Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Frank Miller's Sin City

There's an abundance of india ink at work in this original large-scale composition by Frank Miller for Hell and Back: A Sin City Love Story (2001), giving the piece its distinctive noir look. Note the extremely low vantage point, essentially at ground level--lower than you could get your eyeball. Note also the unobtrusive door click sound effect.

This lot, with what seems to me a somewhat high estimate, failed to sell at Sotheby's Paris in July. Now, I haven't read any of the Sin City books, so without any idea of the story or context I find this one illustration isn't sufficient to explain the popularity of the series. The 2005 Sin City movie, also unknown to me, may in part explain the rather overenthusiastic estimate this lot received. Certainly my readers have seen here that another example of a Miller splash page sold previously not just at this level but indeed much higher.
 


Sotheby's Paris
July 4, 2012 
http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2012/bande-dessine-comics/lot.80.html

Fr ank Miller, Original Artwork for Hell and Back:  A Sin City Love Story (2001)
Sotheby's Paris
July 4, 2012 

589

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