George Lucas: Comic Art Gallery Owner

[Nexus]

http://comicscomicsmag.blogspot.com/2009/08/comics-enriched-their-lives-12.html

 

http://www.comicsreporter.com/index.php/so_which_new_york_art_gallery_did_george_lucas_co_own_in_the_70s/

 

I have an old fanzine from the 70's with a full-page ad for Supersnipe...was always curious and would love to learn more.

[dem1138]

interesting quote

 

"Steve Leialoha

 

[Excerpted from undated email, February or March 2007.]

 

 

Back in San Francisco, I was invited up to the Lucasfilm production office in San Anselmo, on Valentine's Day, to pick up reference material from Charley Lippincott, and to see a rough cut screening, along with many of the people working on the film (like John Williams), as well as various film biz friends of George. I watched it sitting alongside Philip Kaufman, Brian DePalma, and Tom Orzechowski.

 

Another highlight of that afternoon was seeing the Spirit magazines around the offices and Prince Valiant originals on the walls, next to a Frazetta painting. Clearly, the man had good taste."

 

[NelsonAI]

I wasn't aware that Lucas owned the store. From my recollection, it was a small narrow store on the upper east side of Manhattan. A brownstone building perhaps.

 

Scott Dunbier has often said that he was first exposed to original art when he saw select pieces for sale at Supersnipe.

 

I don't recall any comic art but do remember meeting Marshall Rogers there for a signing of Madam Xanadu. It was also a store that sold "hot issues" of modern comics. I remember an employee highly recommending Perez's Teen Titans as it was going to be the next X-Men. Like every comics retailer, the current monthly comics were "sold out" but 2 weeks later had a large supply of back issues selling for 3x the price. I guess this is how Lucas financed his early ventures.

 

I rapidly lost interest in comics shortly thereafter.

 

Cheers!

N

 

[comicartcom]

I'm surprised you didn't know Nelson.

George was a silent partner with Ed Summer who operated the store and George's good friend. Some of the art on display there were George's "Flash Gordon" originals.. during the 80s-early 90s, Russ Cochran was George's auction buyer and bid on comic strips and cartoon cels for him. This was at the same time Russ was buying cels for Jacko

[NelsonAI]

Rich

 

I vaguely remember Ed since he was at the store. Never knew about Lucas. I guess I never noticed the art on the walls since Supersnipe was never my regular store. I was also too young to appreciate Flash Gordon at that time.

 

OT: I'm not sure what animation cels Lucas was into but I do know Spielberg collected Peter Pan drawings and cels. Jacko collected Snow White.

 

Cheers!

N

 

 

[spider9698]

I used to attend those Christies and Sothebys sales of animation art back in the late 1980s. When Russ raised his paddle for a lot you knew your chance of winning was zero.

[NelsonAI]

OT: Sorry Felix.

 

I remember going to a few of those animation auctions as well. For 1 particular auction, there was a horizontal pan piece used to promote Snow White. The pre-auction estimate was $25K. There was an art agent in the front row. I was sitting in the second row.

 

This agent had been the winning bidder on the majority of pieces all day long. When the Snow White piece finally came to auction, he and another bidder in the back raised their paddles. Their arms never came down.

 

The auctioneer was incredibly shrewd and perceptive. He stopped the auction and asked permission to go from $1K increments to $10K increments. Yes, it was time to separate the men from the boys. Both men agreed as the crowd gasped in unison.

 

Within a minute, the price blew all records. I believe with the juice, it was somewhere in the $220K range.

 

This was at the height of the animation boom (or now bust).

 

I believe Russ was the winning bidder in the front row, representing Jacko for that item.

 

Me, being the wiseguy at the time, leaned over and asked if I could borrow a dollar. He didn't reply but gave me the "evil eye". He was probably thinking "Who let the riff raff in and where is security when you need them?".

 

Auction houses are great as public viewings will allow you to see things that are often museum quality before they disappear into private collections. I don't have to own the art to appreciate it.

 

Cheers!

N

[comicartcom]

Nelson, Russ bought it for Jacko at somewhere between $110-130k

 

It actually used to hang in Russ's home and I had seen it on the wall a couple times when I was in West Plains to do deals with Russ

 

it was a great piece and probaby couldn't get to $25k today in the depressed cel market.

 

 

[spider9698]

Rich is correct. Animation art is on life-support these days. Even uber high end pieces would fetch a fraction of the late 80s-early 90s highs. I managed to sell my vintage Warner collection to a newbie Austalian lock stock and barrel for incredible price in 1992-93. Paid for my post-graduate education and have never looked back.

 

[NelsonAI]

Rich

You might be thinking about another cel. The one I am referring to actually sold for $209K. I found an image and summary at the following link:

 

http://www.ibexgalleries.com/an_auction.html

 

I agree, after the bust, prices dropped off a cliff. $25K would be a stretch in today's market. Although, as far as animation cels go, Snow White items were considered rare as in the 1930's, the studios used to recycle the acetate by washing away the paint from the cels after the movies were made. The horizontal pan piece was more unique than your average cel given the content and size.

 

(btw - I don't own any Snow White cels.)

 

I wonder who has it now.

 

 

Stephen

You got out at the right time. .

I still have a ton of the WB Superman/Batman cels (Bruce Timm's art deco designs). I love them nonetheless. Luckily, the prices I paid were reasonable.

 

Cheers!

N

[comicartcom]

Nelson, you said a "horizontal pan" cel

I thought it was the one a forest/river scene and Snow White was in a little canoe or small paddled boat. It was about 30 inches wide

[comicartcom]

oh Steve.. yes you did good, Nelson - not only did they re-use the actetate sheets, they also used to play a game called something like "cel surfing" where the artists would throw them on the floor in a hallway, take a running start and then skid on the cels. whoever went farthest was the winner

 

however, I have never seen a Disney cel with footprints for sale..

[spider9698]

There was a dealer who had found some old cels that had been washed and when held at an angle you could still make out the image. He had the cels "recreated" by a restorer. Sounded like a dangerous practice then and now.

S

[comicartcom]

dangerous isn't the word Steve.. more like irresponsible and probably misleading is a mild word

[Bronty]

great posts guys, very interesting. Kind of sad about the depression in the cel market. I've heard tell of it before but since you guys seem to have been plugged right into it, what are your thoughts on why it happened and why the market has never recovered?

 

I'm sure that back in the 90s they would have said that disney cartoons were blue chip... loved by millions, 30s ones were rare, beloved characters... they probably thought you couldn't go wrong owning an early disney.

 

I've heard there is a huge supply of later ones... but I wouldn't have thought that would affect the rare early ones? E.g. millions of new comics printed don't affect the price of action 1. Perhaps even the rare early ones aren't that rare?

 

Or was it a case of rampant speculation and when you took the price appreciation potential away... you were just left with a few diehards. I often think that will happen to high grade comics one day.

[comicartcom]

Bronty

 

art is a beast sometimes and one factor is that you'llhave a certain core of ravenous buyers with deep pockets. Then slowly, they drop out or go broke, or lose interest etc

 

the price deteriorates with each one.

 

if there are 5 guys and all five are in under $5000

then 2 drop at $5k and the three go to $25k

then another drops and the item goes to $75k

 

so you have 2 buyers at 74/75k

 

then one stops buying altogether and where are you??

you're at the guy who went to $25k competing with the winner who would have won at $26k if not for the 3rd guy who bid him to 75k

 

drop all customers at the high levels and now you're down to $5k

 

that's a simple explanation

[bocaratondefense]

That sounds almost too familiar, Richard. The same scenario could play out in any hobby including our own.

 

 

[comicartcom]

That sounds almost too familiar, Richard. The same scenario could play out in any hobby including our own.

 

 

and I say it will, although it has already anyway

 

Flash Gordon art shared 5 top buyers from 1985-1992. then one stopped and another got divorced. Prices dropped precipitously

 

my opinion is that comics will experience a crash at some point and to be honest, I'm surprised it hasn't already

[Mighty Hal]

my opinion is that comics will experience a crash at some point and to be honest, I'm surprised it hasn't already

 

If comics swoon, is it safe to assume (KK notwithstanding) that OA will follow?

[comicartcom]

Hal, it's going to be in some areas and some areas not. some of it will take place in dcades to come like silver age/bronze as teh buyers are younger

 

material that loses a certain level of interest will stagnate and die and this will of course be seen in golden age material from thrid-world companies, lesser titles etc

 

Action #1 will always be valuable

Tip Top comics, not so much

 

Tip Top will happen over the next 5-10 years

better golden age titles will die at a slower rate in lower grades (under fine+)

 

it's a variable statement that is different for each example you can set

in another string it was about what would happen by 2059

I'd be more concerned about 2014