Del Toro's movie memorabilia narrowly escaped a wildfire, and now he's deciding to part ways with some of it.
Guillermo del Toro, one of the most respected filmmakers in the industry, known for his fascination with monsters and visual style, is partnering with Heritage Auctions for a three-part auction to sell a fraction of his extensive horror memorabilia collection. The auction, which started online bidding on September 26, 2021, includes a wide array of items, ranging from rare images from the 1914 short film "Gertie the Dinosaur," one of the earliest animated films, to original art for "Sleeping Beauty" by Eyvind Earle and Kay Nielsen.
Del Toro's collection is housed in two and a half Santa Monica homes, each room meticulously organized by theme, with one room dedicated to each of his major works. The auction includes concept sketches and props from del Toro's 1992 debut film, "Cronos," all the way to his more recent works, like 2021's "Nightmare Alley."
Behind-the-scene drawings and one-of-a-kind props from del Toro's own classics are also up for grabs. The collection boasts iconic works like Bernie Wrightson's illustrations for "Frankenstein" and Mike Mignola's pinup artwork for "Hellraiser." Art from comic legends like Richard Corben, Jack Kirby, and H.R. Giger are also included.
Del Toro finds it difficult to have someone else care for his collection due to the importance of each item and the unique nature of his collection. He spends his entire work day at one of the houses, which he picks depending on the task at hand, and selects the picture frame for every drawing, dusts all the artifacts, and arranges every bookshelf mostly by himself.
Del Toro considers his collection as a family that has been with him since he was a kid. He wants to sell items from his collection to allow someone to recreate a mini version of Bleak House, his nickname for the collection bursting at the seams with thousands of ghoulish creatures, comic drawings, paintings, books, and movie props.
The starting bids for the auction items vary, from a couple thousand dollars up to hundreds of thousands. The first part of the auction includes over a hundred items from del Toro's collection. One of Wrightson's drawings for a 1983 illustrated version of Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein" is the highest priced item, starting at $200,000.
More items from del Toro's collection will be auctioned off next year. The information about who organized the auctions for Guillermo del Toro's collection is not found in the provided search results.
