Cartoonist, author, publisher, packer and agent Dennis Kitchen brings one of the finest collections of original comics art, from the medium's founders to the greatest works of the underground, to Heritage Auctions in April. It will be exhibited. His 275 pieces are from a collection he has amassed over his lifetime. These pieces “remind me of friendships and relationships and remind me of projects and people I admired,” Kitchen said of the collection. “Those are works by artists that I admire aesthetically. I was lucky to be in a position to know quite a few of them.”
Some of the featured artists up for auction:
- Al Capp
- Will Eisner
- art spiegelman
- bill griffith
- ernie bushmiller
- MAD founders Harvey Kurtzman and Jack Davis
- Robert Crumb
- MAD artist Will Elder
- Dennis Kitchen's own
- windsor mckay
- basil wolverton
- Milton Cunniff
- george herriman
- Chester Gould
- Wally Wood
- Chris Ware
- Jaime Hernandez
- spain rodriguez
- trina robbins
- howard cruz
- Ivan Brunetti
Perhaps the piece that best represents Kitchen's taste and the world he has put together is Will Eisner's cover art. snarf #3, Published by Kitchen Sink Press. The film depicts Eisner's 1940s masked crime buster Spirit invading an office full of hippies working on underground comics. This cover shows that Eisner has not retired from the comics world and has entered an era that produces his graphic novels, which many believe to be his most important works. Covenant with God.
“Dennis Kitchen has long been a respected and successful cartoonist, publisher, editor, author, historian, exhibition curator, and representative of all-time greats, and as a collector he has always been an object of envy. “We are in a unique position to make this list, which includes some of the greatest names in the comics industry yet to be represented,” said Todd Hignite, executive vice president of Heritage, in a statement accompanying the announcement. “The scope and depth of his resulting collection is unparalleled. The artwork we all dream of putting up for auction is immediately recognizable as the best by that artist. However, it has never been on the market.”
The kitchen art collection is offered at Heritage. A comic book and comic art autograph auction will be held from April 4th to 7th, and will feature important items beyond the kitchen collection. action comics #1, and original art tales of suspense Tony Stark becomes Iron Man for the first time #39 page.
Click through the gallery below to see the full-size art from the kitchen collection.
