curiosity.
POST SALE COMMENT
The departure, lot 290, is the only of the four to have been regarded as a masterpiece: 290 K£ costs included. I have reviewed the catalogue, nothing predisposed to such a gap over others.
Lot 290 steals the spotlight to the 288, the arrival, which however sold well at 120 K£ costs included. It is interesting to note that this is the only of the four that came from the artist's family. It did not made it distinguished in the results.
The dance of rabbits, lot 289, being sold at 22.5 K£ costs included, has remained below the low estimate. It had without doubt some fault, as I had assumed in my article.
Lot 291, which was my favorite, was sold 42 K£ costs included. I infer that the amateurs have preferred images already known to this one which was unpublished.
Under the title The Rabbits' Christmas Party, the illustrator Beatrix Potter has drawn in ink and watercolors circa 1892, each with several variant copies, six scenes from the life of rabbits. Sotheby's could not wait for winter to sell three of them, on July 17 in London. The formats are 15 x 15 cm.
For £ 40 K, at number 288, we see five rabbits, refrigerated despite their heavy coats. They approach the house, one of them knocking at the door. This drawing comes directly from the artist's family.
For £ 20 K, at number 289, a rabbit standing on a stool is playing bagpipes, and around him six other dance with frenzy. The explanation for this lower estimate is not obvious from reading the catalogue. It is possible that the colors are weaker.
For £ 40 K, at number 290, they put on their coat, kiss and leave.
For £ 40 K, at number 291, three rabbits are conscientiously busy devouring buns, or more exactly the label they just pulled from the cylindrical box containing them. A second box is still intact, and you can read despite the attack of rodents the following: "A Merry Christmas and Plenty of Buns - H.B.P." This drawing is the most interesting of the four, first of all because it is not part of the series of six Christmas Partys, then because it is considered as previously unknown, finally because it is the most funny and original.
This reminds, of course, Alice in Wonderland and well-known drawings by John Tenniel. Tenniel and Potter are not often seen in auctions, even in London, and this group could generate more than just a success of curiosity.
POST SALE COMMENT
The departure, lot 290, is the only of the four to have been regarded as a masterpiece: 290 K£ costs included. I have reviewed the catalogue, nothing predisposed to such a gap over others.
Lot 290 steals the spotlight to the 288, the arrival, which however sold well at 120 K£ costs included. It is interesting to note that this is the only of the four that came from the artist's family. It did not made it distinguished in the results.
The dance of rabbits, lot 289, being sold at 22.5 K£ costs included, has remained below the low estimate. It had without doubt some fault, as I had assumed in my article.
Lot 291, which was my favorite, was sold 42 K£ costs included. I infer that the amateurs have preferred images already known to this one which was unpublished.
1920 Robinson Crusoe by NC Wyeth
2009 SOLD for $ 720K by Christie's
NC Wyeth believed that painting and illustration were two different arts, which must not be confused. Working in oil on canvas, he was one of the best illustrators of the early twentieth century, specializing in popular and U.S. Western literatures.
To be included in a book, an image must be legible and directly related to the subject. Fourteen illustrations made by Wyeth in 1920 for Robinson Crusoe are typical of his simple and colorful art. The book was published by Cosmopolitan Book Corporation.
Christie's expects more than $ 3.35 million on the fourteen original oils on canvas, on December 2 in New York. This figure is the sum of the lower estimates. They were kept since 1922 by the library of Wilmington, DE, where they assured the decoration.
Curiously, each of them will be auctioned separately. For $ 400K, we see the hero of the story looking from the top of a dune to a deep blue sea. He holds his rifle in his left hand and an umbrella in the other hand. The canvas, 76 x 116 cm, is laid down on board.
POST SALE COMMENT
Christie's has confused art and illustration. Presented individually, nine of the fourteen paintings have not been sold, and the set is now separated. Worse: the total of the five sold lots, $ 2.2 million including premium, is well below the low estimates for the total, 3.35 million excl.
The oil on canvas estimated $ 400K as discussed above has been sold $ 480K including premium. A more expressive scene, where the hero is seen hands up in an attitude of supplication, was sold 720 K $ including premium.
To be included in a book, an image must be legible and directly related to the subject. Fourteen illustrations made by Wyeth in 1920 for Robinson Crusoe are typical of his simple and colorful art. The book was published by Cosmopolitan Book Corporation.
Christie's expects more than $ 3.35 million on the fourteen original oils on canvas, on December 2 in New York. This figure is the sum of the lower estimates. They were kept since 1922 by the library of Wilmington, DE, where they assured the decoration.
Curiously, each of them will be auctioned separately. For $ 400K, we see the hero of the story looking from the top of a dune to a deep blue sea. He holds his rifle in his left hand and an umbrella in the other hand. The canvas, 76 x 116 cm, is laid down on board.
POST SALE COMMENT
Christie's has confused art and illustration. Presented individually, nine of the fourteen paintings have not been sold, and the set is now separated. Worse: the total of the five sold lots, $ 2.2 million including premium, is well below the low estimates for the total, 3.35 million excl.
The oil on canvas estimated $ 400K as discussed above has been sold $ 480K including premium. A more expressive scene, where the hero is seen hands up in an attitude of supplication, was sold 720 K $ including premium.
1921 The Illustrators from New Rochelle
2020 unsold
New Rochelle, a northern suburb of New York, is developing an intense cultural activity. A film production company is created there as early as 1909. Several illustrators and poster designers have their workshops in the town. Leyendecker, who was then the most prolific supplier of cover art for the Saturday Evening Post, set up his workshop there in 1914.
Norman Rockwell joins this informal brotherhood in 1915. Aged 21, he is already the artistic editor of the magazine of the Boy Scouts of America. In 1916 the Post publishes for the first time one of his pictures on the cover, in a duotone impression. The theme, Boy with Baby Carriage, is family oriented.
The topic of the innocent occupations which respect the family values is suitable for the readers. Now often published by the Post, Rockwell also works for several other magazines.
On July 1 in Dallas, Heritage sells Mother Tucking Children into Bed, also titled Mother's Little Angels, published on January 29, 1921 as the cover page of The Literary Digest. Remained to this day in the family of the editor, this oil on canvas 72 x 62 cm is estimated $ 1.8M, lot 68161. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
The artist skillfully combined tradition and modernism. The circular image is set in a square which simulates a patchwork quilt. The scene is lit by an electric light, which reminds that Rockwell was also supplying advertising images for Edison Mazda Lightworks at the same time.
For the tender and attentive young mother who looks at the two sleeping cherubs, Rockwell took as his model his own wife, Irene. The family reality stops there : Norman and Irene could not have children and will divorce in 1930.
The cover of The Literary Digest is multicolored. The Post, which ensures the glory of Rockwell, will have its first cover in full colors in 1926.
Norman Rockwell joins this informal brotherhood in 1915. Aged 21, he is already the artistic editor of the magazine of the Boy Scouts of America. In 1916 the Post publishes for the first time one of his pictures on the cover, in a duotone impression. The theme, Boy with Baby Carriage, is family oriented.
The topic of the innocent occupations which respect the family values is suitable for the readers. Now often published by the Post, Rockwell also works for several other magazines.
On July 1 in Dallas, Heritage sells Mother Tucking Children into Bed, also titled Mother's Little Angels, published on January 29, 1921 as the cover page of The Literary Digest. Remained to this day in the family of the editor, this oil on canvas 72 x 62 cm is estimated $ 1.8M, lot 68161. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
The artist skillfully combined tradition and modernism. The circular image is set in a square which simulates a patchwork quilt. The scene is lit by an electric light, which reminds that Rockwell was also supplying advertising images for Edison Mazda Lightworks at the same time.
For the tender and attentive young mother who looks at the two sleeping cherubs, Rockwell took as his model his own wife, Irene. The family reality stops there : Norman and Irene could not have children and will divorce in 1930.
The cover of The Literary Digest is multicolored. The Post, which ensures the glory of Rockwell, will have its first cover in full colors in 1926.
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1926 The Sesquicentennial Celebration of Freedom
2018 SOLD for $ 760K including premium
An original oil on canvas 92 x 69 cm prepared by Norman Rockwell as a cover art for the Saturday Evening Post passed at Bonhams on January 27, 2010, lot 1131.
Coming now from the deceased estate of Debbie Reynolds, it passed at Profiles in History in October 2017 with an excessive estimate. It is now estimated $ 800K for sale by Heritage in Dallas on May 4, lot 68002.
I introduced it as follows before the previous auctions :
On May 29, 1926, the Saturday Evening Post celebrates the 150th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence of the United States. Norman Rockwell symbolizes this event by showing Benjamin Franklin, quill pen in hand for signing the document, his face turned towards the viewer. This figure on a light background is a nice example of the usual care of the artist for readability.
This image meets a dual logics. First : Franklin, subtle polemicist, renowned scientist, ambassador of freedom, alter ego of the "Poor Richard", has remained a popular figure. On the other hand, the Saturday Evening Post claimed to be the successor of the Pennsylvania Gazette founded by him.
The low resolution image below is shared by WikiArt for fair use :
Coming now from the deceased estate of Debbie Reynolds, it passed at Profiles in History in October 2017 with an excessive estimate. It is now estimated $ 800K for sale by Heritage in Dallas on May 4, lot 68002.
I introduced it as follows before the previous auctions :
On May 29, 1926, the Saturday Evening Post celebrates the 150th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence of the United States. Norman Rockwell symbolizes this event by showing Benjamin Franklin, quill pen in hand for signing the document, his face turned towards the viewer. This figure on a light background is a nice example of the usual care of the artist for readability.
This image meets a dual logics. First : Franklin, subtle polemicist, renowned scientist, ambassador of freedom, alter ego of the "Poor Richard", has remained a popular figure. On the other hand, the Saturday Evening Post claimed to be the successor of the Pennsylvania Gazette founded by him.
The low resolution image below is shared by WikiArt for fair use :
1933 Flash Gordon
2020 SOLD for $ 480K by Profiles in History
Around 1900 the comic strip becomes a strategic complement to American newspapers. In order not to miss an episode of a story, the reader buys a daily newspaper every day. Specialized companies operating as news agencies are created to sell the stories to newspapers and magazines. The press tycoons such as Pulitzer and Hearst are capturing this new market sector.
King Features Syndicate, launched in 1915 by William Randolph Hearst, offered quality comic strips which superseded around 1930 the craze of readers for the pulp magazines. King Features' biggest hits are Blondie, created in 1930, Flash Gordon and Mandrake the Magician, both created in 1934, and The Phantom, created in 1936.
Alexander "Alex" Raymond begins his career in 1930 at King Features where he becomes among other activities an assistant to Chic Young for Blondie. The young man is a gifted artist who knows how to capture emotions. He early considers comics as an art in its own right, superior to a single drawing for telling stories with a staging.
King Features simultaneously entrust Alex Raymond in 1933 with the illustration of three new series, in specialities as varied as science fiction, the jungle, and the adventures of a secret agent written by Dashiell Hammett, the pioneer of the detective novel.
Approached by the widow of a collector, the auction house Profiles in History discovers the original art by Alexander Raymond of the very first episode of Flash Gordon and of the very first episode of Jungle Jim, prepared in 1933 and both published by King Features on January 7, 1934. The sale will take place on March 31 in Calabasas.
Attacked by a huge tiger who covets his meal, Jungle Jim manages to kill the beast after a Homeric struggle. The 72 x 34 cm drawing in three strips is estimated $ 75K, lot 1 linked here on the iCollector bidding platform. This story that competed with Tarzan was immediately popular with the readers.
A planet is rushing toward earth. Flash Gordon's plane is shot down by a flaming meteorite. Flash takes his girlfriend in his arms and parachutes into the laboratory of a crazy scientist who is secretly preparing a rocket to attack the new planet. The 72 x 58 cm drawing in four strips is estimated $ 400K, lot 2 linked here on iCollector.
This first appearance of Flash Gordon already contains all the ingredients for a modern science fiction thriller. The handsome hero precedes Superman. Much later George Lucas will try unsuccessfully to obtain the rights of Flash Gordon before launching his series of Star Wars films.
RESULTS before fees
Flash Gordon SOLD for $ 400K
Jungle Jim SOLD for $ 75K
King Features Syndicate, launched in 1915 by William Randolph Hearst, offered quality comic strips which superseded around 1930 the craze of readers for the pulp magazines. King Features' biggest hits are Blondie, created in 1930, Flash Gordon and Mandrake the Magician, both created in 1934, and The Phantom, created in 1936.
Alexander "Alex" Raymond begins his career in 1930 at King Features where he becomes among other activities an assistant to Chic Young for Blondie. The young man is a gifted artist who knows how to capture emotions. He early considers comics as an art in its own right, superior to a single drawing for telling stories with a staging.
King Features simultaneously entrust Alex Raymond in 1933 with the illustration of three new series, in specialities as varied as science fiction, the jungle, and the adventures of a secret agent written by Dashiell Hammett, the pioneer of the detective novel.
Approached by the widow of a collector, the auction house Profiles in History discovers the original art by Alexander Raymond of the very first episode of Flash Gordon and of the very first episode of Jungle Jim, prepared in 1933 and both published by King Features on January 7, 1934. The sale will take place on March 31 in Calabasas.
Attacked by a huge tiger who covets his meal, Jungle Jim manages to kill the beast after a Homeric struggle. The 72 x 34 cm drawing in three strips is estimated $ 75K, lot 1 linked here on the iCollector bidding platform. This story that competed with Tarzan was immediately popular with the readers.
A planet is rushing toward earth. Flash Gordon's plane is shot down by a flaming meteorite. Flash takes his girlfriend in his arms and parachutes into the laboratory of a crazy scientist who is secretly preparing a rocket to attack the new planet. The 72 x 58 cm drawing in four strips is estimated $ 400K, lot 2 linked here on iCollector.
This first appearance of Flash Gordon already contains all the ingredients for a modern science fiction thriller. The handsome hero precedes Superman. Much later George Lucas will try unsuccessfully to obtain the rights of Flash Gordon before launching his series of Star Wars films.
RESULTS before fees
Flash Gordon SOLD for $ 400K
Jungle Jim SOLD for $ 75K
1935 MICKEY'S BAND
2011 SOLD 45 K$ INCLUDING PREMIUM
PRE SALE DISCUSSION
In 1935 Mickey Mouse, star of Walt Disney's cartoons, appropriates the color with a 9 minute short movie titled The Band Concert. This innovation is made possible by the technique of animation cels, which avoids repeating one by one all the drawings necessary for the film.
These are sheets of hand-drawn transparent celluloid, which can be stacked together before being photographed in Technicolor. Watch out the film, shared on YouTube: the characters frantically stir in fixed settings.
The Band Concert had a huge impact on the popularity of the mouse. Mickey leads the band, subjected to three successive insults: Donald Duck as an itinerant ice cream merchant who interferes with his flutes, a bee which terrifies the musicians, a storm that strucks the orchestra.
A cel from the beginning of the film has survived. It shows the musicians as they introduce themselves to the public.This piece of 30 x 24 cm presented in a frame is for sale on February 25 at Heritage Auction Galleries in Dallas. It is estimated $ 100K, and illustrated in the press release shared by the auction house.
I discovered that I have something in common with Toscanini. They say that the maestro was delighted when he saw the film. Same for me! The image of the cel takes place in the first twenty seconds.
POST SALE COMMENT
Here is a reference price for a type of collectible that I had not yet discussed: $ 45K including premium for this rare cel.
In 1935 Mickey Mouse, star of Walt Disney's cartoons, appropriates the color with a 9 minute short movie titled The Band Concert. This innovation is made possible by the technique of animation cels, which avoids repeating one by one all the drawings necessary for the film.
These are sheets of hand-drawn transparent celluloid, which can be stacked together before being photographed in Technicolor. Watch out the film, shared on YouTube: the characters frantically stir in fixed settings.
The Band Concert had a huge impact on the popularity of the mouse. Mickey leads the band, subjected to three successive insults: Donald Duck as an itinerant ice cream merchant who interferes with his flutes, a bee which terrifies the musicians, a storm that strucks the orchestra.
A cel from the beginning of the film has survived. It shows the musicians as they introduce themselves to the public.This piece of 30 x 24 cm presented in a frame is for sale on February 25 at Heritage Auction Galleries in Dallas. It is estimated $ 100K, and illustrated in the press release shared by the auction house.
I discovered that I have something in common with Toscanini. They say that the maestro was delighted when he saw the film. Same for me! The image of the cel takes place in the first twenty seconds.
POST SALE COMMENT
Here is a reference price for a type of collectible that I had not yet discussed: $ 45K including premium for this rare cel.
1937 Casterman in America
2017 SOLD for € 750K including premium
In 1934, the publisher Casterman takes over the destiny of Tintin whose adventures are already a success. Black and white is no more sufficient, it will be necessary to generalize the color that was hitherto limited to the images on the front covers.
Hergé and Casterman are not yet ready to color all the pages. The four or five full-page off-text drawings may be a support to introduce the color inside the albums without disturbing the reader because they are essentially evocations of ambience independently of the course of the action.
In 1936 these off-text are still in black and white. The original art of a Shanghai view with Tintin and Milou (Snowy) moving in a rickshaw was sold for HK $ 9.3M including premium by Artcurial on October 5, 2015.
Tintin en Amérique is at that date the top success in the Tintin albums. Casterman requests Hergé to produce off-text in color for preparing a new edition. The applied technique is new for Hergé. Unlike the original art of the first five covers that were made in direct gouache, Hergé prepares the drawing in Indian ink followed by a tracing paper on which he defines the coloring.
The black and white art and the tracing paper of the first full page drawing of the 1937 edition of Tintin en Amérique were kept together and are sold in a single lot by Artcurial in Paris on April 8, lot 90 estimated € 600K.
As in Shanghai one year before, it is a picture of atmosphere. The street in Chicago is lined with endless skyscrapers and Tintin defies the bandits from a taxi that clears its way in the traffic jams. Compared to the pages of the action drawn in 1931 and 1932, the graphic of the off-text is highly improved.
The modernization of Tintin en Amérique will be achieved in 1945 with a new full color version without off- text in the principles of the ligne claire, fortunately including the removal of many blunders from the original text.
Hergé and Casterman are not yet ready to color all the pages. The four or five full-page off-text drawings may be a support to introduce the color inside the albums without disturbing the reader because they are essentially evocations of ambience independently of the course of the action.
In 1936 these off-text are still in black and white. The original art of a Shanghai view with Tintin and Milou (Snowy) moving in a rickshaw was sold for HK $ 9.3M including premium by Artcurial on October 5, 2015.
Tintin en Amérique is at that date the top success in the Tintin albums. Casterman requests Hergé to produce off-text in color for preparing a new edition. The applied technique is new for Hergé. Unlike the original art of the first five covers that were made in direct gouache, Hergé prepares the drawing in Indian ink followed by a tracing paper on which he defines the coloring.
The black and white art and the tracing paper of the first full page drawing of the 1937 edition of Tintin en Amérique were kept together and are sold in a single lot by Artcurial in Paris on April 8, lot 90 estimated € 600K.
As in Shanghai one year before, it is a picture of atmosphere. The street in Chicago is lined with endless skyscrapers and Tintin defies the bandits from a taxi that clears its way in the traffic jams. Compared to the pages of the action drawn in 1931 and 1932, the graphic of the off-text is highly improved.
The modernization of Tintin en Amérique will be achieved in 1945 with a new full color version without off- text in the principles of the ligne claire, fortunately including the removal of many blunders from the original text.
1938 A Real Beard
2015 SOLD for € 380K including premium
2020 SOLD for € 240K before fees
PRE 2020 SALE DISCUSSION
A drawing by Hergé was sold for € 380K including premium on June 28, 2015 by Banque Dessinée, lot 484. This auction house is now part of Millon Belgique. It is now estimated € 250K for sale by Artcurial in Paris on March 28 (postponed to June 27), lot 138.
I narrated it as follows before the previous sale.
Le Sceptre d'Ottokar, after L'Oreille Cassée, is the second story in the new graphic style known as Hergé's ligne claire. 30 covers of Le Petit Vingtième were related to Le Sceptre d'Ottokar all along its publication in that weekly magazine. They display recomposed images in a larger format than in the story.
Original drawings for these covers are made by Hergé in black ink with high quality plumes Gillot bought in London. Some areas are filled with a light pattern in blue pencil for instructions to the printer and the image is often improved with white gouache.
The drawing for the cover of July 20, 1939, 22 x 25 cm, was sold for € 540K including premium by Millon on December 14, 2014. The theme is royal and emotional : the devoted Milou (Snowy) brings back to the king the sceptre stolen by the bandits.
The lot coming now for sale is the cover art of December 1, 1938, 22 x 22 cm, titled in pencil Un Faux Pas (a false move).
We are still in the early phase of King Ottokar's Sceptre whose publication had begun on 4 August 1938. Tintin stumbles voluntarily from the removable bridge of an aeroplane in order to grab the beard of his traveling companion. Against his assumption, it is not a fake beard and the old scientist bent under the shock is expressing an intense pain. Within the door of the plane, Milou does not know whether he has to intervene.
Tintin is always right in Hergé's stories. The conclusion of that story indeed confirmed that the old professor is a conspirator, despite his real beard.
A drawing by Hergé was sold for € 380K including premium on June 28, 2015 by Banque Dessinée, lot 484. This auction house is now part of Millon Belgique. It is now estimated € 250K for sale by Artcurial in Paris on March 28 (postponed to June 27), lot 138.
I narrated it as follows before the previous sale.
Le Sceptre d'Ottokar, after L'Oreille Cassée, is the second story in the new graphic style known as Hergé's ligne claire. 30 covers of Le Petit Vingtième were related to Le Sceptre d'Ottokar all along its publication in that weekly magazine. They display recomposed images in a larger format than in the story.
Original drawings for these covers are made by Hergé in black ink with high quality plumes Gillot bought in London. Some areas are filled with a light pattern in blue pencil for instructions to the printer and the image is often improved with white gouache.
The drawing for the cover of July 20, 1939, 22 x 25 cm, was sold for € 540K including premium by Millon on December 14, 2014. The theme is royal and emotional : the devoted Milou (Snowy) brings back to the king the sceptre stolen by the bandits.
The lot coming now for sale is the cover art of December 1, 1938, 22 x 22 cm, titled in pencil Un Faux Pas (a false move).
We are still in the early phase of King Ottokar's Sceptre whose publication had begun on 4 August 1938. Tintin stumbles voluntarily from the removable bridge of an aeroplane in order to grab the beard of his traveling companion. Against his assumption, it is not a fake beard and the old scientist bent under the shock is expressing an intense pain. Within the door of the plane, Milou does not know whether he has to intervene.
Tintin is always right in Hergé's stories. The conclusion of that story indeed confirmed that the old professor is a conspirator, despite his real beard.
1939 Glory for Milou in the Petit Vingtième
2014 SOLD for € 540K including premium
In 1928, the Belgian daily newspaper Le Vingtième Siècle creates Le Petit Vingtième, a supplement for young readers published every Thursday. They entrust as the editor Georges Remi, 21 years old, already known by his pen name Hergé.
Tintin appears in 1929. Until the demise of the Vingtième Siècle in 1940 during the German occupation, the Petit Vingtième supports the continuous development of the art of Hergé, who devotes to this job all his energy and skill.
The image becomes simple and highly readable, with a black line of regular thickness which will receive post war the color as a cloisonné and is now named Hergé's ligne claire. The first story that will not need to be reworked is L'Oreille Cassée, in 1937-1938.
Le Vingtième Siècle was a monarchist newspaper and the barely concealed analysis of the political events around the adventures of Tintin was much appropriate to them. In 1938-1939, le Sceptre d'Ottokar is a direct reaction to the Anschluss. The threat of dictatorship against the king of Syldavia is an incentive for the Belgians to love and protect their king.
On December 14 in duplex in Brussels and Paris, Millon sells the original art 22 x 25 cm in black ink and some blue pencil for a cover of Le Petit Vingtième, published on July 20, 1939, lot 30 estimated € 350K, illustrated in the article shared by Le Soir. Like many other drawings by Hergé, it was dedicated much later when the artist presented it to a friend.
This large drawing is important for two reasons. It is a fine example of the clear line of Hergé, perfectly mastered just before the Second World War. It shows a highly emotional scene of Le Sceptre d'Ottokar when Milou (Snowy the dog) saves the monarchy by bringing back to the king the stolen scepter.
Tintin appears in 1929. Until the demise of the Vingtième Siècle in 1940 during the German occupation, the Petit Vingtième supports the continuous development of the art of Hergé, who devotes to this job all his energy and skill.
The image becomes simple and highly readable, with a black line of regular thickness which will receive post war the color as a cloisonné and is now named Hergé's ligne claire. The first story that will not need to be reworked is L'Oreille Cassée, in 1937-1938.
Le Vingtième Siècle was a monarchist newspaper and the barely concealed analysis of the political events around the adventures of Tintin was much appropriate to them. In 1938-1939, le Sceptre d'Ottokar is a direct reaction to the Anschluss. The threat of dictatorship against the king of Syldavia is an incentive for the Belgians to love and protect their king.
On December 14 in duplex in Brussels and Paris, Millon sells the original art 22 x 25 cm in black ink and some blue pencil for a cover of Le Petit Vingtième, published on July 20, 1939, lot 30 estimated € 350K, illustrated in the article shared by Le Soir. Like many other drawings by Hergé, it was dedicated much later when the artist presented it to a friend.
This large drawing is important for two reasons. It is a fine example of the clear line of Hergé, perfectly mastered just before the Second World War. It shows a highly emotional scene of Le Sceptre d'Ottokar when Milou (Snowy the dog) saves the monarchy by bringing back to the king the stolen scepter.
1939 The Adventures of Tintin and Moulinsart
2010 SOLD 243 K€ including premium
PRE SALE DISCUSSION
Last year the Moulinsart company, holder of the rights derived from the work of Hergé, was entering the auction world with an original approach which was successful. Hergé drew much for his albums and for his friends and his art is dispersed. Moulinsart has prompted owners of lots related to Tintin to sell at auction at Rops in Namur on May 10, 2009.
After this first success, a new sale is organized in Paris by Piasa on May 29. It includes as the star lot the original drawing of the double page numbers 75 and 76 of le Sceptre d'Ottokar (King Ottokar's Sceptre), 60 x 40 cm, published on April 27, 1939 in le Petit Vingtième magazine.
In 1939, the publication is still in black and white. The original drawings are executed in black ink with areas in blue watercolor. Line corrections are made by the artist in white gouache.
Scarcity on the market for the original plates of regular albums justifies an estimate of 250 K €. The Tintinomaniacs will appreciate that Tintin takes in le Sceptre d'Ottokar the look that will remain unchanged (with some minor exceptions) until the last album. In order not to confuse young readers, the previous albums had to be modernized afterwards.
POST SALE COMMENT
The estimate was well targeted. The original double page has been sold 243 K € including premium.
Last year the Moulinsart company, holder of the rights derived from the work of Hergé, was entering the auction world with an original approach which was successful. Hergé drew much for his albums and for his friends and his art is dispersed. Moulinsart has prompted owners of lots related to Tintin to sell at auction at Rops in Namur on May 10, 2009.
After this first success, a new sale is organized in Paris by Piasa on May 29. It includes as the star lot the original drawing of the double page numbers 75 and 76 of le Sceptre d'Ottokar (King Ottokar's Sceptre), 60 x 40 cm, published on April 27, 1939 in le Petit Vingtième magazine.
In 1939, the publication is still in black and white. The original drawings are executed in black ink with areas in blue watercolor. Line corrections are made by the artist in white gouache.
Scarcity on the market for the original plates of regular albums justifies an estimate of 250 K €. The Tintinomaniacs will appreciate that Tintin takes in le Sceptre d'Ottokar the look that will remain unchanged (with some minor exceptions) until the last album. In order not to confuse young readers, the previous albums had to be modernized afterwards.
POST SALE COMMENT
The estimate was well targeted. The original double page has been sold 243 K € including premium.
1940 Norman Rockwell and the Boy Scout of America
2013 SOLD 4.2 M$ including premium
Norman Rockwell, who was the most prolific illustrator of the American patriotism, became linked with the Boy Scouts early in his career and even was from 1913 to 1916 the artistic editor of their magazine.
From 1916, he became famous for his cover illustrations of the Saturday Evening Post. Yet another derivative would spread his art within all regions and all social classes of the United States: the calendar. His co-operation with the publisher Brown & Bigelow starts in 1925.
On July 27 in Reno, The Coeur d'Alene Art Auction sells an oil on canvas 100 x 69 cm, estimated $ 4M, unambiguously titled A Scout is loyal. Painted in 1940, this image was published in a calendar for 1942. In February of the same year, it also illustrated the cover of the magazine of the Boy Scouts of America.
The boy is an almost adult teenager. Concentrated exclusively in his loyalty, he is not disturbed by the protective shadows of Lincoln and Washington. Patriotic symbols are added in the scene.
POST SALE COMMENT
Good price, $ 3.8 million before fees, for this painting typical of Rockwell's patriotic inspiration.
The image is shared post sale by Auction Central News (second from top).
From 1916, he became famous for his cover illustrations of the Saturday Evening Post. Yet another derivative would spread his art within all regions and all social classes of the United States: the calendar. His co-operation with the publisher Brown & Bigelow starts in 1925.
On July 27 in Reno, The Coeur d'Alene Art Auction sells an oil on canvas 100 x 69 cm, estimated $ 4M, unambiguously titled A Scout is loyal. Painted in 1940, this image was published in a calendar for 1942. In February of the same year, it also illustrated the cover of the magazine of the Boy Scouts of America.
The boy is an almost adult teenager. Concentrated exclusively in his loyalty, he is not disturbed by the protective shadows of Lincoln and Washington. Patriotic symbols are added in the scene.
POST SALE COMMENT
Good price, $ 3.8 million before fees, for this painting typical of Rockwell's patriotic inspiration.
The image is shared post sale by Auction Central News (second from top).
1942 End of the World proclaimed by the Prophet Philippulus
2012 SOLD 235 K€ including premium
PRE SALE DISCUSSION
The heat is so terrible that it melts the tar in which Snowy gets stuck. Out of nowhere, a horrible old man pointing to himself as Philippulus le Prophète is walking through the streets for proclaiming the end of the world.
Tintin knows that this heat is related to the proximity of a meteorite whose consequences are unpredictable. Usually boastful and willing to stand up against any abuse in the world, he moves away wearily. Hergé provides a human dimension to his invincible hero.
We are in 1941. L'Etoile Mystérieuse (The Shooting Star), the tenth adventure of Tintin, is gradually released in black and white in the Belgian daily Le Soir. It is war time. In real life, people believe the nonsense of people similar as Philippulus.
The cartoon of Tintin albums will soon change its format due to a new standard for the future color version with 62 pages of four strips. As a precaution, Hergé prepared in 1942 a backup at three strips per page to be ready in case when the publisher decides to come back to the old format.
The backup drawing, 34 x 46 cm, for sale by Sotheby's in Paris on July 4 includes strips H16, H17 and H18 with the part of the history summarized above. It is estimated € 220K. Here is the link to the catalog.
POST SALE COMMENT
Good price, € 235K including premium, in line with the estimate.
The heat is so terrible that it melts the tar in which Snowy gets stuck. Out of nowhere, a horrible old man pointing to himself as Philippulus le Prophète is walking through the streets for proclaiming the end of the world.
Tintin knows that this heat is related to the proximity of a meteorite whose consequences are unpredictable. Usually boastful and willing to stand up against any abuse in the world, he moves away wearily. Hergé provides a human dimension to his invincible hero.
We are in 1941. L'Etoile Mystérieuse (The Shooting Star), the tenth adventure of Tintin, is gradually released in black and white in the Belgian daily Le Soir. It is war time. In real life, people believe the nonsense of people similar as Philippulus.
The cartoon of Tintin albums will soon change its format due to a new standard for the future color version with 62 pages of four strips. As a precaution, Hergé prepared in 1942 a backup at three strips per page to be ready in case when the publisher decides to come back to the old format.
The backup drawing, 34 x 46 cm, for sale by Sotheby's in Paris on July 4 includes strips H16, H17 and H18 with the part of the history summarized above. It is estimated € 220K. Here is the link to the catalog.
POST SALE COMMENT
Good price, € 235K including premium, in line with the estimate.
1942 Tintin with the Golden Claws
2009 SOLD 370 K€ including premium
Hergé was a nice father to Tintin. From 1930 to 1939, in the first eight albums, he let him live his life as a boy scout reporter busy fighting against evil and bandits. "Le Vingtième Siècle", which published the strips in his supplement, offered to Hergé an audience that could fully appreciate such a character.
Then it is war. Le Vingtième Siècle ceases publication, and Hergé is now reaching a wider audience with "le Soir" which offers him the place for a daily strip.
Tintin is transformed by this change. Hergé creates an exuberant character, Captain Haddock, which compensates for the courteous and disciplined Tintin. Thereafter the two characters shall never separate.
The first of these new adventures is "le Crabe aux Pinces d'Or" (The Crab with the Golden Claws). It will be the last Tintin album in black and white.
Its cover, designed in 1942, is an icon for Tintin lovers. Nearly 70 years later, having been in color, it still adorns the new editions of this volume. Artcurial sell the original drawing in black ink and pencil lead, 43 x 31 cm, in a frame, on 13 and 14 March in Paris.
This work is estimated 350 K €.
On 29 March 2008, the same auction house had recorded 650 K € before charge on the original gouache for the cover of the third album "Tintin en Amérique" (Tintin in America). I told this story in the French-speaking group of the network, which was not yet bilingual in that early time.
POST SALE COMMENT
This historic drawing (considered as such by Tintin fans) was sold 370 K € charges included.
This is a very good result. It is logical that it has remained below the price paid last year for Tintin en Amérique, as this gouache could be regarded as a relic (by Tintin fans).
Then it is war. Le Vingtième Siècle ceases publication, and Hergé is now reaching a wider audience with "le Soir" which offers him the place for a daily strip.
Tintin is transformed by this change. Hergé creates an exuberant character, Captain Haddock, which compensates for the courteous and disciplined Tintin. Thereafter the two characters shall never separate.
The first of these new adventures is "le Crabe aux Pinces d'Or" (The Crab with the Golden Claws). It will be the last Tintin album in black and white.
Its cover, designed in 1942, is an icon for Tintin lovers. Nearly 70 years later, having been in color, it still adorns the new editions of this volume. Artcurial sell the original drawing in black ink and pencil lead, 43 x 31 cm, in a frame, on 13 and 14 March in Paris.
This work is estimated 350 K €.
On 29 March 2008, the same auction house had recorded 650 K € before charge on the original gouache for the cover of the third album "Tintin en Amérique" (Tintin in America). I told this story in the French-speaking group of the network, which was not yet bilingual in that early time.
POST SALE COMMENT
This historic drawing (considered as such by Tintin fans) was sold 370 K € charges included.
This is a very good result. It is logical that it has remained below the price paid last year for Tintin en Amérique, as this gouache could be regarded as a relic (by Tintin fans).
1942 Jerry Robinson in Full Speed
2011 SOLD 240 K$ including premium
PRE SALE DISCUSSION
Illustrator specialist in Batman, Jerry Robinson has kept some treasures. In December 2010, then aged 88, he entrusted to ComicConnect the sale of two outstanding original drawings of the best period, one of them made by his colleague in Superman, Fred Ray, and one by him.
The two works remained unsold. One could question the opposite trends of American collectors favoring comic books and of Belgian and French collectors of bandes dessinées who rush to the originals.
Last year the cover art for Detective Comics # 69 had not reached the expected $ 400K.
This year at Heritage, it starts better. Three days before the sale, Robinson's cover art of Detective Comics # 67, also from his collection, has already reached its reserve price, but not yet its estimate of $ 300K.
We see Batman and Robin in run behind the Penguin riding an ostrich. Executed in 1942, this image 32 x 43 cm was the first appearance of the supervillain Penguin, justifying the extreme importance of this lot (at least according to experts ...).
This drawing will be sold on November 16 in Beverly Hills. Here is the link to the catalog.
POST SALE COMMENT
The result, $ 240K including premium, remains far below the expectations. The U.S. market is not yet attracted by original art.
Illustrator specialist in Batman, Jerry Robinson has kept some treasures. In December 2010, then aged 88, he entrusted to ComicConnect the sale of two outstanding original drawings of the best period, one of them made by his colleague in Superman, Fred Ray, and one by him.
The two works remained unsold. One could question the opposite trends of American collectors favoring comic books and of Belgian and French collectors of bandes dessinées who rush to the originals.
Last year the cover art for Detective Comics # 69 had not reached the expected $ 400K.
This year at Heritage, it starts better. Three days before the sale, Robinson's cover art of Detective Comics # 67, also from his collection, has already reached its reserve price, but not yet its estimate of $ 300K.
We see Batman and Robin in run behind the Penguin riding an ostrich. Executed in 1942, this image 32 x 43 cm was the first appearance of the supervillain Penguin, justifying the extreme importance of this lot (at least according to experts ...).
This drawing will be sold on November 16 in Beverly Hills. Here is the link to the catalog.
POST SALE COMMENT
The result, $ 240K including premium, remains far below the expectations. The U.S. market is not yet attracted by original art.
1942 Tintin during the Occupation
2019 unsold
The war, and more specifically the occupation of Belgium by the German troops, changes the practice of Hergé. The strips now appear in Le Soir Jeunesse. After the suppression of that weekly supplement of Le Soir, the stories are transferred in the daily newspaper at the rate of one strip every day.
The publication of Le Crabe aux Pinces d'Or by Le Soir ends in October 1941. L'Etoile Mystérieuse immediately takes over. Another innovation is waiting for Hergé. Casterman, which has been publishing the Tintin albums since 1934, anticipates the full color and requests a change of the template from three to four strips per page with a total of 62 pages per album.
This change requires an additional work to Hergé. In 1942, while preparing the new format, he painstakingly makes exact backup copies of his line drawings in the old style. These backups that are not intended for the printer are made on thinner paper because of the shortages of the war.
On September 18 in Paris, PIASA sells a 35 x 47 cm sheet including the strips H13, H14 and H15 from L'Etoile Mystérieuse, which could be pages 5 and 6 in the old album style. In doing this work, Hergé injured himself with a compass, slightly splashing the paper. For a backup, it was useless to clean or remake : the tiny bloodstains are still visible today. This sheet enriched with Hergé's DNA is estimated € 300K, lot 60. Please watch the video shared by EuroNews.
This part of the story is much active and castigates the human silliness : the old astronomer is very proud to be the first to predict the exact time of the end of the world. Rats, less fool than men, flee away from the sewers.
On the next page, the appearance of the self-proclaimed prophet Philippulus is another variant of the same stupidity. The backup sheet containing the strips H16, H17 and H18 was sold for € 235K including premium by Sotheby's on July 4, 2012.
The publication of Le Crabe aux Pinces d'Or by Le Soir ends in October 1941. L'Etoile Mystérieuse immediately takes over. Another innovation is waiting for Hergé. Casterman, which has been publishing the Tintin albums since 1934, anticipates the full color and requests a change of the template from three to four strips per page with a total of 62 pages per album.
This change requires an additional work to Hergé. In 1942, while preparing the new format, he painstakingly makes exact backup copies of his line drawings in the old style. These backups that are not intended for the printer are made on thinner paper because of the shortages of the war.
On September 18 in Paris, PIASA sells a 35 x 47 cm sheet including the strips H13, H14 and H15 from L'Etoile Mystérieuse, which could be pages 5 and 6 in the old album style. In doing this work, Hergé injured himself with a compass, slightly splashing the paper. For a backup, it was useless to clean or remake : the tiny bloodstains are still visible today. This sheet enriched with Hergé's DNA is estimated € 300K, lot 60. Please watch the video shared by EuroNews.
This part of the story is much active and castigates the human silliness : the old astronomer is very proud to be the first to predict the exact time of the end of the world. Rats, less fool than men, flee away from the sewers.
On the next page, the appearance of the self-proclaimed prophet Philippulus is another variant of the same stupidity. The backup sheet containing the strips H16, H17 and H18 was sold for € 235K including premium by Sotheby's on July 4, 2012.
1942 SUPERMAN WILL AVENGE PEARL HARBOR
2010 UNSOLD
PRE SALE DISCUSSION
The event is significant for the Americans: in December 1941, after Pearl Harbor, the United States enter the war. As always, nothing is left to chance: they employed the most popular stars and icons to heighten the patriotism.
The issue # 14 of Superman magazine is dated January-February 1942. The cover art was entrusted to the specialist, Fred Ray. It is considered as his masterpiece.
Superman, in front view, shows all his strength, as usual. An important detail attracts attention: the American eagle, wings and beak wide open, rests on his elbow raised to the horizontal.
The original drawing before applying color has been preserved. It belongs to a fellow of Fred Ray named Jerry Robinson, Batman cover artist, who sells it at auction at ComicConnect. The sale takes place only on the web, from New York, and ends on December 1.
The work, 43 x 31 cm mounted on 50 x 38 cm board, is estimated $ 500K. On the photo shared by Artdaily, Robinson himself introduces the lot. In his other hand, he holds the original drawing of his cover for Detective Comics # 69, dated November 1942, presented in the same sale and estimated $ 400K.
Previously, the originals were destroyed after use by the printer. We understand the exceptional rarity of these two lots and the excitement of the collectors.
The event is significant for the Americans: in December 1941, after Pearl Harbor, the United States enter the war. As always, nothing is left to chance: they employed the most popular stars and icons to heighten the patriotism.
The issue # 14 of Superman magazine is dated January-February 1942. The cover art was entrusted to the specialist, Fred Ray. It is considered as his masterpiece.
Superman, in front view, shows all his strength, as usual. An important detail attracts attention: the American eagle, wings and beak wide open, rests on his elbow raised to the horizontal.
The original drawing before applying color has been preserved. It belongs to a fellow of Fred Ray named Jerry Robinson, Batman cover artist, who sells it at auction at ComicConnect. The sale takes place only on the web, from New York, and ends on December 1.
The work, 43 x 31 cm mounted on 50 x 38 cm board, is estimated $ 500K. On the photo shared by Artdaily, Robinson himself introduces the lot. In his other hand, he holds the original drawing of his cover for Detective Comics # 69, dated November 1942, presented in the same sale and estimated $ 400K.
Previously, the originals were destroyed after use by the printer. We understand the exceptional rarity of these two lots and the excitement of the collectors.
1943 antoine, please draw an astronomer
2014 unsold
Antoine de Saint Exupéry, after his aviation novels, became the philosophical storyteller of modern life with a single book published simultaneously in English and in French in New York in 1943 : the Little Prince.
The idea of the author is deeply original. The child still has a sense that adults have lost. Saint Exupéry reviews his earliest memories to develop his own conception of the world, simple enough to appeal the children and yet complex enough for the adults to seek and find hermetic meanings.
The idea for the book came a few months earlier when the editor Curtice Hitchcock observed the writer busy to create drawings on the tablecloth of the restaurant. Saint Exupéry executed himself the deliberately childish illustrations for the Little Prince in ink and watercolor, indivisible from the text.
The Turkish astronomer is a politically important character of the tale. He found at the farthest end of the world the tiny asteroid on which the Little Prince is living, but the adults did not believe him because he was not dressed in Western style.
The original art 21 x 24 cm of one of the illustrations of the Little Prince is estimated € 400K, for sale on December 9 in Paris by Artcurial, lot 365. The astronomer lectures his discovery before a paper board covered with mathematical formulas. The image is shown in the post shared by BFMTV.
The idea of the author is deeply original. The child still has a sense that adults have lost. Saint Exupéry reviews his earliest memories to develop his own conception of the world, simple enough to appeal the children and yet complex enough for the adults to seek and find hermetic meanings.
The idea for the book came a few months earlier when the editor Curtice Hitchcock observed the writer busy to create drawings on the tablecloth of the restaurant. Saint Exupéry executed himself the deliberately childish illustrations for the Little Prince in ink and watercolor, indivisible from the text.
The Turkish astronomer is a politically important character of the tale. He found at the farthest end of the world the tiny asteroid on which the Little Prince is living, but the adults did not believe him because he was not dressed in Western style.
The original art 21 x 24 cm of one of the illustrations of the Little Prince is estimated € 400K, for sale on December 9 in Paris by Artcurial, lot 365. The astronomer lectures his discovery before a paper board covered with mathematical formulas. The image is shown in the post shared by BFMTV.
November 1945 - Home for Thanksgiving by Rockwell
2021 SOLD for $ 4.3M by Heritage
On November 24, 1945, the cover page of the Saturday Evening Post is titled Home for Thanksgiving. Rockwell continues here his moving theme of the restart of the US soldier boy into home life, including the traditional family holidays.
The young hero in uniform with ribbons and his happy admiring mother are seated in the kitchen for preparing the first Thanksgiving meal after war time.
It is a great example of the illustrations prepared by Rockwell with a great care to be understood by all the social classes, without introducing a joke. His soldier must be the nice guy next door for any reader of the magazine. In this picture he took for model his former milkman and his real life mother.
The oil on canvas 89 x 84 cm was sold for $ 4.3M by Heritage on November 5, 2021, lot 67161. It was sold by a post of the American Legion to benefit their operational and building funds.
The young hero in uniform with ribbons and his happy admiring mother are seated in the kitchen for preparing the first Thanksgiving meal after war time.
It is a great example of the illustrations prepared by Rockwell with a great care to be understood by all the social classes, without introducing a joke. His soldier must be the nice guy next door for any reader of the magazine. In this picture he took for model his former milkman and his real life mother.
The oil on canvas 89 x 84 cm was sold for $ 4.3M by Heritage on November 5, 2021, lot 67161. It was sold by a post of the American Legion to benefit their operational and building funds.
1945 tintin and the booksellers
2015 unsold
Since 1928, the preparation of Le Petit Vingtième engages all the energy of Hergé. His main hero, Tintin, becomes immensely popular.
In 1934, well before the closing of Le Petit Vingtième which will be a consequence of the outbreak of the Second World War, Hergé is working with the editor Casterman commissioned to publish the books.
This collaboration is smart. Casterman helps Hergé to standardize his work, with stories exactly matching 62 pages and with the reissue of the first albums for better readability of the drawings and for a progressive introduction of color.
Despite the war, Casterman is now ready for an increased and international offering of Tintin albums. Around 1943, the publisher invites the artist to prepare a drawing for a promotional folding teaser.
Hergé does not have much available time for this project. He responds to the solicitation of Casterman in 1945 by a drawing 35 x 50 cm to be printed as a poster for the attention of the booksellers with the text 'Les Albums Tintin et Milou sont en vente ici'. This original art is estimated € 650K for sale by Christie's in Paris on March 14, lot 1.
This drawing in black ink is important in the art of Hergé for several reasons.
Tintin occupies almost the entire height of the image. It is probably the biggest drawing executed by Hergé for starring his hero. Tintin's look and clothes have been modernized and are already in the classic ligne claire style to be used in all his post war images.
Not least, the picture is both dynamic and highly commercial. Tintin stumbles while bringing to some bookseller an impressive stack of his own albums. The books that are falling to Snowy's terror exhibit the recognizable drawing of the covers of all the eleven Tintin albums then available at Casterman.
In 1934, well before the closing of Le Petit Vingtième which will be a consequence of the outbreak of the Second World War, Hergé is working with the editor Casterman commissioned to publish the books.
This collaboration is smart. Casterman helps Hergé to standardize his work, with stories exactly matching 62 pages and with the reissue of the first albums for better readability of the drawings and for a progressive introduction of color.
Despite the war, Casterman is now ready for an increased and international offering of Tintin albums. Around 1943, the publisher invites the artist to prepare a drawing for a promotional folding teaser.
Hergé does not have much available time for this project. He responds to the solicitation of Casterman in 1945 by a drawing 35 x 50 cm to be printed as a poster for the attention of the booksellers with the text 'Les Albums Tintin et Milou sont en vente ici'. This original art is estimated € 650K for sale by Christie's in Paris on March 14, lot 1.
This drawing in black ink is important in the art of Hergé for several reasons.
Tintin occupies almost the entire height of the image. It is probably the biggest drawing executed by Hergé for starring his hero. Tintin's look and clothes have been modernized and are already in the classic ligne claire style to be used in all his post war images.
Not least, the picture is both dynamic and highly commercial. Tintin stumbles while bringing to some bookseller an impressive stack of his own albums. The books that are falling to Snowy's terror exhibit the recognizable drawing of the covers of all the eleven Tintin albums then available at Casterman.
1950 Music after the Working Day
2017 withdrawn
One of the reasons for the continued popularity of Norman Rockwell's illustrations for the Saturday Evening Post's cover pages is the variety of his inspiration. After the war, patriotism gives way to burlesque scenes activating many characters.
Rockwell is especially at his best when he is painting scenes of village life. The quiet atmosphere is revealed by a multitude of small details created from individual photos. After the Dutch masters of the 17th century Rockwell carefully checks the realistic geometry of lights and shadows.
By the intimacy of the theme and the complexity of the composition, Shuffleton's Barbershop published by the Saturday Evening Post on April 29, 1950 is one of his most successful covers. The 117 x 109 cm oil on canvas deaccessioned from the Berkshire Museum is estimated $ 20M for sale by Sotheby's in New York on November 13, lot 10.
The viewer looks through the large shop's window whose inscriptions are truncated at the edges. After the working day the light is off in the room. The stove, the sink, the magazine rack and the cat are waiting for the next day. Three men play their musical instruments in the light of the back shop without a risk of being disturbed.
In his compositions Rockwell re-assembles but does not invent. Rob Shuffleton is in real life the barber of the Vermont village where the artist settled in 1939 and he is also the seated man who holds the cello, half hidden behind the inner door.
In 1951 Rockwell painted another peaceful scene in the interior of a shop. Considered by a survey of readers as his best ever cover page, Saying Grace was sold for $ 46M including premium by Sotheby's on December 4, 2013.
The low resolution image of Shuffleton's Barbershop is shared for fair use by WikiArt :
Rockwell is especially at his best when he is painting scenes of village life. The quiet atmosphere is revealed by a multitude of small details created from individual photos. After the Dutch masters of the 17th century Rockwell carefully checks the realistic geometry of lights and shadows.
By the intimacy of the theme and the complexity of the composition, Shuffleton's Barbershop published by the Saturday Evening Post on April 29, 1950 is one of his most successful covers. The 117 x 109 cm oil on canvas deaccessioned from the Berkshire Museum is estimated $ 20M for sale by Sotheby's in New York on November 13, lot 10.
The viewer looks through the large shop's window whose inscriptions are truncated at the edges. After the working day the light is off in the room. The stove, the sink, the magazine rack and the cat are waiting for the next day. Three men play their musical instruments in the light of the back shop without a risk of being disturbed.
In his compositions Rockwell re-assembles but does not invent. Rob Shuffleton is in real life the barber of the Vermont village where the artist settled in 1939 and he is also the seated man who holds the cello, half hidden behind the inner door.
In 1951 Rockwell painted another peaceful scene in the interior of a shop. Considered by a survey of readers as his best ever cover page, Saying Grace was sold for $ 46M including premium by Sotheby's on December 4, 2013.
The low resolution image of Shuffleton's Barbershop is shared for fair use by WikiArt :
1952 Shock SuspenStories
2021 SOLD for $ 840K by Heritage
The Shock SuspenStories magazine was created in February 1952 by EC Comics, joining the other bi-monthly Crime SuspenStories. Surfing over the debates of that time including the claims for civil rights, they used science fiction and horror tales for tackling in turn mob hysteria, racism, police corruption, vigilantism, rape, drug addiction.
Such a controversial message supported by comics generated an outcry and the editor terminated that title in December 1954 after being investigated by the Senate about juvenile delinquency. This action was also the trigger of the Comics Code Authority which Shock SuspenStories had no means to by-pass.
The covers of # 2 to 6 have been prepared by Wally Wood, then aged 25. The # 6, dated December 1952 - January 1953, is against vigilantism. The cover features a gorgeous kneeled woman terrorized by a towering hooded executor holding a whip. A hooded crowd attends.
The original art for the cover # 6 is a twice in scale drawing in ink over graphite on Bristol board with a 35 x 50 cm image size. It was sold for $ 840K by Heritage on June 17, 2021 from a lower estimate of $ 300K, lot 91048. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
Such a controversial message supported by comics generated an outcry and the editor terminated that title in December 1954 after being investigated by the Senate about juvenile delinquency. This action was also the trigger of the Comics Code Authority which Shock SuspenStories had no means to by-pass.
The covers of # 2 to 6 have been prepared by Wally Wood, then aged 25. The # 6, dated December 1952 - January 1953, is against vigilantism. The cover features a gorgeous kneeled woman terrorized by a towering hooded executor holding a whip. A hooded crowd attends.
The original art for the cover # 6 is a twice in scale drawing in ink over graphite on Bristol board with a 35 x 50 cm image size. It was sold for $ 840K by Heritage on June 17, 2021 from a lower estimate of $ 300K, lot 91048. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
1953 The Clear Line of Edgar P. Jacobs
2015 SOLD for € 205K including premium
The artist Edgar P. Jacobs from Brussels had been a close collaborator to Hergé. When he begins in 1946 his series Blake et Mortimer, he adopts the clear line style (ligne claire) and his stories are obviously welcomed in the new weekly magazine Tintin.
Jacobs seeks to introduce a familiar aspect in the scenery of science fiction, giving a very pleasant illusion of realism in his fantastic scenarios. La Marque Jaune (The Yellow M), located in the atmosphere and fog of London, is his masterpiece.
Jacobs's stories have the same basic elements as the pre-war horror movies: a monster with unlimited powers, innocent victims, the mad scientist, the threat to humanity. The malefic μ mark left by the criminal in La Marque Jaune is inspired by Fritz Lang's M (or more directly by Hergé's Cigars of the Pharaoh). It is hard not to see an influence from Agatha Christie in the successive disappearances from a small group at the beginning of the same story.
On March 14 in Paris, Christie's sells the original art of plate 8 of La Marque Jaune, lot 69 estimated € 100K. This drawing 34 x 45 cm in black ink and graphite heightened with gouache includes the code numbers for the subsequent filling of the phylacteries. It was published in November 1953 in Le Journal de Tintin and in 1956 in the album.
The action is intense throughout the story and this plate is no exception. It includes the atmosphere of a London street, the two good heroes, some police officers, and even the scanning eye of a lesser character for that point in the story who will be later identified as the scientist executing the remote manipulating of the brain of the creature.
Jacobs seeks to introduce a familiar aspect in the scenery of science fiction, giving a very pleasant illusion of realism in his fantastic scenarios. La Marque Jaune (The Yellow M), located in the atmosphere and fog of London, is his masterpiece.
Jacobs's stories have the same basic elements as the pre-war horror movies: a monster with unlimited powers, innocent victims, the mad scientist, the threat to humanity. The malefic μ mark left by the criminal in La Marque Jaune is inspired by Fritz Lang's M (or more directly by Hergé's Cigars of the Pharaoh). It is hard not to see an influence from Agatha Christie in the successive disappearances from a small group at the beginning of the same story.
On March 14 in Paris, Christie's sells the original art of plate 8 of La Marque Jaune, lot 69 estimated € 100K. This drawing 34 x 45 cm in black ink and graphite heightened with gouache includes the code numbers for the subsequent filling of the phylacteries. It was published in November 1953 in Le Journal de Tintin and in 1956 in the album.
The action is intense throughout the story and this plate is no exception. It includes the atmosphere of a London street, the two good heroes, some police officers, and even the scanning eye of a lesser character for that point in the story who will be later identified as the scientist executing the remote manipulating of the brain of the creature.
1964 Superproduction with Cleopatra
2013 SOLD 190 K€ including premium
PRE SALE DISCUSSION
Asterix has ensured the success of Pilote, the weekly magazine with which it was launched from the first issue in1959. His world of uninterrupted gags pleases the French readers. From 1967, the original editions of new albumsexceed one million copies each.
On the screens, 1963 is the year of the success of Cleopatra, starring Liz Taylor. Goscinny and Uderzo are inspired to design their sixth album, Astérix et Cléopâtre. To state that their work also is pharaonic, the publishers announce that it required, among other goods, 14 liters of black ink, 38 Kg of paper and 67 liters of beer.
The Plate 7, published in Pilote in early 1964, shows through nine images the first introduction of the Gauls to Cleopatra cartooned as a refined and tempered Eastern princess. The original art of this page is estimated € 100K, for sale by Kapandji Morhange in Paris on September 25.
Famous people were favorite targets for the jokes of Asterix. On April 10, 2011, Kahn Dumousset sold € 285K including premium the original art of plate 36 of Astérix Gladiateur, the fourth album. Julius Caesar himself is trying tokeep his composure in a breathtaking chariot race rigged by Asterix.
POST SALE COMMENT
This original art for Asterix was sold for € 190K including premium.
Asterix has ensured the success of Pilote, the weekly magazine with which it was launched from the first issue in1959. His world of uninterrupted gags pleases the French readers. From 1967, the original editions of new albumsexceed one million copies each.
On the screens, 1963 is the year of the success of Cleopatra, starring Liz Taylor. Goscinny and Uderzo are inspired to design their sixth album, Astérix et Cléopâtre. To state that their work also is pharaonic, the publishers announce that it required, among other goods, 14 liters of black ink, 38 Kg of paper and 67 liters of beer.
The Plate 7, published in Pilote in early 1964, shows through nine images the first introduction of the Gauls to Cleopatra cartooned as a refined and tempered Eastern princess. The original art of this page is estimated € 100K, for sale by Kapandji Morhange in Paris on September 25.
Famous people were favorite targets for the jokes of Asterix. On April 10, 2011, Kahn Dumousset sold € 285K including premium the original art of plate 36 of Astérix Gladiateur, the fourth album. Julius Caesar himself is trying tokeep his composure in a breathtaking chariot race rigged by Asterix.
POST SALE COMMENT
This original art for Asterix was sold for € 190K including premium.
1965 Big Bad Wolves
2020 unsold
Jim Warren is looking for a formula to take his piece of the pie in editing stories for teens and young adults. He mainly finds his inspiration with the horror movie monsters, and creates a mixture of comic books and pulp magazines. The first issue of Creepy appears in 1964. The success brings other titles in the same style : Eerie in 1966, Vampirella in 1969.
Frank Frazetta is a comic book artist. He also has fun with horror films. In Creepy No. 1, he illustrates in stripes a story titled Werewolf.
His talents are undeniable. Warren now entrusts him with the illustration of most of the covers, including in a short-lived magazine of war stories. This initiative frees the artist's overflowing imagination from the constraint of respecting scenarios and stories. This is the great turning point in his career.
In June 1965 the cover of Creepy No. 4 is another werewolf, but without reference to a specific story. The furious beast attacks a medieval traveler. The atmosphere is provided by many details : the flight of bats around the haunted castle, the obsessive orange moon, the dead tree spanned by the monster, the skull and spine in the foreground.
This image is titled Wolfman by the artist. The original 36 x 48 cm painting was acquired by the frontman of a metal band, who would publish comics in the 1990s. It will be sold on November 19 by Heritage in Dallas, lot 91011. The press release of November 4 announces an estimate at $ 1M.
Egyptian Queen was the cover image of Eerie No. 23, in 1969. Coming from the artist's family, the 50 x 66 cm painting was sold for $ 5.4M including premium by Heritage on May 16, 2019.
Frank Frazetta is a comic book artist. He also has fun with horror films. In Creepy No. 1, he illustrates in stripes a story titled Werewolf.
His talents are undeniable. Warren now entrusts him with the illustration of most of the covers, including in a short-lived magazine of war stories. This initiative frees the artist's overflowing imagination from the constraint of respecting scenarios and stories. This is the great turning point in his career.
In June 1965 the cover of Creepy No. 4 is another werewolf, but without reference to a specific story. The furious beast attacks a medieval traveler. The atmosphere is provided by many details : the flight of bats around the haunted castle, the obsessive orange moon, the dead tree spanned by the monster, the skull and spine in the foreground.
This image is titled Wolfman by the artist. The original 36 x 48 cm painting was acquired by the frontman of a metal band, who would publish comics in the 1990s. It will be sold on November 19 by Heritage in Dallas, lot 91011. The press release of November 4 announces an estimate at $ 1M.
Egyptian Queen was the cover image of Eerie No. 23, in 1969. Coming from the artist's family, the 50 x 66 cm painting was sold for $ 5.4M including premium by Heritage on May 16, 2019.
1970 Green Lantern
2015 SOLD for $ 440K by Heritage
The silver age regenerated the superheroes of the comics but at the time of the hippies the desires of the teenagers are changing, in ways that generally do not please their parents. In response, to keep the public, the bronze age begins.
DC Comics is still the market leader. The break in style and theme starts in April 1970 with their issue # 76 of the Green Lantern magazine, the first with the dual title Green Lantern - Green Arrow.
The character of Green Lantern, hyper-muscular in his costume like Superman's, is a veteran of comics. With the cover page of # 76, everything changes. He breaks in an angry gesture the lantern which assured his magic powers for 30 years. His face expresses hatred but all his violence is directed against evil. He even protects the adolescents against their will.
The rhyme of his speech is a profession of faith: 'In brightest day, in darkest night, no evil shall escape my sight'.
The regulatory authority for the morality of comic books, the Comics Code Authority, agrees to open the stories to social problems. The comics are permitted from 1971 to discuss drugs, alcohol, political corruption and environmental pollution with the absolute condition to show them as harmful.
Green Lantern - Green Arrow devotes his issues 85 and 86 to the drug. The mayor of New York is delighted but teenagers are not fooled. The commercial failure leads to cancel the title after the issue 89.
The original drawing by Neal Adams for the cover page of # 76 is estimated $ 300K for sale by Heritage in Beverly Hills on November 20, lot 92004. I invite you to watch the video shared on YouTube by the auction house.
DC Comics is still the market leader. The break in style and theme starts in April 1970 with their issue # 76 of the Green Lantern magazine, the first with the dual title Green Lantern - Green Arrow.
The character of Green Lantern, hyper-muscular in his costume like Superman's, is a veteran of comics. With the cover page of # 76, everything changes. He breaks in an angry gesture the lantern which assured his magic powers for 30 years. His face expresses hatred but all his violence is directed against evil. He even protects the adolescents against their will.
The rhyme of his speech is a profession of faith: 'In brightest day, in darkest night, no evil shall escape my sight'.
The regulatory authority for the morality of comic books, the Comics Code Authority, agrees to open the stories to social problems. The comics are permitted from 1971 to discuss drugs, alcohol, political corruption and environmental pollution with the absolute condition to show them as harmful.
Green Lantern - Green Arrow devotes his issues 85 and 86 to the drug. The mayor of New York is delighted but teenagers are not fooled. The commercial failure leads to cancel the title after the issue 89.
The original drawing by Neal Adams for the cover page of # 76 is estimated $ 300K for sale by Heritage in Beverly Hills on November 20, lot 92004. I invite you to watch the video shared on YouTube by the auction house.
1973 A Rite of Passage for Spider-Man
2013 SOLD 287 K$ including premium
PRE SALE DISCUSSION
Before the #121 of Amazing Spider-Man, published by Marvel in 1973, everything was fine for the overpowered hero.Unfortunately for him, they must constantly renew the genre to continue to attract young audiences.
The cover page of #121, signed by John Romita Sr, is a masterpiece of comic thriller. It announces that somebody close to the Spider will die without the hero being able to prevent the tragedy.
Such an event had never happened during the Silver Age of comics. The introduction of such a serious matter plunges suddenly the universe of Marvel into the Bronze Age, thus enabling to offer more and more breathtaking adventures.
Indeed, a major character is killed in #121 by a supervillain, no less than Gwen Stacy who had been since #31, eight years earlier, the valentine girlfriend of Spider-Man! Now, everything is possible, and the fun of awaiting the next issue is now mingled with anguish.
The original drawing art before colors of the #121 cover page, 25 x 38 cm, is estimated $ 200K, for sale by Heritage on February 22 in New York. Here is the link to the catalog.
POST SALE COMMENT
Very good price for this drawing that started a new phase in the history of comics: $ 287K including premium.
Before the #121 of Amazing Spider-Man, published by Marvel in 1973, everything was fine for the overpowered hero.Unfortunately for him, they must constantly renew the genre to continue to attract young audiences.
The cover page of #121, signed by John Romita Sr, is a masterpiece of comic thriller. It announces that somebody close to the Spider will die without the hero being able to prevent the tragedy.
Such an event had never happened during the Silver Age of comics. The introduction of such a serious matter plunges suddenly the universe of Marvel into the Bronze Age, thus enabling to offer more and more breathtaking adventures.
Indeed, a major character is killed in #121 by a supervillain, no less than Gwen Stacy who had been since #31, eight years earlier, the valentine girlfriend of Spider-Man! Now, everything is possible, and the fun of awaiting the next issue is now mingled with anguish.
The original drawing art before colors of the #121 cover page, 25 x 38 cm, is estimated $ 200K, for sale by Heritage on February 22 in New York. Here is the link to the catalog.
POST SALE COMMENT
Very good price for this drawing that started a new phase in the history of comics: $ 287K including premium.
1973 The People that Time Forgot by Frazetta
2021 unsold
The People that Time Forgot is a 1918 prehistory novel by E.R. Burroughs. Frazetta interprets it for the cover of the 1973 reissue by Ace Books.
This artwork is also titled Captive Princess. The twin sister of the 1970 Princess of Mars in nude, excepted for a tiny string on the hips, a bangle over the right knee and another one on the left ankle.
Closely grabbed by a simian creature, she raises an arm and stretches the legs like a Proserpina in distress. The sexual appeal is provided by the muscular arched body while the turning head is hiding the gaze. Her keeper is accompanied by another similar ape. Both monsters look forward as for preparing a defense against some threat.
The original art is an oil on pressboard with a 66 x 80 cm image size. It will be sold by Heritage in Dallas on September 8, 2021, lot 91006.
This artwork is also titled Captive Princess. The twin sister of the 1970 Princess of Mars in nude, excepted for a tiny string on the hips, a bangle over the right knee and another one on the left ankle.
Closely grabbed by a simian creature, she raises an arm and stretches the legs like a Proserpina in distress. The sexual appeal is provided by the muscular arched body while the turning head is hiding the gaze. Her keeper is accompanied by another similar ape. Both monsters look forward as for preparing a defense against some threat.
The original art is an oil on pressboard with a 66 x 80 cm image size. It will be sold by Heritage in Dallas on September 8, 2021, lot 91006.
1974 At the Earth's Core by Frazetta
2016 SOLD for $ 1.08M by Heritage
Creator of Tarzan in 1912, Edgar Rice Burroughs led his readers into impossible worlds where primitive humanoids fight antediluvian monsters. His great merit in the history of science fiction novels is to write for the excitement and emotion of the reader, with no intention of social interpretation. Six decades later, Frazetta is the best illustrator of the intense action of Burroughs's creatures.
Barely dressed in a loincloth aside with some jewelry for the women, Frazetta's characters are extremely muscular, confident in their strength to face the unclean beasts that mark their daily lives.
On August 5, 2016, Heritage sold for $ 1.08M at lot 92069 an oil on canvas 55 x 75 cm made in 1974 by Frazetta for the cover page of a reissue of At the Earth's Core by Burroughs.
Dian the Beautiful is in full light in the center of the action. In the foreground, a giant Mahar marine reptile is all claws apart for the attack. The atmosphere is enhanced by the barely visible presence of other simian or reptilian enemies in the background.
The same nude muscular damsel was opposing a dagger against a gigantic leaping tiger in the 1972 Escape on Venus, sold for $ 660K by Heritage on August 3, 2018, lot 92068.
Barely dressed in a loincloth aside with some jewelry for the women, Frazetta's characters are extremely muscular, confident in their strength to face the unclean beasts that mark their daily lives.
On August 5, 2016, Heritage sold for $ 1.08M at lot 92069 an oil on canvas 55 x 75 cm made in 1974 by Frazetta for the cover page of a reissue of At the Earth's Core by Burroughs.
Dian the Beautiful is in full light in the center of the action. In the foreground, a giant Mahar marine reptile is all claws apart for the attack. The atmosphere is enhanced by the barely visible presence of other simian or reptilian enemies in the background.
The same nude muscular damsel was opposing a dagger against a gigantic leaping tiger in the 1972 Escape on Venus, sold for $ 660K by Heritage on August 3, 2018, lot 92068.
1977 Druillet revisits the Isle of the Dead
2008 SOLD 206 K€ including premium
PRE SALE DISCUSSION
The drawings made for albums of comics were some working artefacts for the pioneers as Hergé or Franquin. Then they became works of art. A new market was born recently in this area. The fans now struggle for the original drawings of Uderzo, Hugo Pratt, Tardi, Moebius, Enki Bilal and many others.
As a sign of dynamism, the results of the sales often far exceed the estimates, and fans praise works that experts had not necessarily put at the top of their hierarchy.
In 1977, Philippe Druillet designed for an album two full page drawings in ink and gouache, which will be sold separately at lots 184 and 185 in the sale of Millon et Associés salle Drouot in Paris on November 15. There is everything that appeals to fans: the subtlety and precision of drawing, the fantastic subject, the reference to a star work of art history and the reputation of Druillet, who is a steady value for this new market.
As in the Isle of the Dead of Arnold Böcklin and so attributed in the title, a mountain stands in the middle of the sea. It has an anthropomorphic face, and a huge open mouth devours the living ones. The second picture shows two characters who entered the Isle of the Dead. Viewed from Inside, this unlimited hall reminds me the Carceri of Piranesi.
For each of these large drawings (101 x 66 cm), prepare 40 K €. But read also what I wrote above : what is the meaning of the estimates?
POST SALE COMMENT
It is a real pleasure to welcome a particularly intelligent outcome. Both drawings were eventually sold together for 206 K € fees included.
The drawings made for albums of comics were some working artefacts for the pioneers as Hergé or Franquin. Then they became works of art. A new market was born recently in this area. The fans now struggle for the original drawings of Uderzo, Hugo Pratt, Tardi, Moebius, Enki Bilal and many others.
As a sign of dynamism, the results of the sales often far exceed the estimates, and fans praise works that experts had not necessarily put at the top of their hierarchy.
In 1977, Philippe Druillet designed for an album two full page drawings in ink and gouache, which will be sold separately at lots 184 and 185 in the sale of Millon et Associés salle Drouot in Paris on November 15. There is everything that appeals to fans: the subtlety and precision of drawing, the fantastic subject, the reference to a star work of art history and the reputation of Druillet, who is a steady value for this new market.
As in the Isle of the Dead of Arnold Böcklin and so attributed in the title, a mountain stands in the middle of the sea. It has an anthropomorphic face, and a huge open mouth devours the living ones. The second picture shows two characters who entered the Isle of the Dead. Viewed from Inside, this unlimited hall reminds me the Carceri of Piranesi.
For each of these large drawings (101 x 66 cm), prepare 40 K €. But read also what I wrote above : what is the meaning of the estimates?
POST SALE COMMENT
It is a real pleasure to welcome a particularly intelligent outcome. Both drawings were eventually sold together for 206 K € fees included.
1981 GASTON LAGAFFE RETRIEVED BY HIS BOSS
2009 SOLD 54 K€ INCLUDING PREMIUM
PRE SALE DISCUSSION
The bande dessinée is a Franco-Belgian specialty. The humor is often nice and subtle, as opposed to the brutality of some comics from other countries.
The characters of André Franquin are popular and appreciated. Artcurial sells in Paris on March 14 an original sheet in China ink made in 1981, 61 x 37 cm. Ten images are splitted into four strips, constituting the full story.
We see the do-nothing clerk Gaston Lagaffe (Gaston the Blunder) busy reading a magazine showing the journey of the Voyager spacecraft in the solar system. He dreams he is on a satellite of Saturn, with his always admiring colleague m'oiselle Jeanne (miss Jane). The story ends badly: the boss of Gaston and Jeanne, dressed as an astronaut, just look for them to treat the late mail. The scoop is that the mail to be treated is so abundant that it is constituting ... the rings of Saturn.
This little wonder that only French speaking people will appreciate is estimated 50 K €.
POST SALE COMMENT
The result is in line with expectations: 54 K € premium included.
The bande dessinée is a Franco-Belgian specialty. The humor is often nice and subtle, as opposed to the brutality of some comics from other countries.
The characters of André Franquin are popular and appreciated. Artcurial sells in Paris on March 14 an original sheet in China ink made in 1981, 61 x 37 cm. Ten images are splitted into four strips, constituting the full story.
We see the do-nothing clerk Gaston Lagaffe (Gaston the Blunder) busy reading a magazine showing the journey of the Voyager spacecraft in the solar system. He dreams he is on a satellite of Saturn, with his always admiring colleague m'oiselle Jeanne (miss Jane). The story ends badly: the boss of Gaston and Jeanne, dressed as an astronaut, just look for them to treat the late mail. The scoop is that the mail to be treated is so abundant that it is constituting ... the rings of Saturn.
This little wonder that only French speaking people will appreciate is estimated 50 K €.
POST SALE COMMENT
The result is in line with expectations: 54 K € premium included.
1981 THE ALTER EGO OF HUGO PRATT
2009 UNSOLD
PRE SALE DISCUSSION
Hugo Pratt, adventurer and globe traveler, crosses the world by observing it with subtlety and irony. Politically, he is not committed, although his preferences for popular and social trends are known.
Corto Maltese behaves like Hugo Pratt, who invented him and made him the hero of his best known comic book series. The fictional character, born 40 years before his author, is involved in international events that the artist would have liked to live.
The adolescent Pratt, who is Italian, sees the attempted colonization of Abyssinia, which was one of the causes of the Second World War. For his hero at the same age, he chose the Russo-Japanese war.
The full sketch of La Giovinezza consists of 131 strips of 16 x 48 cm in black ink and marker pen. Artcurial sells this set assembled in 33 framed sheets in Paris on November 21. This lot is estimated 250 K €.
The album of this story was published in Italian in 1981 and in French in 1983.
POST SALE COMMENT
Collectors prefer drawings in ink and watercolor, especially those made for the covers of albums. The drawing made by Pratt for the cover of Corto Maltese en Sibérie (1979) has been sold 247 K € on an estimate of 90 K €.
On the other side the set of strips preparing for a full album, which I discussed in my article, remained unsold. French buyers would probably prefer that this set is in their language and not in Italian. Here is the image of one page (four strips) shared before the sale by ActuaLitté (illustration above left).
Hugo Pratt, adventurer and globe traveler, crosses the world by observing it with subtlety and irony. Politically, he is not committed, although his preferences for popular and social trends are known.
Corto Maltese behaves like Hugo Pratt, who invented him and made him the hero of his best known comic book series. The fictional character, born 40 years before his author, is involved in international events that the artist would have liked to live.
The adolescent Pratt, who is Italian, sees the attempted colonization of Abyssinia, which was one of the causes of the Second World War. For his hero at the same age, he chose the Russo-Japanese war.
The full sketch of La Giovinezza consists of 131 strips of 16 x 48 cm in black ink and marker pen. Artcurial sells this set assembled in 33 framed sheets in Paris on November 21. This lot is estimated 250 K €.
The album of this story was published in Italian in 1981 and in French in 1983.
POST SALE COMMENT
Collectors prefer drawings in ink and watercolor, especially those made for the covers of albums. The drawing made by Pratt for the cover of Corto Maltese en Sibérie (1979) has been sold 247 K € on an estimate of 90 K €.
On the other side the set of strips preparing for a full album, which I discussed in my article, remained unsold. French buyers would probably prefer that this set is in their language and not in Italian. Here is the image of one page (four strips) shared before the sale by ActuaLitté (illustration above left).
1982 Tintin, it was Hergé
2017 SOLD for € 110K before fees
Hergé suspended the creation of the Adventures of Tintin after Les Bijoux de la Castafiore, completed in 1962. When he took up the pencil again four years later he was already tired and worked slowly. Only two complete albums followed, in 1968 and 1976.
Hergé considered himself as the exclusive owner of the universe of his heroes. When his assistants rightly worrying about his health tried to organize a continuation of his work, he resisted fiercely, stating in an interview quoted by Wikipedia : "To live Tintin, to live Haddock, Tournesol, the Dupondt, all the others, I believe that I am the only one who can do it : Tintin is me, exactly as Flaubert said : Madame Bovary, it's me !" No one will know what sort of end he had planned for his story Tintin et l'Alph-Art stopped by his death.
During his last years Hergé accepted with complacency the cultural solicitations. He prepared in 1979 a fresco for the new Centre Culturel de Wallonie-Bruxelles in Paris. A draft drawing 34 x 72 cm lining more than thirty characters was sold for HK $ 8.1M including premium by Artcurial on October 3, 2016.
In 1982 Hergé worked on a project of fresco for the two walls along the platforms of the future Stockel metro station in Brussels. For these two murals 135 m long each, he made sketches on the scale of about 1/100. After the death of the author in 1983 these drawings were used as models for the final art.
Retained by a member of the team and totally unknown until now, this pair of sketches 85 and 95 cm long and 3.5 cm high will be sold by Librairie Lhomme in Liège on October 21, lot 22here shared on the DrouotLive bidding platform.
Hergé had demonstrated for that last time all his verve in these dynamic drawings which gather overall about 140 of his characters in funny attitudes copied from the albums. The price of this ultimate work in a format that was unique in Hergé's art is impossible to anticipate.
Hergé considered himself as the exclusive owner of the universe of his heroes. When his assistants rightly worrying about his health tried to organize a continuation of his work, he resisted fiercely, stating in an interview quoted by Wikipedia : "To live Tintin, to live Haddock, Tournesol, the Dupondt, all the others, I believe that I am the only one who can do it : Tintin is me, exactly as Flaubert said : Madame Bovary, it's me !" No one will know what sort of end he had planned for his story Tintin et l'Alph-Art stopped by his death.
During his last years Hergé accepted with complacency the cultural solicitations. He prepared in 1979 a fresco for the new Centre Culturel de Wallonie-Bruxelles in Paris. A draft drawing 34 x 72 cm lining more than thirty characters was sold for HK $ 8.1M including premium by Artcurial on October 3, 2016.
In 1982 Hergé worked on a project of fresco for the two walls along the platforms of the future Stockel metro station in Brussels. For these two murals 135 m long each, he made sketches on the scale of about 1/100. After the death of the author in 1983 these drawings were used as models for the final art.
Retained by a member of the team and totally unknown until now, this pair of sketches 85 and 95 cm long and 3.5 cm high will be sold by Librairie Lhomme in Liège on October 21, lot 22here shared on the DrouotLive bidding platform.
Hergé had demonstrated for that last time all his verve in these dynamic drawings which gather overall about 140 of his characters in funny attitudes copied from the albums. The price of this ultimate work in a format that was unique in Hergé's art is impossible to anticipate.
1983 THE RICHEST DUCK IN THE WORLD
2010 SOLD 161 K$ INCLUDING PREMIUM
PRE SALE DISCUSSION
Carl Barks was hired in 1935 as a creator of cartoon gags in the Donald Duck team of the Walt Disney Company. He stepped down in 1942, but remained in the world of Disney characters. He devoted six decades of his life to the adventures of the Duck family.
After leaving Disney, he specialized in comic books. He gave Donald a family, a city, a history. The invention in 1947 of Scrooge McDuck became his best source of gags. Indeed by his own excesses, this pompous and misanthropic character is the most human and therefore the funniest of the ducks.
On August 6 in Dallas, Heritage sells an oil painting from 1983 titled "An Embarrassment of Riches". Its relatively large size, 62 x 50 cm, is because this artwork served as an original for a lithography. It is the star lot of a set of ten paintings, for sale separately for a total expected around 700 K $.
Typical of the universe of Uncle Scrooge, it was the favorite painting of Barks. In the huge money bin littered with gold coins, the Duck family uses various tools of geometry and surveying to determine the wealth of Scrooge by measuring the volume of his treasure. It is illustrated in the press release shared by the auction house.
POST SALE COMMENT
The accuracy of the estimates made by Heritage Auction Galleries amazes me. They expected $ 700K for the ten paintings. Sold separately as expected, they have reached a total of 686 K $ including premium.
"An Embarrassment of Riches" is without question the most important of the ten works. This painting was sold 161 K $ including premium.
Carl Barks was hired in 1935 as a creator of cartoon gags in the Donald Duck team of the Walt Disney Company. He stepped down in 1942, but remained in the world of Disney characters. He devoted six decades of his life to the adventures of the Duck family.
After leaving Disney, he specialized in comic books. He gave Donald a family, a city, a history. The invention in 1947 of Scrooge McDuck became his best source of gags. Indeed by his own excesses, this pompous and misanthropic character is the most human and therefore the funniest of the ducks.
On August 6 in Dallas, Heritage sells an oil painting from 1983 titled "An Embarrassment of Riches". Its relatively large size, 62 x 50 cm, is because this artwork served as an original for a lithography. It is the star lot of a set of ten paintings, for sale separately for a total expected around 700 K $.
Typical of the universe of Uncle Scrooge, it was the favorite painting of Barks. In the huge money bin littered with gold coins, the Duck family uses various tools of geometry and surveying to determine the wealth of Scrooge by measuring the volume of his treasure. It is illustrated in the press release shared by the auction house.
POST SALE COMMENT
The accuracy of the estimates made by Heritage Auction Galleries amazes me. They expected $ 700K for the ten paintings. Sold separately as expected, they have reached a total of 686 K $ including premium.
"An Embarrassment of Riches" is without question the most important of the ten works. This painting was sold 161 K $ including premium.
1986 Batman
2013 SOLD for $ 480K by Heritage
In 1986, Batman is 47 years old. He remained the favorite hero of DC Comics at the risk of becoming obsolete. Superheroes are like politicians or car brands: immobility leads to premature retirement.
Fortunately, DC always has a winning strategy. To restart Batman, they required to the artist Frank Miller a short story in only four issues, which appeared under the title The Dark Knight Returns.
Batman is surrounded by traditional characters from his universe but himself changed a lot. The flying hero becomes a muscular brute, without however reaching the enormity of the Incredible Hulk. And even his mission becomes murky: he is more concerned with personal vendetta than for the welfare of humanity.
Young readers like to be surprised, and this small series was one of the most successful comics of its time. Its original drawings are highly appreciated.
Used as a full-page in issue 3, a drawing by Frank Miller and Klaus Janson was sold for $ 450K including premium by Heritage on May 5, 2011. Batman and a sidekick are staging a violent aerial scene well above the city.
On August 2 in Dallas, Heritage sells the original drawing in black pen and ink, 32 x 45 cm, for the cover of issue 2. Batman in front view takes the pose of Rodin's thinker to express his hatred and aggression.
This artwork fully prepared by Miller himself remained in its original state without added color. It is estimated $ 500K. Here is the link to the catalog.
POST SALE COMMENT
Batman raised $ 480K including premium. This result is very good when considering that it is a recent work, and slightly above the price of the other full-page drawing sold in 2011.
Fortunately, DC always has a winning strategy. To restart Batman, they required to the artist Frank Miller a short story in only four issues, which appeared under the title The Dark Knight Returns.
Batman is surrounded by traditional characters from his universe but himself changed a lot. The flying hero becomes a muscular brute, without however reaching the enormity of the Incredible Hulk. And even his mission becomes murky: he is more concerned with personal vendetta than for the welfare of humanity.
Young readers like to be surprised, and this small series was one of the most successful comics of its time. Its original drawings are highly appreciated.
Used as a full-page in issue 3, a drawing by Frank Miller and Klaus Janson was sold for $ 450K including premium by Heritage on May 5, 2011. Batman and a sidekick are staging a violent aerial scene well above the city.
On August 2 in Dallas, Heritage sells the original drawing in black pen and ink, 32 x 45 cm, for the cover of issue 2. Batman in front view takes the pose of Rodin's thinker to express his hatred and aggression.
This artwork fully prepared by Miller himself remained in its original state without added color. It is estimated $ 500K. Here is the link to the catalog.
POST SALE COMMENT
Batman raised $ 480K including premium. This result is very good when considering that it is a recent work, and slightly above the price of the other full-page drawing sold in 2011.
1990 Spider-Man
2012 SOLD for $ 660K by Heritage
Marvel Comics is a magazine publisher who took advantage of the popularity of the trend of superheroes and supervillains started by the creator of the genre, its competitor DC Comics.
The titles of magazines are diverse, enabling to propose new # 1s to revive the interest of an increasingly demanding public. However, do not confuse these young people. In a unique fantasy world, the same superheroes come back throughout the series.
Appearing for the first time in 1962, Spider-Man is the most popular hero of Marvel Comics, and provides the opportunity in 1990 of the best selling book in the history of modern comics.
The spider hero is easier to dehumanize than Batman, for example. The artist Todd McFarlane reworks the empty eyes of the Arachknight and its relationship with its own intricate web.
The news spreads through appropriate publicity, and Marvel then launch a new magazine simply titled Spider-Man. The # 1 is printed in 2.35 million copies, which will be insufficient to meet demand.
The original drawing in black and white, 25 x 38 cm, signed by McFarlane for the cover of Spider-Man # 1 is for sale on July 26 by Heritage in Beverly Hills. As clever as Spider-Man, the auction house tells in its press release that the estimate, $ 150K, is already outdated. Here is the link to the catalog.
POST SALE COMMENT
There has long been some hope for an increased interest in the original art for comic books, as it is already the case for the French-speaking bandes dessinées. The excellent result of this relatively recent Spider-Man, $ 360K including premium, is going in the right direction.
The original art of another cover of the same artist for the same superhero, also made in 1990, was sold $ 660K including premium in the same sale. Here is the link to the catalog.
The titles of magazines are diverse, enabling to propose new # 1s to revive the interest of an increasingly demanding public. However, do not confuse these young people. In a unique fantasy world, the same superheroes come back throughout the series.
Appearing for the first time in 1962, Spider-Man is the most popular hero of Marvel Comics, and provides the opportunity in 1990 of the best selling book in the history of modern comics.
The spider hero is easier to dehumanize than Batman, for example. The artist Todd McFarlane reworks the empty eyes of the Arachknight and its relationship with its own intricate web.
The news spreads through appropriate publicity, and Marvel then launch a new magazine simply titled Spider-Man. The # 1 is printed in 2.35 million copies, which will be insufficient to meet demand.
The original drawing in black and white, 25 x 38 cm, signed by McFarlane for the cover of Spider-Man # 1 is for sale on July 26 by Heritage in Beverly Hills. As clever as Spider-Man, the auction house tells in its press release that the estimate, $ 150K, is already outdated. Here is the link to the catalog.
POST SALE COMMENT
There has long been some hope for an increased interest in the original art for comic books, as it is already the case for the French-speaking bandes dessinées. The excellent result of this relatively recent Spider-Man, $ 360K including premium, is going in the right direction.
The original art of another cover of the same artist for the same superhero, also made in 1990, was sold $ 660K including premium in the same sale. Here is the link to the catalog.
2009 ENKI BILAL AFTER APOCALYPSE
2009 SOLD 36.5 K€ INCLUDING PREMIUM
PRE SALE DISCUSSION
The auction house Artcurial is developing a vocation to participate actively in cultural events in Paris. Its exhibition rooms of the Hôtel Dassault, avenue des Champs-Elysées, meets particularly well such a trend.
Artcurial is also known for its prestige sales of albums, originals and artifacts of the Francophone comic strips from the origins to the most recent.
Enki Bilal is one of the masters of futurist strips. On 24 March 2007, Artcurial totaled € 1.3 million including premium on 32 of his drawings embellished with acrylic and pastel. The highest price, 177 K €, was recorded on a large drawing, 90 x 63 cm, made for the album Bleu Sang, showing a couple embracing.
The last album of Bilal, just published by Casterman, is titled Animal'z. This is a post-apocalyptic western showing the adventures of humans and animals that have survived the cataclysm. The author emphasizes the dynamism of the action by a quick drawing, this time without the use of acrylic.
Artcurial exhibits the 350 drawings constituting Animal'z until September 10. All of them will be auctioned onSeptember 19. The highest price, 35 K€, is expected on the 38x28 cm drawing which was used for the cover. A man and a big cat are running in the same direction.
The collectors of original strip drawings go to great effort to collect the drawings that come on the unit on the market. Here they have everything at their disposal, in one shot. Will they welcome this initiative?
POST SALE COMMENT
This very innovative sale realized 930 K € fees included. It had been well publicized. As expected, the cover drawing got the highest bid: 36.5 K € fees included.
The auction house Artcurial is developing a vocation to participate actively in cultural events in Paris. Its exhibition rooms of the Hôtel Dassault, avenue des Champs-Elysées, meets particularly well such a trend.
Artcurial is also known for its prestige sales of albums, originals and artifacts of the Francophone comic strips from the origins to the most recent.
Enki Bilal is one of the masters of futurist strips. On 24 March 2007, Artcurial totaled € 1.3 million including premium on 32 of his drawings embellished with acrylic and pastel. The highest price, 177 K €, was recorded on a large drawing, 90 x 63 cm, made for the album Bleu Sang, showing a couple embracing.
The last album of Bilal, just published by Casterman, is titled Animal'z. This is a post-apocalyptic western showing the adventures of humans and animals that have survived the cataclysm. The author emphasizes the dynamism of the action by a quick drawing, this time without the use of acrylic.
Artcurial exhibits the 350 drawings constituting Animal'z until September 10. All of them will be auctioned onSeptember 19. The highest price, 35 K€, is expected on the 38x28 cm drawing which was used for the cover. A man and a big cat are running in the same direction.
The collectors of original strip drawings go to great effort to collect the drawings that come on the unit on the market. Here they have everything at their disposal, in one shot. Will they welcome this initiative?
POST SALE COMMENT
This very innovative sale realized 930 K € fees included. It had been well publicized. As expected, the cover drawing got the highest bid: 36.5 K € fees included.
2013 The Second Thoughts of Harry Potter
2013 SOLD 150 K£
PRE SALE DISCUSSION
With over 400 million copies sold for only seven titles, Harry Potter is a major cultural phenomenon of our time. This huge success has led its author JK Rowling to be involved in multiple charities.
On December 13, 2007 at Sotheby's, a charity auction on the benefit of children had hit the headlines.
After publishing the final Harry Potter book, she had designed The Tales of Beedle the Bard as a private matter, andmade six fully autograph copies to present to friends of whom she had enjoyed the collaboration.
Always skilled in media effects, she executed a seventh copy of Beedle the Bard. Sotheby's had estimated it at £ 50K.Amazon bought it for £ 1.95 M. The edition of this book on the following year also benefited the charities.
On May 21 in London, with the logistical support of Sotheby's, the English PEN founding centre organizes a sale entitled FEST (First Edition Second Thought) in favor of the freedom of writing and reading. Here is the link to the website dedicated to this specific operation.
The idea of FEST is clever. Writers like to annotate a copy of the original edition, by a process of post-creativity. These autographs will excite their future scholars. No less than fifty authors are participating in FEST.
The contribution of JK Rowling is prestigious. On a copy of her first book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, published in 1997, she added 22 original illustrations and annotated many pages with details about her inspiration, for a total of 43 modified pages.
The sale of this book is strictly for private use, but with permission to exhibit in non-profit organizations.
POST SALE COMMENT
Tweet announcing the result of this lot :
JK Rowling annotated 1st edition of Harry Potter goes for £150,000! Thank you. #PENauction
— English PEN (@englishpen) May 21, 2013
With over 400 million copies sold for only seven titles, Harry Potter is a major cultural phenomenon of our time. This huge success has led its author JK Rowling to be involved in multiple charities.
On December 13, 2007 at Sotheby's, a charity auction on the benefit of children had hit the headlines.
After publishing the final Harry Potter book, she had designed The Tales of Beedle the Bard as a private matter, andmade six fully autograph copies to present to friends of whom she had enjoyed the collaboration.
Always skilled in media effects, she executed a seventh copy of Beedle the Bard. Sotheby's had estimated it at £ 50K.Amazon bought it for £ 1.95 M. The edition of this book on the following year also benefited the charities.
On May 21 in London, with the logistical support of Sotheby's, the English PEN founding centre organizes a sale entitled FEST (First Edition Second Thought) in favor of the freedom of writing and reading. Here is the link to the website dedicated to this specific operation.
The idea of FEST is clever. Writers like to annotate a copy of the original edition, by a process of post-creativity. These autographs will excite their future scholars. No less than fifty authors are participating in FEST.
The contribution of JK Rowling is prestigious. On a copy of her first book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, published in 1997, she added 22 original illustrations and annotated many pages with details about her inspiration, for a total of 43 modified pages.
The sale of this book is strictly for private use, but with permission to exhibit in non-profit organizations.
POST SALE COMMENT
Tweet announcing the result of this lot :
JK Rowling annotated 1st edition of Harry Potter goes for £150,000! Thank you. #PENauction
— English PEN (@englishpen) May 21, 2013
