Frazetta Battlestar Galactica Painting Comes to Auction!

DALLAS, TEXAS: Created by Glen Larson as "Adam's Ark" in the 1960s, it took the phenomenal success of Star Wars before this cult-favorite series would receive a green light from Universal Studios in 1978. Renamed Battlestar Galactica, and starring Lorne Greene as Commander Adama, Richard Hatch as Captain Apollo and Dirk Benedict as Lieutenant Starbuck, the initial pilot film was a success on both the big and small screens, spawning a television series and a 1980 TV special, as well as a critically and popularly successful "reimagining" that has been running on the Sci-Fi Channel since 2003.

To promote the series in 1978, legendary artist Frank Frazetta was commissioned to create a Battlestar Galactica painting for use in an advertisement that would eventually appear in TV Guide. As rumors were circulating that Frazetta had turned down an opportunity to create a cover for the novelization of Star Wars, fans were mystified when he accepted this seemingly similar assignment. In the book Testament: The Life and Art of Frank Frazetta, the artist addresses this puzzle when he says: "The simple answer is that I got to paint what I wanted and I retained my originals and my copyrights. I wouldn't have been able to keep either if I had taken the 'Star Wars' job and I would not have had much creative freedom. That would have been a step backward for me."

"This 16" x 20" masterwork perfectly illustrates the enormous talents of one of the greatest fantasy artists of this - or any - age," said Ed Jaster, Vice-President for Dallas-based Heritage Auction Galleries. "The combination of this incomparable artist with the perennially-popular subject matter of Battlestar Galactica is hard to beat, and collectors will have to search far and wide before finding a better example of Frazetta's incomparable genius to add to their collections."

Frank Frazetta - "In Pharaoh's Tomb" (Battlestar Galactica) Painting Original Art (1978)
Estimate: $60,000 & up

Frank Frazetta - "In Pharaoh's Tomb" (Battlestar Galactica) Painting Original Art (1978) will be offered in Heritage Auction Galleries' upcoming Comics Signature Auction, to be held September 8 & 9 at the Baltimore Convention Center, One West Pratt Street, Baltimore, Maryland, 21201. For more information, please visit www.HA.com/Comics.

For more information about Heritage's auctions, and a complete record of prices realized, along with full-color, enlargeable photos of each lot, please visit www.HA.com.

Heritage specializes in rare, high-grade comic books, as well as vintage comic and animation art, illustration art, classic toys, movie posters and comics-related collectibles.

Prospective consignors and sellers of top-end comics material, toys, and original art are invited to call Ed Jaster at 1-800-872-6467, ext. 288 or Lon Allen at 1-800-872-6467, ext. 261 to discuss their rare comics and original illustration and comic art. Or visit www.HA.com and click on the "Sell Now" tab. Or simply email Ed Jaster at EdJ@HA.com or Lon Allen at LonA@HA.com.

Music and Hollywood memorabilia collectors should contact Doug Norwine at 1-800-872-6467, ext. 452 or email DougN@HA.com.

Movie poster consignors please call Grey Smith at 1-800-872-6467, ext. 367 or email GreySm@HA.com.

To reserve your copy of a catalog for any upcoming Heritage auction, please contact Nicole Jewell, c/o Heritage Auction Galleries, 3500 Maple Avenue, 17th Floor, Dallas, TX 75219, or call 1-800-872-6467, ext. 272.