Heritage’s Art of the Disney Theme Park and the Disney Storybook Art Collection auction achieved a total of nearly $1.8 million. Held on April 8-10, 2021, this was their first Disney-only auction, which coincided with both the reopening of Disneyland and the 50th anniversary of Walt Disney World. It saw a complete auction sell out and achieved almost twice their presale estimate.

“This was Heritage’s first Disney-centric auction, but certainly not our last,” Jim Lentz, Director of Animation Art, said. “Already consignors and clients are asking: ‘When is the next one?’ We have sold Disney storybook art before, but never with the singular focus of this event. And after Heritage’s success with our Knott’s Berry Farm event in 2017, and now the success of the Art of the Disney Theme Park auction, it’s clear there’s a great love and a significant demand for this segment of collecting.”

The top lot was the original painting on canvas from the Haunted Mansion’s stretching portrait gallery that brought $108,000. Created by Clem Hall, it features three men slowly sinking into quicksand. Another piece from the Haunted Mansion was the hand-pulled silkscreen poster that realized $19,200. It was one of the several attraction posters in the auction that achieved five figures.

Two Scrooge McDuck sculptures achieved high prices. The rare large hand-painted “Trail of the Unicorn” limousine sculpture brought $81,000 and the “This Dollar Saved My Life at Whitehorse” bronze statue of Scrooge on a pile of loot hammered for $60,000.

One of the most historic lots was the complete archive of plans and blueprints for Walt Disney’s Carolwood Pacific Railroad that reached $43,200. The documents, some with Disney’s signature and sign-off, have never been seen at auction before.

Mary Blair’s personally owned serigraph proof copy of the 90-foot mural at the Contemporary Resort Hotel at Walt Disney World grabbed $25,200 – more than ten times the estimate.

Storybook art represented some top sellers, including Mel Crawford’s original art for the cover of the 1955 Davy Crockett King of the Wild Frontier storybook that sold for $19,200. Campbell Grant’s original Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs storybook illustrations brought $10,200 and a Disneyland Magazine wraparound cover illustration for Jungle Book realized $8,400.

“This collection of the best of the best of Disney storybook art from the hands of some of the greatest artists to ever work at Walt Disney Studios surpassed our wildest dreams,” Lentz said. “And more important, it showcases this artform as one to be reckoned with.”

A few other key sales were a Disneyland Star Tours attraction entrance sign that sold for $12,000 and a Walt Disney World Contemporary Resort room display map that went for $10,200.

“In short, everyone was a winner, from the consignors who brought these materials to market for the first time to the collectors who seized this rare opportunity to snap up so many historic items from the Magic Kingdom,” Lentz said. “We can’t wait to do this again.”