After more than a solid year of dominating Heritage Auctions' Illustration Art Auctions, Pin-up and Glamour Art, while still performing superbly, was forced to cede the spotlight on Aug. 17 to classic Pulp Art, as several icons of the genre burst into the spotlight, led by Hugh Joseph Ward's The Evil Flame, Spicy Mystery Stories pulp cover, August 1936, from The Estate of John McLaughlin, which brought $143,400 to lead the auction's $2.591 million in offerings. All prices include 19.5% Buyer's Premium.

"This painting was not only the most important Ward pulp cover we've ever offered," said Ed Jaster, Senior Vice President of Heritage, "it's one of the absolute best pulp covers that exists, by any artist, as reflected by the price paid for it. It has all the hallmarks of the greatest pulp covers: sexual tension, violence, a gorgeous woman in danger, all aggressively painted in a way that can't help but to catch the eye."

Another iconic piece of Pulp Art that set a record for price at auction was the auction catalog cover piece, Norman Saunders's The Ones, Marvel Science cover, May 1951, a classic sci-fi damsel in distress painting that demolished the previous price record for Saunders, realizing $50,788, while another record was set for the artist Robert Fuqua, when his May 1930 Fantastic Adventures pulp illustration, First issue, Revolt of the Robots — an illustration for Arthur Tofte's classic story of the same name — wrestled its way to a $27,485 final price amidst competitive bidding. Both of these classic paintings also came to auction from The Estate of John McLaughlin.

Other highlights from the McLaughlin Estate included Margaret Brundage's stark and startling A Rival from the Grave, Weird Tales cover illustration, January 1936, an incredibly rare piece of cover art from this much sought-after artist, which brought $37,344, and Frank R. Paul's The Robot Aliens, Wonder Stories pulp cover, February 1935 — one of the finest and most definitive Paul sci-fi covers in existence — brought $19,120 to become the pulp centerpiece of one determined collector's collection.

[ Read more » ]