Bonhams & TCM to Auction Disney Animation Art Treasure Trove

On June 5, esteemed auction house Bonhams together with Turner Classic Movies will present “An Important Animation Art Collection, The Property of a Gentleman,” featuring more than 290 Disney animation drawings, storyboards, posters, concept artworks and cels. Amassed over a quarter of a century, the collection encompasses 60-plus years of Disney history from early 1930s shorts, comic strips, and the 1980s feature animation revival.

The collection previewed at Bonhams Los Angeles and will go on display at Bonhams New York from June 2-5. The auction items can be viewed online here.

Highlights include:

– The Mail Pilot (short, 1933) animation drawing in graphite and colored pencil on paper, matted and framed. Estimate: $1,000-1,500
– The Brave Little Tailor (short, 1938) cel of Mickey Mouse in gouache, multi-cel set-up, applied to Courvoisier wood veneer background, Walt Disney label on reverse, matted and framed. $4,000-6,000
– Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) cel of the Queen in gouache, Courvoisier watercolor paper background, matted and framed. $10,000-15,000
– Sleeping Beauty (1959) animation drawing of Maleficent in graphite on paper, matted and framed. $500-700
– Sleeping Beauty cel in gouache, applied to Eyvind Earle watercolor production pan background of the throne room, matted and framed. $20,000-30,000
– Pinocchio (1940) cel of Geppetto, Figaro and Pinocchio in gouache, applied to matching watercolor production background, annotated and initialed, matted and framed. $20,000-25,000
– Pinocchio original concept painting by Gustaf Tenggren, black ink and watercolor on heavyweight paper, inscribed “Pinocchio,” matted and framed. $30,000-40,000
– Dumbo (1941) cel of Dumbo and Timothy Mouse in gouache, Courvoisier airbrushed background, stamped “WDP.” $2,000-3,000
– Cinderella (1950) concept artwork by Mary Blair, gouache on board, matted and framed. $4,000-6,000