by Brooke Kennedy
For this month’s Fine Autographs and Artifacts auction, RR Auction invites bidders to relive the magic of classic films with our featured animation section. In the early 20th century, the development of animation has led to timeless masterpieces and the establishment of iconic figures in the field like Walt Disney. And RR is proud to honor this beautiful artform with an extensive offering of production artwork. With more than 650 lots to browse, bidders can expect another sweeping selection of rare and remarkable pieces.
Disney legends Eyvind Earle and Mary Blair are always frequent stays in our animation auctions. Blair’s work from multiple films including Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland, and Cinderella showcase the iconic scenes we’re all familiar with. Her touch and style shines through in each film’s final product. This auction offers multiple of Blair’s paintings from the aforementioned three films among others ones she worked on, each depicting iconic scenes such as Cinderella’s nighttime dash to the royal ball and Peter Pan making a visit to the Darling home.
Earle’s attention to detail in his concepts only serve to make his movies stand in a class all their own. In three of his paintings going to auction, Earle renders Lady and the Tramp’s ‘Bella Notte’ sequence and Prince Phillip’s final face-off with Maleficent in Sleeping Beauty. In addition to being a concept artist, Earle’s painting skills were put to use as the production designer for Sleeping Beauty, but his influence is easily felt in both films. Any piece from either artist is a perfect addition to any animation collection, as are the numerous production cels and drawings from features like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Pinnochio, and The Little Mermaid.
Other top lots include a manuscript leaf from Henry David Thoreau’s masterpiece, Walden. Written in Concord, Massachusetts and published in 1854, the book details Thoreau’s musings from his time spent in a cabin on Walden pond for which the book is named. Handwritten material from the author has popped up before at RR auction, but this is the first handwritten piece relating to his well known work. The manuscript leaf contains an extensive passage from the chapter titled ‘Sounds,’ and is a great piece for any literature lover.
Letters from renowned physicists J. Robert Oppenheimer and Albert Einstein will be going under the hammer for those who aren’t looking for art or literature. In both letters, Einstein engages in scientific discussion around his special theory of relativity and the propagation of light. Oppenheimer’s correspondence relate to his heavy involvement in the Manhattan Project, with one letter to an employee noted to be part of the ‘Explosives Division:’
“This letter is to acknowledge your contribution to the work of the Los Alamos Bomb Project,” he writes. “The excellent manner in which you shouldered the responsibilities of Shift Supervisor contributed in no small degree to the successful accomplishment of our task.”
This letter was dated just two months after the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Fine Autographs and Artifacts featuring Animation will open on February 23 and close on March 13 at 6 pm EST.
