Significant Comic Art Auction at Profiles in History 30 July 2016

[LostDreams]

Not going into the unfortunate details...but wanted to make sure that Tom Horvitz got credit for that great 2003 PIH auction for which he played a significant role in...

[cstojano]

I followed his blog in the lead up to the sale. Then the estimates rolled out and i was gutted. I guess I didn't follow the market but in my mind those pen and inks would maybe be 20k for the top ones. I had my hopes up for the Black Nazgul one but wasn't even in the same state as the ballgame that day.I actually prefer his pen and inks to his oils and the comiclink piece of the caveman and girl that sold for 48k, man I would love to have that piece.

 

I am pretty new to this area of collecting. This likely isn't the thread but does anyone have experience with Lewis Wayne or Cool Lines Art (or can point me to the right forum).

 

Thanks

Chris

[Bronty]

Yikes. Letting your kids damage property never ends well, but neither does telling someone else how to parent.

[Bronty]

There's a million threads about cool lines and the donnellys if you try the search function. They are not well perceived by some. Lewis Wayne is basically heritage

[delekkerste]

Going back to Cleangone's (Andy) comment...Dave Winiewicz said the PIH auction made him a multi-millionaire, but yet the gross sales didn't even break two million...and surely he has to pay the Feds capital gains tax...so don't see multi-millionaire...

 

Maybe the sale made him into a multi-millionaire after adding the proceeds to his other assets? Or maybe he briefly achieved that status before the tax bill came due? Also, the sale was so late in 2015 that I bet the gains could have been deferred into the current year as the money probably didn't get paid out until 2016 (I'm not saying this is the correct way to do it, just that the IRS would be none the wiser).

 

Also, not speaking to Dave's case specifically, but I wonder how many people in this hobby even report their capital gains from OA sales anyway.

[tentpeg06]

Also, not speaking to Dave's case specifically, but I wonder how many people in this hobby even report their capital gains from OA sales anyway.

 

That is an entirely different thread!

[cstojano]

There's a million threads about cool lines and the donnellys if you try the search function. They are not well perceived by some. Lewis Wayne is basically heritage

[tentpeg06]

Not going into the unfortunate details...but wanted to make sure that Tom Horvitz got credit for that great 2003 PIH auction for which he played a significant role in...

 

There is a post by Hari Naidu from 3 May 2003 concerning this auction in the Comics General category, not the Original Comic Art section, that referenced this 2003 PIH auction. I agree that Horvitz was the one that was more of the principal in this auction.

[Monsterhoodoo]

I registered for this online and there was a glitch. But I just called and they got me set up pretty easily. I don't know why anyone let Invaluable get in the way, I'd rather be on the phone anyway. I like to keep my bids private, so would never add a serious bid online and let it sit.

 

I was interested in two lots, The Davis Trump Kong, and the Idyl. I was actually interested in a lot more, but with the estimates being what they were, I needed to pick and choose. That Davis was so sweet. I really wanted it. Well, it went sky high. On a pre auction estimate of 3-5k, it went for 22.5k before juice and tax. That is just astronomical. And I felt insane. I was on the phone, but waited to see where it would land. Being in California the next bid would have made it a 30k piece of art. Love it, but not 30k love it. I hope the new owner is thrilled and that it doesn't show up on a dealer wall next year.

 

The Idyl auction--I never got my call. I even confirmed it with the guy on the phone at the end of the Davis auction, I said, "See you for auction #40." Really a shame. I think with the extra 30% juice, it was a healthy price. And I probably wouldn't have gone higher, I have a few nice examples. But it was a great one and I would have liked to be in there. Who knows, maybe I'd have gotten to 13k first and would have that sweet piece coming to my collection.

 

I said before the auction to a few friends that I thought there would be some deals. Great stuff, but such specific stuff for a specific collector, I just didn't think it could all be absorbed because so many of us Studio collectors would want multiple pieces. So some stuff had to fall out. The Jones paintings that guys picked up for 6-12k. Great deals. A lot of stuff that sold I could see on a dealer wall for 2x.

 

But I suppose there will be disagreements there. I can't believe an auction house have Artemis and Apollo and it didn't sell. That is just madness.

 

OK, thats it for my yearly post. See everyone in a year or so!

 

John

 

 

[artdealer]

The story given as to why Tom and PIH split is quite incorrect.

As I was in sight distance to the PIH booth that year, I saw the actual events unfold.

So as not to damage the reputation of any art dealer, I'll politely decline to give the actual details.

And for the record, Maddalena has only 1 child.

MI

[tth2]

but surely that comp from Nov. 2009 is ancient history at this point. I mean, a lot of mainstream comic art has tripled or more since then.

Somewhere KK sits back with a smile on his face and ticks off an item on his bucket list.

[comix4fun]

2003 PIH is still one of my favorite auctions. I page through that catalog regularly. Something on almost every page worth owning. I wish I had bought way more.

[Mmehdy]

Not going into the unfortunate details...but wanted to make sure that Tom Horvitz got credit for that great 2003 PIH auction for which he played a significant role in...

 

Did the matter get resolved between the parties where they remained friends or business partners...without going into detail..thanks

[romitaman]

I remember that blow up quite well. I cannot remember if it was the SDCC in 2005 or 2006 (I think it was 2006), but Maddalena and Horvitz were both sharing space at the SDCC. Maddalena's kids had no respect for Horvitz's inventory, and I remember hearing that the Maddalena kids seriously damaged some pages from Horvitz's stock. Horvitz demanded that Maddalena reprimand and discipline his kids for which Maddalena refused. I have not seen Horvitz set up at the show since 2009. In fact, I do not believe that Horvitz has set up at this convention since then, but I may be incorrect.

 

This was quite the news at that particular show back in the days when the dealers historically were on the other side of the hall. One should be able to research this convo thread on the comicart-L site if it still exists in the archives.

 

 

that's not what happened.....

 

The "incident" actually happened at DINNER during the SD con.

 

Mike

[Mmehdy]

I remember that blow up quite well. I cannot remember if it was the SDCC in 2005 or 2006 (I think it was 2006), but Maddalena and Horvitz were both sharing space at the SDCC. Maddalena's kids had no respect for Horvitz's inventory, and I remember hearing that the Maddalena kids seriously damaged some pages from Horvitz's stock. Horvitz demanded that Maddalena reprimand and discipline his kids for which Maddalena refused. I have not seen Horvitz set up at the show since 2009. In fact, I do not believe that Horvitz has set up at this convention since then, but I may be incorrect.

 

This was quite the news at that particular show back in the days when the dealers historically were on the other side of the hall. One should be able to research this convo thread on the comicart-L site if it still exists in the archives.

 

 

that's not what happened.....

 

The "incident" actually happened at DINNER during the SD con.

 

Mike

 

can you at least let me know whether or not the matter was resolved or are there still hard feelings on both parties..thanks

 

[artdealer]

The matter was not resolved.

And did not happen at dinner either.

Happened during set up day

[tth2]

I`ve always heard it happened over high tea.

 

Never ever steal another man`s crumpets.

[stinkininkin]

A couple of random comments.

 

I was impressed, no, SUPER IMPRESSED by the presentation PIH made of this collection at San Diego. THIS is how we would all want our chosen hobby to be presented to the world. I've gotten so used to the swap meet style of display so common that this new way of showing OA to the world was a little startling, but in a good way!

 

As to the sale, I regret having a brain cramp and missing it completely. I was mostly interested in the Wrightson and BWS art, although I would have probably been a bidder on the Jones Idyl, one of the single best examples I've run across.

 

At first glance, I was surprised by the closing price of the ST 4 cover (to the downside) and ST 4 Werewolf splash (to the upside). Seemed to go against trends in that character counts over artistry. Could not have predicted any Wrightson ST cover could go so "cheap" or a non ST page, even a splash could garner such a price. But thinking about it a bit more, I went back and looked at all the Wrightson ST covers, and truth be told, this is one of my least favorite. The ST figure seems small and less than imposing, and multiply that times 10 regarding the little Werewolf figure in the background, that looks added on as an afterthought. Numbering aside, compare it to the ST 1 cover coming up in Heritage, and even with ST1 being somewhat of a back shot, there is simply no comparison. So while I would love to add ANY Wrightson ST cover to my collection, the ST4 cover is not the one I would have gone to the matt over. Meanwhile, the Werewolf splash is such an imposing and beautifully executed piece of art. It's still one of the hardest decisions I've ever made in this hobby in selling it to Frank. I actually toyed with the idea of buying it back in this auction, but would probably have been outbid based on the final hammer. An amazing price considering it sold entirely on it's aesthetic merits, and not on character or historic metrics. An outlier? Or an indication that aesthetics is a more potent pricing indicator than we sometimes give credit.

 

I hope lessons are learned from this auction, and I would love to see PIH become another tool to advance this hobby. As a buyer, I want to see competition in venues, as well as first class presentation. Don't we all?

 

Scott

[Mmehdy]

 

 

Unless they invest$ in a new platform they are never gonna really compete. Wow it's been a decade or so not to mend fences ... Sounds like everybody lost on that deal.

[delekkerste]

Meanwhile, the Werewolf splash is such an imposing and beautifully executed piece of art. It's still one of the hardest decisions I've ever made in this hobby in selling it to Frank. I actually toyed with the idea of buying it back in this auction, but would probably have been outbid based on the final hammer. An amazing price considering it sold entirely on it's aesthetic merits, and not on character or historic metrics. An outlier? Or an indication that aesthetics is a more potent pricing indicator than we sometimes give credit.

 

Definite outlier in my book. It's wonderfully executed, but it fetched 50% more than the published Frankenstein plate of the doctor huddled in the rain, which may not be the best Frankie plate, but it's still bite-the-back-of-your-hand gorgeous. It also fetched the same price as both the ST #4 cover and the other published Frankie plate of the doctor and the monster - seems to me like it was a case of two people who really wanted the werewolf splash and drove it to an irrationally exuberant level.