DALLAS, TX.- Three days of strong results spanning generations of Disney artistry drove Heritage’s Aug. 21-23 The Art of Disney Signature® Auction to $3.43 million. The event achieved a 100% sell-through rate across 1,346 lots and attracted 3,531 bidders from around the world.

“This auction delivered strong results for Disney art from the studio’s Golden Age through the Disney Renaissance and into the films of the 2000s,” says Jim Lentz, Heritage Auctions’ Vice President of Animation and Anime Art. “The response reflects the global affection for Disney and the growing appreciation for animation art as a significant art form.”

Gustaf Tenggren’s extraordinary concept paintings for Walt Disney’s groundbreaking 1937 feature Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs claimed the auction’s three highest results. His atmospheric painting of Snow White listening as the Prince sings “One Song” led the event at $85,400. A panoramic concept painting depicting six dwarfs returning home realized $41,480, while Tenggren’s image of the Prince on horseback sold for $36,600.

Carl Barks followed with two original preliminary paintings: First National Bank of Cibola, featuring Uncle Scrooge and his nephews amid a trove of desert treasure, realized $36,600, while his Sheriff of Bullet Valley (The Law Comes to Bullet Valley) brought $34,160.





Disneyland’s celebrated hand-silkscreened attraction posters also inspired spirited bidding. A first printing of the 1956 Rocket to the Moon poster sold for $34,160, and a rare 1959 poster promoting the Matterhorn Bobsleds realized $26,840.

Two works by Disney Legend Mary Blair ranked among the auction’s leading lots. Her colorful concept painting for the Japan section of “It’s a Small World” reached $31,720, while a concept and color-key painting depicting Alice, the Mad Hatter and the White Rabbit at the tea party from Alice in Wonderland realized $29,280.

The Joe Ranft Family Archive offered collectors an unprecedented look at the life and work of the beloved Disney and Pixar story artist. Ranft’s Disney Legend Award and pin, presented posthumously in 2006, sold for $31,720.

“It was especially satisfying to see Joe Ranft’s genius recognized through the presentation of his family archive,” Lentz says. “The response was a wonderful acknowledgment of his imagination and enduring influence on some of the most beloved animated films ever made.”