The famous animation cel, “The Band Concert,” and paintings of Uncle Scrooge by his creator, Carl Barks, highlight the incredible comic art collection of Maryland radio executive Kerby Confer, being sold by Heritage Auctions in Dallas, Aug. 5-6.
The art is currently available for viewing at Heritage Auction Galleries Beverly Hills, 9478 West Olympic Boulevard, and will be on display through June 22, 2010.
The “Band Concert” is famous as the first Mickey Mouse film to be released in Technicolor, and some have called this cel the most valuable piece of animation art in existence.
An Embarrassment of Riches – one of the paintings in this exhibit – pictured in a catalog.
“I started laughing again the same way I did when I was a kid,” said Confer. “There will be no others like Carl Barks. He was a genius.”
He began focusing his collecting efforts on the character. In time, he acquired some 40 of the 200+ paintings Barks produced in his lifetime.
“If you have only seen the prints and other reproductions of these paintings, you don’t know how much you’re missing,” Sandoval said. “Seeing the originals in person makes you appreciate Barks’ talent so much more.”
Editors: Mr. Confer is available for interview, as is Barry Sandoval, Heritage Auctions’ Director of Operations of the Comics division. Please call Noah Fleisher at 310-492-8613 if you would like to schedule an interview.
Heritage Auctions, headed by Steve Ivy, Jim Halperin and Greg Rohan, is the world’s third largest auction house, with annual sales more than $600 million, and 500,000+ registered online bidder members. For more information about Heritage Auctions, and to join and gain access to a complete record of prices realized, along with full-color, enlargeable photos of each lot, please visit HA.com.
