Heritage to Offer

Free Auction Catalog Offered to Bona Fide Art Buyers

Dallas Texas - Heritage, the world's largest collectibles auctioneer, is proud to announce a world-class collection of over 1,100 original American Illustration Art paintings and drawings to be featured at three Signature auction sales:

March 6-9, 2003 New York City

July 17-20, 2003 San Diego

November 17-22, 2003 Dallas

Each of these three auctions will feature 300 to 400 original works of Illustration Art.

To consign to any of these auctions, click here. To purchase catalogs, click here.

J. C. Leyendecker Kuppenheimer Fashion Catalog Cover (c. 1920)

Gil Elvgren "What a View" Brown & Bigelow Calendar Company (1957)

Alberto Vargas "World Without End" Science Fiction Movie Poster Art (1956)

Charles Gates Sheldon "Carole Lombard" Screenland Magazine Cover (Oct. 1935)

Walter Beach Humphrey Magazine Front Cover (c. 1930)

From about 1900 to 1960, the United States hosted the "Golden Age of American Illustration". Hundreds of legendary artists painted and weaved their own special magic by creating pictures that have entertained, informed, and delighted several generations. Today's art historians are recognizing illustration art as the "art of the people". Illustration art was seen on the front covers of America's magazines as well as on the billboards that lined both urban and rural highways and roads. It touched everyone's life every day in the form of newspaper editorial art, magazine story illustrations, and advertising art. These were pictures that captured moments in time and that gave the viewer an opportunity to identify with the characters and the settings. Illustration art captured the hopes, dreams, fears and fantasies of tens of millions of Americans from the turn-of-the-century (circa 1900 beginning with the Art Nouveau period) and progressing thru the Art Deco era (circa 1920-1935) leading up to the 1940s and World War II.

Norman Rockwell and Alberto Vargas, both of whom are well represented in this collection, are two examples of famous artists whose names the American public grew to know. There were, however, several hundred other very important illustrators whose work, talent, and life-long output often paralleled those of today's household-name artists.

This collection presents the largest array of high quality original illustration art ever assembled and offered for auction. Many of these originals were acquired directly from the artists' estates and in some cases directly from the artists themselves prior to their death or retirement. Some of these artists were famous in their day. J. C. Leyendecker, who was Norman Rockwell's idol, painted and created the famous Arrow Collar Shirt Man ads. So popular was his mythical figure that American girls (including married women) 'fell in love' with the handsome man they saw in the company's advertising. Leyendecker actually received thousands of letters from women proposing marriage as a result of his unique visual ad campaign.

Alongside Alberto Vargas's legendary Vargas Girl paintings done for the Ziegfield Follies, Esquire Magazine and Playboy Magazine (from 1920 to 1970) were the equally famous Petty Girl paintings created by George Petty for Esquire and True magazines (from 1930 to 1956). Petty Girls were even seen on the front covers of the Ice Capades program guides. Vargas Girls helped American GI's win the war overseas. Both the Petty Girl and the Vargas Girl paintings created by these two legends were glorified in major motion pictures that Hollywood film producers hired the artists themselves to help direct and produce. Ronald Reagan played the role of a glamour and pin-up illustrator in a major movie, set in the 1940s, which, interestingly, used Zoe Mozert paintings as props.

Vargas' and Petty's original paintings are coveted by leading collectors worldwide. However, many in the original Pin-Up & Glamour art collecting community have chosen Gil Elvgren as their all time favorite. In a manner and style often compared to that of Norman Rockwell, Elvgren's paintings were almost always highly narrative. Heritage is proud to present the best quality selection of the artist's work to ever be made available on the public market. In the auction and public arena his better quality Brown & Bigelow pin-up paintings have sold for $30,000 to $93,500. Prime examples have sold even higher privately.

Filling in after Vargas, Petty and Elvgren are these other greats of the Pin-Up & Glamour Art field: Earl Moran, Rolf Armstrong, Zoe Mozert, Jules Erbit, Lou Shabner. Cardwell S. Higgins, Arthur Sarnoff, Billy DeVorss, Art Frahm, K. O Munson, Ted Withers, Bill Randall, Fritz Willis, Al Buell, Irene & Laurette Patten, Gene Pressler, George Guzzi, Charles Sheldon, Peter Driben, Enoch Bolles, M. Scali, T.N. Thompson, and Earl MacPhearson.

Howard Pyle's famous Brandywine school of illustration was the basis upon which the majority of 20th century illustrators set their direction and creativity. The best of these paintings were executed with superb application of idea, composition, lighting and drama, in a painterly and easel-like manner. The 20th century ended with a two-year tour of Norman Rockwell paintings organized by the High Museum in Atlanta and the Norman Rockwell Museum of Sturbridge, Massachusetts. That exhibition ended at New York's Guggenheim. The year 2003 will see additional illustration art history with an important exhibition of original Pulp Art paintings from the Robert Lesser Collection at the Brooklyn Museum. And just before the Rockwell show began touring the United States, Haddon Sundblom's paintings (Sundblom created the benign American version of Santa Claus - previously known in Europe as a far more threatening figure - for Coca-Cola ads) were hung and exhibited at the Louvre in Paris!

Until recently, original paintings by illustrators were mostly collected by people lucky enough to have some connection to the commercial art field or to the genre of illustration art. Actually, the illustrators themselves were the first real collectors as they often admired each other's works so much they would exchange and trade paintings among themselves. Publishers, editors, printers, paper suppliers, agents, artist representatives, magazine distributors, and others connected to the artists and the industry were early collectors who sought their originals with zest and zeal!

The material presented by Heritage in this FAMOUS AMERICAN ILLUSTRATORS collection was acquired over the course of a quarter century on a highly selective basis by a collector with a fine eye toward quality.

Artists well-represented include the following legendary talents:

NORMAN ROCKWELL
ALBERTO VARGAS
GEORGE PETTY
DEAN CORNWELL
CHARLES SHELDON
ARTHUR SARNOFF
WALTER BAUMHOFER
R. VAN BUREN
EDWIN GEORGI
ED TADIELLO
STAN BORACK
RUDY NAPPI
ART FRAHM
E. F. WARD
PAUL BURNS
GWEN FREMLIN
CARDWELL S. HIGGINS
HERBERT MORTON STOOPS
COURTNEY ALLEN
PETER DRIBEN
FRITZ WILLIS
F. C. YOHN
WILLIAM SOARE
RUDY GARCIA
MAYO OLMSTEAD
BILLY DEVORSS
AL BUELL
GEORGE GUZZI
E.B. SEGNER
ELMORE BROWN
RUDY NAPPI
GEORGE PORTER
BRUCE MINNEY
RON LESSER
HADDON SUNDBLOM
LOU MARCHETTI
MERLIN ENABNIT
J. FREDRICK SMITH
ZOE MOZERT
LOU SHABNER
EDWIN GEORGI
ALEX ROSS
GIL ELVGREN
JAMES MONTGOMERY FLAGG

Heritage is still accepting consignments of American Illustration Art to be sold alongside this fabulous collection. Consignors are invited to visit http://www.heritagecomics.com/auctions/consigning.asp, or contact Ed Jaster at 214-252-4288, EdJ@HeritageComics.com

Collectors and dealers interested in participating as bidders may order a subscription to all three catalogs for $100 (and you will receive a full $100 rebate certificate good with any purchase if you enter the word "Home" in the Promo box) at http://www.heritagecomics.com/common/catalogorders.php.

Or, alternatively, Heritage will send you a free catalog if you provide a photocopy of any invoice or proof-of-purchase of any piece of art for which you paid at least $5000 within the past 24 months from any dealer or auctioneer. Simply mail your request and photocopy (with your address, phone number and email address) to: Heritage Famous American Illustrators Catalog Offer, 100 Highland Park Village, 2nd Floor, Dallas, TX 75205 or fax it to: 214-520-7108.

For more information about Heritage's auctions, and a complete record of 390,000 auction prices realized (free to members, join today absolutely free!), along with full-color, enlargeable photos of each lot, please visit http://www.HeritageCoin.com and http://www.HeritageComics.com.

Heritage is the world's leading collectibles auctioneer, specializing in rare coins, rare currency, vintage comic books, comic book and illustration art, movie posters, with over $90 million in annual auction net sales (not counting any unsold lots) in those categories alone.