Frazetta’s ‘Conan’ Cover Painting Sells for $13.5 Million, Setting a New Benchmark for Comic & Fantasy Art

By Intelligent Collector Staff 

Frank Frazetta’s visceral vision of Robert E. Howard’s hero just climbed to the summit of comic and fantasy art. Heritage Auctions sold the Conan Novel Cover Painting Original Art (Lancer/Ace, 1967), the image long known to collectors as Man Ape, for $13.5 million with premium in a dedicated, one-lot auction. According to Heritage, the price is more than twice the next-highest result for any Frazetta work and for any comic or fantasy artwork at auction.  

Painted for a 1967 Conan paperback, Man Ape distills Frazetta’s influence on late-20th-century fantasy: explosive motion, a blood-red cloak slashing the frame, and a hero cut from shadow and muscle. Heritage described the piece as a “landmark of modern fantasy art,” and bidders responded accordingly.  

The Frazetta sale headlined Heritage’s record-smashing comics weekend, which reached a combined $32.87 million across comic art and comic books auctions. “The final results of the auction go to show how respected Frank Frazetta is and how much demand collectors have for his work,” said Barry Sandoval, Heritage Auctions vice president. “He is not just one of the greatest artists in the Comic and Fantasy world. His work puts him among the premier artists of the 20th century in any category.”  

Record-setting results for canonical images like Man Ape tend to recalibrate values across adjacent works, from other Frazetta oils to genre-defining fantasy illustration. The result underscores Heritage Auctions’ position as a leading venue to sell Frank Frazetta paintings and top-tier fantasy art. 

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