BOSTON – RR Auction‘s February Fine Autographs and Artifacts sale features a wealth of iconic animation material, including lush hand-painted artwork by noted Disney background artist Eyvind Earle, concept paintings by Mary Blair and numerous original production cels and drawings from classic films. The auction will conclude Feb. 10. View the fully illustrated catalog on LiveAuctioneers.
Highlights include an Eyvind Earle signed production key master background setup of Prince Philip, Fauna, Flora, and Merryweather from Sleeping Beauty (Walt Disney Studios, 1959).
The sensational original production key master background setup from the Oscar-nominated Disney classic animated feature film Sleeping Beauty is highlighted by a hand-painted Eyvind Earle master background, who signed in the lower right corner in blue paint. The artwork shows Prince Philip only moments after surviving his epic battle with the evil Maleficent in her enormous black dragon form, being led by the three good fairies – Flora, Fauna and Merryweather – up the castle staircase and to the bedroom of the sleeping Princess Aurora. While the cels themselves are exceptionally bright, the stunning Earle background takes center stage with its impressive attention to detail, namely with its focus to texture and lighting. A completely painted Earle background is rare as his time as a background painter was limited. His stylistic influence is readily apparent throughout this feature film referred to by Walt Disney as the “height of color” (est. $20,000+)
An original Eyvind Earle pan production background and production cel of Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty depicts the sorceress in an exquisite full-length pose with a scepter and flowing cloak as she emerges from the interior of her gargantuan castle (est. $15,000+)
A Mary Blair original concept painting from Cinderella (Walt Disney Studios, 1950) depicts her horse-drawn carriage as it winds its way to the walled gate of the prince’s castle. With contrasts of light and dark, Blair renders the scene with a brilliant sense of awe and the unknown, as the looming castle and its illuminated courtyard serves as an undeniably intimidating sight for Cinderella. Accomplished in tempera artist’s board, which is mounted and matted, the painting is a striking work from one of Disney’s most enchanting fairy tales (est. $15,000+)
An Eyvind Earle production background and Briar Rose production cel from Sleeping Beauty shows Briar Rose walking in the forest with her basket, a pair of rabbits poking out from two large boots, two onlooking chipmunks and a trio of fluttering birds. The cels have been trimmed to image and applied to a vivid hand-painted production master pan background attributed to Eyvind Earle and his staff that is gorgeously rendered (est. $15,000+).
Other highlights of the auction include a unique genealogical letter by Edgar Allan Poe, multiple Einstein letters with significant content on science and religion, an important theological manuscript by Isaac Newton, and a rare handwritten letter by Malcolm X.
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