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When one looks in the box, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the cat.

Reactor

Jane and Howard Frank are world-renowned for their extensive collection of fantasy and science fiction art, so it was understandable that the collecting community was buzzing when it was announced that the couple were putting some of their drawings and paintings up for sale. On October 15 Heritage Auction Galleries of Dallas, TX, offered 124 original works for bid and, despite all the worries about the economy, buyers were ready and waiting with their checkbooks in hand.

Some of the sales highlights (the price includes a 19.5% buyer’s premium)included:

* “War Maid of Mars” by Allen Anderson (the cover painting for the May, 1953 issue of Planet Stories) – $38,837.50

* “Chronicles of the Lensman” by John Berkey – $13,145.00

* “Crashing the Unknown” by Chesley Bonestell – $31,070.00

* “The Alter of Melek” by Margaret Brundage (the cover pastel for the September, 1932 issue of Weird Tales) – $50,787.00

* “Newscast” by Norman Saunders (the cover painting for the April/May, 1939 issue of Marvel Science Stories) – $41,825.00

* “A Fighting Man of Mars” by Michael Whelan – $20,315.00

Paintings by Boris Vallejo ($11,950.00), Lawrence Sterne-Stevens ($10,157.00), Dean Morrissey ($11,651.25), Richard Corben ($10,755.00), and Phil Hale ($9560.00) all found new homes after lively bidding. Perhaps the biggest surprise price-wise was the $8,962.00 generated by Stephen Fabian’s 1985 acrylic painting “Solitude”—which I think is a record (at least at auction) for the artist’s work.

The Frank Collection was the final session of Heritage’s larger October Signature Illustration Auction. Some of the highlights of earlier auction sessions included the sale of works by Haddon Sunblom ($107,550.00 for an untitled pin-up), Gil Elvgren ($89,625.00 for “Sitting Pretty”), J.C. Leyendecker ($65,725.00 for “The Carolers”), Will Elder and Harvey Kurtzman ($31,070.00 for “See-Through Dress,” a 4-page Little Annie Fanny story from Playboy), and George Rozen ($47,800.00 for “The Creeping Death,” the cover for the January 15, 1933 issue of The Shadow pulp).

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Arnie Fenner

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