SCREEN-USED PROPS, CONCEPT ART, AND OTHER TREASURES FROM THE OSCAR-WINNING DIRECTOR’S FILMS AND MONSTROUS PERSONAL ARCHIVE HEAD TO AUCTION SEPTEMBER 26
By Christina Rees | September 2, 2025
We understand that our greatest film directors are the most obsessive ones, and Guillermo del Toro’s obsession with monsters – his lifelong fascination with the “other” – has made him a master of the modern-day fairy tale. No one does monsters like del Toro, from the Pale Man in Pan’s Labyrinth and Amphibian Man in The Shape of Water to the Kaiju of Pacific Rim and the spirits of Crimson Peak. What seems like effortless imagination is, in fact, the result of a man’s lifelong dedication to understanding monsters – both non-human and human – and making a case for their place in our lives and histories.
This full-body clay maquette for Amphibian Man from del Toro’s 2017 film ‘The Shape of Water’ offers a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at the art of moviemaking. The maquette is one of more than 130 items on offer in Heritage’s September 26 auction of del Toro’s fabled collection.
Here, del Toro holds a screen-used ‘Big Baby’ shotgun from his 2008 film ‘Hellboy II: The Golden Army.’ (Photo courtesy Guillermo del Toro)
Del Toro’s obsessive nature doesn’t end with his films. Over recent years, cinephiles and pop-culture collectors alike have come to understand that del Toro is an insatiable collector of the things that have lit him up since his childhood in Guadalajara – horror, fantasy, sci-fi, and the entire ecosystem of genre – and that obsession extends to the nuts and bolts of his own filmmaking. In his now-famous Bleak House, a years-in-the-making collection encompassing original art, movie props, comic and concept art, and maquettes, del Toro lives and works among the material (and psychic) artifacts that get him out of bed in the morning.
“I have collected for decades,” del Toro says. “I believe that collecting is not owning. Collecting is protecting, a sacred duty, being a keeper of a flame, an acolyte.” He goes on to describe the impact that contemporary upheaval and recent Los Angeles wildfires have had on his relationship with Bleak House: “This predicament has made me aware of the impossible size of the collection and the responsibility to share this meticulously curated treasure trove with others who might accept the vow to save these pieces of culture and beauty for the generations that follow.”
Bleak House was the subject of a 2017 blockbuster traveling exhibition originating at the venerated Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) and has become a fixture in the minds of del Toro’s fellow obsessives. Now, a representative slice of the storied assemblage is headed to auction in Heritage’s September 26 The Guillermo del Toro Collection: Bleak House Part 1, an offering del Toro calls “a careful, thoughtful selection of pieces that encompass not only most of my filmography but can be arranged into a full corner of Bleak House.”
“Guillermo del Toro’s collection is unlike anything we’ve ever handled,” says Joe Maddalena, Executive Vice President at Heritage Auctions. “This is not just memorabilia. It’s the visual and emotional DNA of a singular creative force. Every piece in this auction offers a window into the heart and mind of a true auteur, someone who has reshaped how we see monsters, myths, and ourselves. It’s an extraordinary honor to bring this deeply personal, wildly imaginative, and historically important collection to market and to a new generation of collectors.”
This original art from Bernie Wrightson’s illustrated edition of ‘Frankenstein,’ a project he began in 1977 and completed in 1983, is one of the highlights of del Toro’s collection. Del Toro’s take on the classic horror tale hits theaters October 17 and Netflix three weeks later.
This artwork comes from H.R. Giger’s concept designs for the unproduced science fiction and horror script ‘The Tourist.’ ‘It is rare to find Giger’s creature creation in this large format,’ del Toro says. ‘His airbrush work remains a singularity in the visual world, and the way he combined delicate lips or features with sinuous, translucent alien biology is one of his strongest trademarks.’
The works on offer in Heritage’s Bleak House event present an incisive cross section of del Toro’s fertile imagination – and a juicy wish list for his fervent followers. These objects span his career and obsessions: from his early concept sketch of the vampire in Cronos and the screen-used “Big Baby” shotgun in Hellboy II to original maquettes of Amphibian Man from The Shape of Water and Bernie Wrightson illustration plates that directly informed his upcoming Frankenstein. The threads of del Toro’s entire career are woven through an auction that also features stunning works from fellow masters of the fantastic, including Ray Harryhausen, H.R. Giger, Disney’s Golden Age animators, Robert Crumb, Moebius, and more.
The auction – “the first to offer never-before-seen pieces,” del Toro says – is a walk through the filmmaker’s deliciously haunted mind, with highlights that dance across his most beloved creations and references. Del Toro’s Pacific Rim Jaeger escape pod is here, as is the drivesuit Charlie Hunnam wore as Raleigh Becket in the 2013 film. There’s also a sideshow attraction (in a jar) from Nightmare Alley and the earliest iterations of Pan’s Labyrinth’s Pale Man. Meanwhile, Mike Mignola’s original art for Hellboy: Seed of Destruction (Dark Horse, 1994), featuring John Byrne’s paste-up lettering based on his own hand-drawn font, joins Hellboy’s screen-used leather duster.
In advance of Heritage’s landmark auction of del Toro’s collection, the director sat down for an exclusive interview with ‘Intelligent Collector.’
These are the beloved objects del Toro has surrounded himself with for years, and in some cases, the collection goes deep as well as wide. For instance, Pan’s Labyrinth is a touchstone in the auction. Breathtaking concept art by Raúl Villares, laying out the mill in Pan’s Labyrinth, holds a special place for del Toro. “This piece is very hard to part with,” he says. “For years it remained my favorite, and it hung by my office to serve as inspiration … a superb rendition and concept as we once envisioned the mill. Eventually, some of the scale and details had to be let go, but this is what should have been – in all its glory.” Also included is the original clapperboard used during production, signed by del Toro, and original art by Allen Williams for Pan’s Labyrinth: The Labyrinth of the Faun, del Toro’s illustrated novel co-authored with Cornelia Funke.
This screen-used brown leather trench coat worn by Ron Perlman served as the centerpiece of Hellboy’s battle-worn ensemble in del Toro’s 2004 film of the same name.
This original production-used clapperboard from ‘Pan’s Labyrinth’ is signed by del Toro, who wrote and directed the Oscar-winning 2006 film.
The works from Bleak House allow for thrilling associations and remind us that del Toro is, first and last, a fan – one who channels his unbridled enthusiasm for others’ work into building whole new worlds. One of the greatest artworks in the collection is a full-color original pin-up by Mike Mignola from Clive Barker’s Hellraiser No. 2 (Marvel, 1990), starring Pinhead in grisly detail. Mignola’s use of color hints at the gothic minimalism that would later define Hellboy. “It took me a long, long time to secure a color piece by Mike during this particular period,” del Toro says. Also offered is a Bernie Wrightson plate from his adaptation of Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley’s Frankenstein (Marvel, 1977–1983). This image, by the undisputed king of horror illustration, shows the Creature reflecting by a stream on his solitude and growing understanding of the human world – a theme that continues to haunt del Toro and, in turn, us.
Clive Barker’s iconic Cenobite Pinhead appears in full, grisly detail in this early Mike Mignola pin-up from 1990’s ‘Hellraiser’ No. 2.
“Guillermo del Toro is more than a filmmaker. He’s a world-builder, a guardian of imagination, and a devoted steward of the macabre and the marvelous,” Maddalena says. “This collection is a testament to a lifetime of wonder and reverence for the stories and creators who shaped him. We are honored to help share Guillermo’s vision and legacy with fellow collectors and admirers who understand, as he does, that these artifacts are more than objects. They are vessels of history, emotion, and inspiration.”
