The writer sold items from his own personal collection to benefit writers and artists who have fallen on hard times.
English author Neil Gaiman—known for his works Sandman, Coraline, The Graveyard Book and Good Omens—has just wrapped up an auction for his own belongings. The collection consisted of artwork and other memorabilia.
Taking place at Heritage Auctions’ headquarters in Dallas, the sale of over 125 items fetched upwards of $1 million. The funds collected from the auction will be going to two charities, The Authors Literary Fund and the Hero Initiative.
The two organizations “help authors/writers and comics creators who have fallen on hard times or who need help,” Gaiman wrote in a blog post. Some of the proceeds will also go back to the artists whose pieces were put up for sale.
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“The auction made a lot of money, and it’s going to do a lot of good, and that makes me very happy. Thank you to all the lovely helpful people at Heritage Auctions, to all of the bidders, lucky or otherwise, and to all of the artists, craftspeople and geniuses without whom it could never have happened.”
Prized Possessions
The highest-selling item was a page from the 1987 comic series Watchmen. The autographed piece sold for around $132,000. Originally gifted to him by writer Alan Moore and illustrator Dave Gibbons, the page depicts the character Nite Owl as he awakens from a dream.
With 17 panels in a single page, Gaiman said he chose this specifically because he loved “everything about it, including its use of dreams.”
A painting of Gaiman’s own character, Death of the Endless, fetched $96,000. The piece was created in 1994 by the French artist Jean Giraud, also known as Moebius.
Another special piece from Gaiman’s collection was a puppet of Coraline which was used in the film based on his book. The character is wearing orange pajamas and carrying a messenger bag with a black cat inside.
Selling for $72,000, the writer said that the puppet “has been in my bedroom in a glass case since 2009. I had more qualms about lettering her go than I did anything else in this entire auction. She’s there. She smiles at me. She’s special.”
Banner image via Instagram @neilhimself.
