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Todd's Pick
Todd Hignite | Executive Vice President, Heritage Auctions
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This stunning masterpiece has the distinct honor of being the first major painting by fantasy artist extraordinaire Frank Frazetta to come to market after our record-shattering $13,500,000 result in September. And A Princess of Mars is certainly a worthy follow-up, as it beautifully incorporates all the most desirable elements from the artist’s classic, peak period style. Along with Frazetta’s definitive Conan covers, those he majestically dreamt up for science fiction pioneer Edgar Rice Burroughs’s interplanetary tales are frequently cited as among his absolute best—and it’s just about impossible to imagine a more impactful composition, one which boldly announces to the world, "Frazetta"!
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Sarahjane's Picks
Sarahjane Blum | Director of Illustration Art
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Norman Rockwell’s study for a Saturday Evening Post
article "Norman Rockwell Visits a Country School" moves me. The work is familiar to the generations who were inspired by the Institute of Commercial Art / Famous Artists School curriculum that he offered that details his process of making what he called "exhaustively complete charcoal drawings" and preparatory works. "We’re looking for people who like to draw", Rockwell proclaimed in national ads for the Famous Artists School, playing off his position as the avatar of the American Dream. Those who signed up for FAS were offered a substantial curriculum built off of the lessons learned and offered by working artists like Rockwell. Already the premiere American illustrator when this work was created his reminder that his pictures work out because he works them out remains the
stuff of inspiration.
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It's challenging to pick a favorite Olivia in this auction. Cheers, which appeared as a Heavy Metal cover and also was a marquis piece in her Bane Gallery exhibition is a knockout, but the one my eyes keep coming back to is Cunning Stunt, which is my favorite of all her Bettie Page works for Playboy. It’s got nods to classic pin up in the Petty-pink bows, and shows off Olivia’s mastery of technique. But more than that, you can just tell how much fun she had making it, and when Olivia’s having fun, the viewer is hard pressed to not be swept away too.
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When the 1976 J.R.R. Tolkien calendar was published by Ballantine Books, the world was introduced to the world of middle earth as it was seen by The Brothers Hildebrandt. Their radiant, glowing palette creates a type of intimacy—we the viewers are invited into the story as though we are sitting by a hearth. Their romantic, mythological interpretation of Tolkein’s story helped popularize the Lord of the Rings for a new generation.
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Meagen's Picks
Meagen McMillan | Senior Consignment Director, Illustration Art
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Winnie-the-Pooh has been a childhood favorite for over a century. Readers have found joy, wisdom, and solace in the Hundred Acre Wood and its inhabitants. We forget, however, that while we can visualize Winnie and his friends instantly – that visual was provided not just by the descriptions of the author, A.A. Milne but the collaboration between him and illustrator, E.H. Shepard. This incredible lot features sketches and notes between the two during the development process for first Winnie the Pooh book. Here you can see the illustrator pulling the characters – how they look, felt, and expressed themselves – from the author’s imagination, pulling back the curtain on how these treasured friends leapt from one person’s imagination to another’s
brush to generations of homes and hearts.
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The power of visual imagery can never be overstated. Artist Chesley Bonestell and rocket scientist Dr. Werner Von Braun’s campaign for space travel is truly one of the best examples of this – especially the Rocket to the Moon book and Life
magazine illustrations. Their shared goal was to engage the American public sparking imaginative interest in the greater universe. Whether seen as a distraction to worldly problems or a greater extension of worldly politics of the Cold War – the Space Race still affects our world and collective imagination today. Imagine a world where there was no Final Frontier, no space opera cowboys, no Buzz Lightyear, and no rocket loving billionaires making spacecrafts status symbols. The four examples of Chesley Bonestell artwork are a brilliant spread of the artist’s influence on the American public. However, this particular early piece (1949) also shows how visual art can inspire not only the general public but also the scientists and designers who eventually built these once
theoretical designs. When Bonestell painted this work, we did not even have manned space rockets, let alone space suits or a space station. The concept of zero gravity in space was just theoretical and yet, Bonestell perfectly and accurately depicted the astronauts floating. The power of the paintbrush can be just as powerful and insightful as the pen.
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Alan Lee is known for his medieval aesthetic which beautifully illustrated J.R.R. Tolkien’s various Middle Earth novels as well as the set designs for Peter Jackson’s film adaptations of Lord of The Rings and the Hobbit series. Rich and a lush compositions that are gracefully rendered in watercolor – the artist easily can transport the viewer into the world of the written word. This particular example speaks to this specific talent of Lee. The children have cracked open a book and found themselves encompassed by the story and its characters. Our legendary horror monsters from Dracula to Frankenstein are just as enthralled as the children surrounding the high backed chair like a renaissance painting. Lee’s ability to capture the feeling of great
stories, being surrounded by the characters, transported to the haunting scene, and enraptured by a book is as romantic as his medium.
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Ezriel's Picks
Ezriel Wilson | Cataloguer, Illustration Art
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If I had to pick a favorite genre of cover art, a good old-fashioned whodunnit would always be my number one. Play for Keeps by Harry Barton is fantastic work that captures the cinematic suspense of a whodunnit mystery. Rendered in gouache on board, Barton captures the intensity of a moment when a sharp disembodied hand has pushed an elegantly dressed female figure from the rooftop. Barton’s scene is charged with curiosity, suspicion, and unanswered questions. His cover for Play for Keeps
by Harry Barton is fantastic work that captures the cinematic suspense of a whodunnit mystery. Rendered in gouache on board, Barton captures the intensity of a mos by Harry Whittington (Ace, 1959) perfectly encapsulates the gritty and intense story that explores a wife's secrets, the accused’s self-defense, and even leads to more murder in the midst of trying to prove a man’s innocence. Throughout the 50’s and early 60’s, Barton painted covers for digest and a variety of paperback publishers, and this is a strong reminder of why he was so in demand.
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I’ve always been drawn to anything dream-like, and this work by Jon Whitcomb pulled me in for exactly that reason! Keys to His Heart
presents a large female figure poised at the piano, fingers hovering above the keys, curiously peers at a smaller male figure, confused, and staring back. Is this a dream? A game of cat & mouse? Whitcomb is well-known for his glamourous and romantic depictions of young women for glossy magazines, which often leave the viewer with questions and wanting to know more. In his early years, Whitcomb painted movie and vaudeville posters for Cleveland’s Palace Theater. These posters often featured a dominant central figure surrounded by smaller narrative details — enough to intrigue, but never to reveal the full story. While the publication for Keys to His Heart
remains unidentified, this work certainly evokes the spirit of Whitcomb’s Palace Theater days with all the sophistication of his later glossy magazine glamour images.
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EMSH always blows me away with his vibrant works for science fiction covers that could beam you straight out of this world! Of the three remarkable works we have this auction my favorite is Tomorrow’s World,
a book cover published in 1956. One of favorite things in EMSH’s execution is he always frames out the central scene with an immersive environment that makes the viewer feel as though they are a part of these otherworldly circumstances. In this scene, two figures- one in red and one in green- stand in front of a futuristic cityscape the sky filled with flying vehicles. You can almost hear the future: zaps, buzzes, and hums of imagined machines. The scene is cleverly segmented by black border gripped by the male figure’s hand. Perhaps this could this be a separate vehicle or even a nod to the "fourth wall" by EMSH. Tomorrow’s World
tells of another world far from 1956- overrun by power, experimental drug cocktails, and reckless wild behaviors. EMSH’s cover art transports you, pulls you in, yet keeps you at a careful distance — the perfect stance from which to experience such a place.
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Todd Hignite
Executive Vice President,
Heritage Auctions
ToddH@HA.com
(214) 409-1790
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Meagen McMillan
Senior Consignment Director, Illustration Art
MeagenM@HA.com
(214) 409-1546
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Ezriel Wilson
Cataloguer, Decorative Arts
EzrielW@HA.com
(214) 409-1112
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