Five days and more than 1,600 lots illuminated the artistic legacy of the Walt Disney animation studio during Heritage Auction’s The Art of Disney Signature Auction, which ran August 7-11 and raked in $5.19 million to land the title of most successful Animation Art auction in history. Heritage now holds the records for the six highest-grossing Animation Art auctions in the entire industry. This sale topped the last record broken by Heritage with its summer 2023 event that celebrated a century of Disney and earned $4.87M.
Heritage has also broken the records for most successful Anime Art auctions. The 2024 totals for Animation and Anime at Heritage add up to a staggering $16 million.
“This result is nothing short of historic,” says Jim Lentz, Heritage’s Vice President of Animation and Anime Art. “To see so many iconic works — from Gustaf Tenggren’s mythic brush to Eyvind Earle’s graphic splendor — resonate with collectors on this level reaffirms what we’ve long believed: that animation art is not just cherished, it’s revered. This auction proves once again that Disney’s creative legacy holds an unmatched place in the hearts of fans and connoisseurs worldwide.”
The August Art of Disney Signature Auction accomplished a 100% sell-through rate and attracted more than 4,000 bidders. The auction was led by the Daniel Shak Platinum Collection — Heritage’s first Platinum Animation Art auction day, which brought just over $1 million over only 58 lots.
Shak’s collection showcased original Disney production art spanning the studio’s Golden Age through its Renaissance era, including hand-painted cels, concept art and behind-the-scenes drawings from Disney animated films. His collection claimed the top 10 spots in the event, led by two pieces by Gustaf Tenggren: His concept painting for 1937’s feature Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, which captures the moment the Old Hag creates the poison apple, realized $168,000, and his concept painting from the same movie immortalizing Snow White’s enchanted slumber and fateful kiss brought $102,000.
Next up from the Shak Collection was a Cinderella hand-inked production cel setup, signed by Walt Disney, featuring a transformed Cinderella admiring her Fairy Godmother’s handiwork, which sold for $72,000, as well as two distinctly stylized masterpieces by Eyvind Earle: His signed concept painting of Prince Phillip and Maleficent as a Dragon from the 1959 feature Sleeping Beauty sold for $52,800, and his concept painting of the forest in Sleeping Beauty realized $50,400.
Additional top sellers from the Shak Collection included an Alice in Wonderland (1951) production cel with master background featuring Alice and the Cheshire Cat (sold for $45,600) and an Alice in Wonderland production cel showcasing Alice with a flora-filled Master background ($37,200); a Peter Pan (1953) production cel with master background showcasing Tinker Bell ($38,400); a hand-painted published original cel and key master background by Ron Dias for 1992’s Beauty and the Beast ($38,400); and from The Jungle Book (1967), a key Disney Bronze Age film, was represented in the auction by a production cel set up with master background featuring Mowgli and Baloo ($36,000).
Aside from the Shak Platinum winners were other gems from Disney’s history: a concept painting by John Hench for 1950’s Cinderella featuring Prince Charming and Cinderella on the balcony sold for $36,000, and a cover illustration by Eyvind Earle for Walt Disney’s Sleeping Beauty Big Golden Book also brought $36,000.
The Andreas Deja Collection was another strong driver of the auction, given that Deja himself is one of Disney’s most celebrated artists (responsible for Renaissance era’s great cartoon villains, including Scar, Jafar and Vanessa). As a chronicler and champion of Disney’s animation history, highlights from his extensive collection have included such treasures as a hand-inked “Belle Notte” production cel from 1955’s Lady and the Tramp, presenting the movie’s iconic doggy dinner date scene. It sold for $36,000.
All-time Disney favorite artist Mary Blair is always a VIP of Heritage’s Disney auctions, and here her concept/color key painting for It’s a Small World sold for $31,200, and her concept painting of Alice and the Caterpillar for Alice in Wonderland sold for $31,200.
“This extraordinary auction showcased the very best of Disney – from the bold visionaries who shaped the studio’s golden eras to the passionate collectors who preserve that legacy,” Lentz says. “Our team is proud to set a new high watermark for the field, and we remain committed to elevating animation art as one of the most dynamic and beloved categories in the market today.”
You can find complete results for The Art of Disney Signature Auction (Aug. 2025) here.
