Ray Bradbury's collection of science fiction and animation art to be auctioned by Nate D. Sanders

LOS ANGELES, CA.- The Ray Bradbury estate -- featuring a remarkable collection of original comic and science fiction art assembled by the legendary author -- will be auctioned by Nate D. Sanders on September 25. Interested bidders may participate in the auction online.

Bradbury is considered a post-war American literary master who popularized the science-fiction genre and turned it into an essential element of literature. Inspiring imagination and surrealism amongst readers, Bradbury is widely recognized on the pantheon of great science fiction writers along with Isaac Asimov, H.G. Wells, Jules Verne and Arthur C. Clarke. As of Bradbury’s death in 2012, eight million copies of his books had been sold in in 36 different languages. Most widely known for his novels, Fahrenheit 451 and Something Wicked This Way Comes, Bradbury also published a critically acclaimed collection of short stories compiled in The Illustrated Man.

Besides being an accomplished author, Bradbury had one of the most prolific collections of science fiction and animation art. Highlights of Bradbury’s admired collection include: a 1946 Charles Addams oil painting of ghoulish creatures flying over a twilight landscape scene; a Raymond Bayless oil painting of a Martian scene from H.G. Wells’ War of the Worlds; an original animation cel from Disney’s masterpiece Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs; 66 paintings, drawings and lithographs by frequent Bradbury collaborator Joseph Mugnaini; and, the artwork painted by Louis Granzman used for The Illustrated Man.

The Addams 1946 painting was used for the cover of Bradbury’s 2001 book From the Dust Returned. The dark and macabre tone was a hallmark of Addams’ style; Addams became best known for creating The Addams Family cartoons. Bidding for the painting starts at $32,500.

The Raymond Bayless painting, Wars of the Wars, H.G. Wells, represents the book’s famed naval battle between a Martian “Tripod” weapon and the English ship, the “HMS Thunder Child.” Bids for the oil painting start at $17,500.

In 1952, Bradbury purchased Mugnaini’s surrealist painting Carnival, which ignited a friendship and a working relationship spanning decades. The painting depicts a nighttime scene with a train riding over a Romanesque arch and faceless souls peering into the horizon. The carnival theme served as a setting for Bradbury’s novel Something Wicked This Way Comes. Mugnaini also developed the covers and interior art for several of Bradbury’s early novels including Fahrenheit 451. Minimum bid for the painting is $2,500.

Louis Glanzman’s painting is the original cover art for the 1963 edition of Bradbury’s epic book The Illustrated Man. The painting portrays a tattooed man who appeared as the focal character in Bradbury’s compilation of 18 short stories. Bidding starts at $15,000.

Bradbury was an enthusiastic collector of vintage animated and comic art. The estate auction includes original animated cels from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Forty-three original Disney cels are being auctioned. Bradbury also owned unique Dr. Seuss cels of the Grinch, as well as Warner Brothers’ Looney Tunes animation art.

Bradbury admired Hal Foster’s Prince Valiant comic series. Foster gave Bradbury an inscribed Prince Valiant Sunday strip. It reads, “To Ray Bradbury/With My Best Wishes/Hal Foster.” Bidding for the strip begins at $14,000.