Nearly a century ago, Walt Disney and cartoonist Ub Iwerks brought Mickey Mouse to life for the first time.
An original animation drawing from “Plane Crazy,” the 1928 short film which introduced Mickey and Minnie Mouse, sold for $72,000 this week — a record for any Disney animation drawing.
The Iwerks drawing sold as part of Heritage Auctions’ sale of one of the most comprehensive collections of animation art ever compiled. The Glad Museum Collection was compiled by Oscar-nominated film producer Mike Glad, who has been meticulously collecting original art ranging from early Disney works to Japanese anime for decades.
Glad began his quest “long before the animation art craze that kicked off in the 1980s and early ’90s,” according to a release from Heritage earlier this month. He would contact the “world’s greatest animators and collectors” in pursuit of anything they were willing to sell.
“He compiled vast assortments of original art from Disney, Warner Brothers, MGM, Lantz, UPA and other studios dating back to the dawn of the art form, and much of it is considered to be the very best of the best,” said Heritage vice president of animation and anime art Jim Lentz.
The auction featured more than 1,500 lots from Glad’s collection, all of which sold, generating more than $4 million in sales. That marks the record for an auction of works from all animation studios.
A concept painting for “Sleeping Beauty” sold for $72,000 — tying the early Mickey Mouse drawing for the top price.
While most of the highest-grossing items were Disney-related, such as an animation drawing from “The Sky Scrapper” which sold for more than $20,000 (a record for an Oswald the Lucky Rabbit work), other animation studios attracted attention as well.
A production cel from 1941’s “Superman” sold for $39,600, and a Tom and Jerry cel clocked in at $10,200.
Heritage has been a leader in the category for years, previously handling some of the top collections on earth, including Glad’s anime art.
Will Stern is a reporter and editor for cllct.