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$1,000,000 Frazetta painting confirmed

Started by spider9698,

183 posts in this topic

vodou

vodou

Posted
Posted
The other fact is that technical skill is hugely overrated. I can take you to many back-alleys in China or Vietnam where very skilled artists are generating knock-offs by the thousands. Since the advent of photography, there is simply no need to create accurate depictions of the world through drawing or painting. What is more important is innovation, vision and the ability to create something that catches the eye, and that`s what 99.9% of all highly skilled artists can`t do.

This is quite close to the truth, if not the truth. Our niche hobby greatly values realism as the art advances the sale of a story or directly tells a story. Just about all other post-war art is meant to make a singular "statement" as it hangs proudly on a wall. That statement can be subtle (gallerist or curator explanation), bold or outrageous (collector explanation) by way of price or great sacrifices made to acquire. So I guess a statement can be storytelling too, just different from sequential art.

 

That we comic art folks collectively value covers and splashes so much more than panel pages when the essence of our hobby is sequential storytelling betrays us. We too want to make a statement and it isn't about the subtlety of sequence.

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Mighty Hal

Mighty Hal

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That we comic art folks collectively value covers and splashes so much more than panel pages when the essence of our hobby is sequential storytelling betrays us. We too want to make a statement and it isn't about the subtlety of sequence.

 

Ah, I love the thought process that went on behind this statement. Thanks for putting it out there. As someone that has collected only covers and splashes, let me share why I prefer not to collect panel pages.

 

There are lots of panel pages and not many that make an impact. A page where Peter Parker is lamenting about the sadness of his life? Those pages are everywhere. A page where Iron Man is flying through the air and reflecting? Those pages are everywhere. But a page where the entire X-Factor team is in battle against the bad guy? Well, most often, that's gonna be the cover or first page splash.

 

Often times, I don't like the artwork on the panel pages but I love the artwork on the cover (there are two Jae Lee MANHUNTER covers that I love but the artwork for that series tended to be weak). Lately, I've seen panel pages where the background images are barely sketched in -- but the cover offered the background in detail.

 

The cover is usually the best piece of artwork in the entire comic. It has to be to sell issues and -- let's face it -- the modern comic artist knows that this is the page that he'll sell for the most cash so he puts more time into it. I don't read many comics anymore but I still love comic art. When the time comes, I want the best piece of art...and that's usually not a panel page.

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SignatureSelect

SignatureSelect

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When it comes to high end original art....it really is a personal thing. Many people who go there have the resources to buy what they wish without much thought to liquidity. I can only speak for myself, and I have a fairly broad range of tastes when it comes to art, but I would put several Frazetta images at a very high degree desirability. I would NOT prefer a Frazetta over a choice work by Dali', John Biggers, or possibly Van Gogh....but I would rather have a Frazetta than a Monet, Renoir, Degas, Rembrandt, or Da Vinci. I would also probably prefer an N.C. Wyeth over many of the historical icons and he, too, is "just" an illustrator. Let's face it....an illustrator is only an artist whose work has been deemed to have mass appeal. GOD BLESS...

 

-jimbo(a friend of jesus) (thumbs u

 

P.S. Death Dealer is fabulous....but would not be my first choice, were I to have the means.

 

I don't think you understand What A choice Dali or an N.C. Wyeth would sell for. A million would be nothing.

 

The Persistence of Memory would probably sell for 10 million or more. But it isn't even for sell.

 

I almost bought a Dali etching once. the etching ( not a sketch but more like a print) was going to be 2000. You can get a frazetta sketch or even a water color prelim if you look hard enough. I follow N.C. Wyeth and Andrew Wyeth (his son) I haven't even seen one available to buy.

 

With that said I love Frank Frazetta. But his work will never be worth as much as any of the artist you mentioned.

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jimjum12

jimjum12

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The value is definitely beyond comparison....and ,especially in the case of Dali' ,probably always will....but that's not why I would prefer a Dali' of my choice. They just hit me on so many more levels. But for the sake of conversation, Dali' is one of only a few artists that I would prefer over a choice Frazetta. I would also have trouble choosing between a sharp Bev Doolittle(sp?) and a Frazetta. I just love Frazetta and if I were rich I don't think investment potential would be the primary factor in my decision. Especially if it hung prominently in the recreation room near a very choice Alphonse Muccha. I think there are a lot of wealthy people who buy art that way. Most of them are already making plenty in their primary endeavors an investment might not be so important.. GOD BLESS...

 

-jimbo(a friend of jesus) (thumbs u

 

P.S. I always wondered what became of all of N.C. Wyeth's originals. It seems Frazetta may have been inspired by his work at some point....it was certainly popular during his youth.

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vodou

vodou

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Posted

That we comic art folks collectively value covers and splashes so much more than panel pages when the essence of our hobby is sequential storytelling betrays us. We too want to make a statement and it isn't about the subtlety of sequence.

 

Ah, I love the thought process that went on behind this statement.

Not sure if you're being sarcastic or not, but I'll take the high road and assume sincerity. So many cheap points are awarded on anonymous msg boards for snappy wit, I'm sure you'll understand my wariness..it's not personal as I don't know you.

 

There are lots of panel pages and not many that make an impact. A page where Peter Parker is lamenting about the sadness of his life? Those pages are everywhere. A page where Iron Man is flying through the air and reflecting? Those pages are everywhere. But a page where the entire X-Factor team is in battle against the bad guy? Well, most often, that's gonna be the cover or first page splash.

 

Often times, I don't like the artwork on the panel pages but I love the artwork on the cover (there are two Jae Lee MANHUNTER covers that I love but the artwork for that series tended to be weak). Lately, I've seen panel pages where the background images are barely sketched in -- but the cover offered the background in detail.

 

The cover is usually the best piece of artwork in the entire comic. It has to be to sell issues and -- let's face it -- the modern comic artist knows that this is the page that he'll sell for the most cash so he puts more time into it. I don't read many comics anymore but I still love comic art. When the time comes, I want the best piece of art...and that's usually not a panel page.

I'm not knocking your preference for images that speak to you. That's how most buy, whether it's fine art or comic art. That works well enough when the subject is fine art as the narrative thread is loose among pieces even in a themed exhibition. And of course there's a paid writer on hand to work up for the exhibition catalog a scholarly analysis..something that greatly expands on the two paragraph artist's statement.

 

But for comic art, I wish there were at least a few folks that would/could discuss - outside of a technical sense - what makes the narrative on one panel page superior to another. I'm not talking about a single strong panel among six on a page, I'm talking about the flow of the story being superior or even transcendent to the medium. This isn't about in/out of costume or if there's a villain on the page. Significant scholarly discourse is missing, unless I'm not looking at the right mags?

 

Comics are sequential storytelling. That's what the medium is. To discuss it as an art form requires discussion of sequence. That's not covers, splashes and pinup pages. It's panel pages. I haven't been a student for a loooong time but for somebody looking for a grad school thesis..I may have just handed it to you :) . A dialogue of merits along these lines would go a long way to opening those museum doors we all (most?) secretly wish would open to embrace the best our hobby has to offer.

 

BTW, I quite like Berserker, I don't have $1mil, $5mil, etc. so I don't know if I'd pay that much if I did. Probably not as I'm a cheap b@stard these days. But for the same money, if I had to buy art, I'd probably go for Odilon Redon -

 

http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&safe=off&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox&rlz=1I7DKUS&um=1&q=odilon+redon&sa=N&start=20&ndsp=20

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CollectingFool

CollectingFool

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A dialogue of merits along these lines would go a long way to opening those museum doors we all (most?) secretly wish would open to embrace the best our hobby has to offer.

 

What??? Do you really think most people wish museums would embrace this hobby? The only thing worse than museums (and by extention fine art collectors) embracing the hobby would be Wall Street types setting up an exchange or fund based on OA values. To me, the only people who are looking for museums to "accept" comic art are those that are secretly embarrassed to collect it and want legitimacy and those that are looking to cash in.

 

I'm a collector. I want to buy and own this stuff. I may sell to buy other pieces but that's because I'm not wealthy. I want prices kept reasonable. Museums embracing our hobby would be the beginning of the end for a lot of the "average" collectors that don't have vast inventories or view art as a hedge against CGC prices or the economy. And I mean REALLY accept it not a few exhibitions here or there to drum up interest among the Bourgeoisie.

 

Fortunately for us, because of comic art's "low brow" roots it will be a good long while before the museums and fine art market snobs on a whole accept comic art and elevate it to the level modern art has incomprehensibly achieved.

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*paull*

*paull*

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I almost bought a Dali etching once. the etching ( not a sketch but more like a print) was going to be 2000. You can get a frazetta sketch or even a water color prelim if you look hard enough. I follow N.C. Wyeth and Andrew Wyeth (his son) I haven't even seen one available to buy.

 

Good thing you didn't buy that etching. It most likely would have been a fake since there is a TON of fake Dali etchings out there, or real etchings with fake signatures which have rendered them worthless.

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Solar

Solar

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P.S. I always wondered what became of all of N.C. Wyeth's originals. It seems Frazetta may have been inspired by his work at some point....it was certainly popular during his youth.

 

:gossip: They are in the Brandywine museum

 

My local library (I live in Wilmington, DE) has the entire sequence of illustrations from Robinson Crusoe hanging around the walls of the reading room. That's about 14 oil paintings measuring about 2'x4' each.

 

They're unprotected and I really don't think any of the patrons pay attention to the fact that they're surrounded by about $5MM in art while they sit there reading the latest issue of People Magazine.

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Solar

Solar

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Yeah, those. I googled the paintings after I posted to see if I could find a pic to share and saw that those bastards were selling them off.

 

There goes the only cool thing to see in the city of Wilmington. There used to be a 60-foot NC Wyeth mural in the foyer of the Wilmington Savings Fund Society (WSFS) Bank building, but it was sold a few years ago too.

 

Wish I could drum up the funds to buy one of these and save a little piece of my childhood, but that's probably not going to happen...

 

EDIT: Here's the mural that I used to be able to check out on my lunch break:

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-03-21-wyeth-mural_N.htm

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comix4fun

comix4fun

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sorry that your town is draining it's cultural soul :(

 

 

 

Look at it this way. By auctioning it off to the public the rest of the world will have a chance to look at, and enjoy, this beautiful artwork.

 

Once these are hanging over the urinals in the bathroom of Steve Wynn's latest monster casino regular folks will get a chance to marvel at their beauty before they hit the quarter slots.

 

 

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buyatari

buyatari

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I almost bought a Dali etching once. the etching ( not a sketch but more like a print) was going to be 2000. You can get a frazetta sketch or even a water color prelim if you look hard enough. I follow N.C. Wyeth and Andrew Wyeth (his son) I haven't even seen one available to buy.

 

Good thing you didn't buy that etching. It most likely would have been a fake since there is a TON of fake Dali etchings out there, or real etchings with fake signatures which have rendered them worthless.

 

I heard Dali signed so many blank prints before they were printed that even after he died they were still able to print more "signed prints" I can understand liking an artist and wanting something affordable but paying thousands or even hundreds for a print would be a hard one for me to swollow.

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delekkerste

delekkerste

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December 2, 2009

 

Library auctions N.C. Wyeth illustrations for $1.83 million

 

By GARY SOULSMAN

The News Journal

 

NEW YORK -- The Wilmington Library sold five of its 14 N.C. Wyeth illustrations today at a sale of American paintings at Christie’s in Manhattan.

 

The works brought the library $1.83 million and the sale was a disappointment because the library had hoped to raise as much as $5 million.

 

The remaining nine illustrations did not bring the minimum bid the library required for their sale. However, Christie’s has 30 days by contract to find private buyers for the paintings.

 

H. Rodney Scott, president of the library board of managers, said he is hopeful that Christie’s may sell some of the paintings.

 

In October, the library brought a rare 20-volume set of books and photographs of American Indians and they did not sell at auction.

 

However, Christies’ was successful in finding a buyer for the books at the minimum price of $700,000.

 

That sale plus the earnings from today’s sale means the library has $2.5 million to begin major renovations of the interior and exterior of the 1922 Greek Revival library on Rodney Square.

 

The board of managers will use the funds to match grants from local foundations which it hopes to apply for when it has the funds in hand.

 

The board will meet in the coming weeks to decide the fate of the remaining nine N.C. Wyeth illustrations for ”Robinson Crusoe.”

 

“It’s hit or miss with auctions. We need that coming in,” said Scott.

 

He pointed out that some paintings sold very well. For instance, a 1960 painting by Andrew Wyeth called “Above the Narrows,” which was not owned by the library, was valued at between $3 million and $6 million and sold for just over $6 million.

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Photo caption: N.C. Wyeth's Robinson Crusoe cover illustration sold for $722,500, making it the highest selling piece in the collection of Wyeths up for auction by the Wilmington Library. (The News Journal JENNIFER CORBETT)

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tth2

tth2

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Interesting. So the cover painting sold for $722K, which means that the other 4 paintings that sold averaged only $277K each, and the rest couldn`t meet reserve, which presumably would have been south of $277K. Even iconic illustration art pieces, produced by one of the finest American illustrators ever, barely sell for more than a 9.4 AF 15. hm

 

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