Heritage’s Art of Disney sale hit $2.62 million with 100% sell-through as a key holiday scene pushed Peanuts animation art to a record.
By Intelligent Collector Staff | December 17, 2025
Animation art often sits at the intersection of nostalgia and production history, and the strongest results tend to come from images that are instantly recognizable to a broad audience. That dynamic was on display at Heritage Auctions’ Dec. 12–15 The Art of Disney Signature® Auction, which the company said realized $2.62 million across 1,372 lots with all lots sold.
The top lot was Peanuts: A Charlie Brown Christmas 3-Cel Sequence Setup with Pan Master Background (Bill Melendez, 1965), which realized $102,000. Heritage described the result as the highest price ever achieved for a Peanuts animation cel. The setup captures Charlie Brown carrying the small Christmas tree in the final moments of the 1965 television special — a scene closely associated with the program’s enduring appeal — and the sale coincided with the special’s 60th anniversary, a timing note the press release emphasized.
Beyond the headline price, the auction’s participation numbers point to how widely the category is being collected. Heritage reported 3,266 bidders took part, competing across a range of material that spanned multiple eras and formats. While the Peanuts record drew the attention, the sale also included high-profile Disney-related lots, including a Cinderella key master setup consisting of a production cel and background signed by Walt Disney, which realized $21,600, along with other signed material and concept works mentioned in the release.
The larger takeaway is less about one record and more about market breadth. The same event supported a top-tier, franchise-defining television property while also drawing strong bids for studio-linked Disney material and other production and development art. That combination matters: when a sale can clear its full catalog and still establish a new high for a widely recognized property like Peanuts, it suggests collectors are valuing animation art through multiple lenses — emotional connection, production rarity, signature and association, and the ability of a single frame to function as both artifact and image.
Source: Heritage Auctions press release (December 17, 2025).