Sell Animation Artwork at Auction
A trusted auction house for original production cels, animation drawings, background paintings, limited edition cels, and artwork by Disney, Warner Bros., and the greatest artists in animation history. Free appraisals, no obligation.
Looking to sell animation artwork at auction? Weiss Auctions is one of the most trusted venues to sell animation artwork at auction, handling original production cels, animation drawings, concept paintings, background art, limited edition cels, and the work of the most celebrated artists in animation history — from Golden Age Disney and Warner Bros. to modern television animation.
Animation art has established itself as a serious and actively traded collectible category. Major works by artists such as Carl Barks, Eyvind Earle, Mary Blair, Chuck Jones, and Charles Schulz regularly achieve five and six-figure results. The market spans a wide range from modestly priced single production cels to major works by celebrated studio artists that rival fine art in their cultural significance and auction performance.
Free expert appraisals are available with no obligation to consign. If you are not sure what you have or what it is worth, contact us and we will help you identify and evaluate your animation artwork.
Original animation artwork sold at Weiss Auctions — production cels, drawings, and concept art
What Animation Artwork We Accept for Auction
- Original production cels from Disney, Warner Bros., Hanna-Barbera, MGM, and other studios
- Production cel setups with original or key master production backgrounds
- Original animation drawings and pencil sketches
- Hand-painted production and concept backgrounds
- Concept paintings, color key artwork, and story development art
- Storyboard panels and layout drawings
- Signed limited edition cels and sericels
- Carl Barks original paintings, limited edition lithographs, and serigraphs
- Eyvind Earle paintings, concept art, and signed limited editions
- Mary Blair concept paintings and design artwork
- Chuck Jones signed paintings and limited edition cels
- Charles Schulz Peanuts animation cels and related production art
- Charles Addams original drawings and cartoons
- Anime production cels and original art
- Modern television animation production art including SpongeBob SquarePants, The Simpsons, Futurama, Family Guy, Rugrats, and other contemporary series
- Complete animation art collections, studio estates, and inherited accumulations
Key Artists Whose Animation Artwork We Sell at Auction
Artists whose work we handle and whose auction values are strongest
Carl Barks
Known as “The Good Duck Artist,” Carl Barks (1901 to 2000) was the creative force behind Donald Duck and the creator of Uncle Scrooge McDuck. His original oil paintings and signed limited edition serigraphs and lithographs are among the most consistently valuable works in animation art collecting. A Barks “Family Portrait” painting has sold for more than $68,000 at auction.
Eyvind Earle
Eyvind Earle (1916 to 2000) was the primary visual designer of Disney’s Sleeping Beauty (1959) and was inducted as a Disney Legend in 2015. His concept paintings and color key art from Sleeping Beauty are among the most sought-after works in all of animation art, with individual pieces selling for $20,000 to $66,000. He also produced a celebrated body of personal landscape paintings collected independently of his Disney work.
Mary Blair
Mary Blair (1911 to 1978) was a Disney Legend whose bold, color-saturated concept paintings defined the visual identity of Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, and It’s a Small World. Her concept paintings are among the rarest works in animation art, with Cinderella pieces selling for more than $21,000. Blair’s work is increasingly recognized by the broader fine art market alongside dedicated animation collectors.
Chuck Jones
Chuck Jones (1912 to 2002) was the Academy Award-winning Warner Bros. director who shaped Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Wile E. Coyote, Road Runner, and Pepe Le Pew. His signed oil paintings are particularly rare and have sold for more than $24,000 at auction. Signed limited edition Warner Bros. cels by Jones remain popular at all price points.
Charles Schulz
Charles M. Schulz (1922 to 2000) created Peanuts, one of the most beloved properties in animation history. Original production cels from specials including A Charlie Brown Christmas and It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown are actively traded alongside his original strips and artwork. Weiss Auctions has a long track record with Schulz material across all formats. Read more about our Schulz sales.
Charles Addams
Charles Addams (1912 to 1988) was the New Yorker cartoonist and creator of The Addams Family whose macabre drawings have been in continuous demand since his death. Original Addams cartoons and drawings from The New Yorker and his published collections are actively traded at auction, bridging the cartoon art and fine art markets.
Warner Bros. Animation Artists
Original production cels from Golden Age Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts by directors including Chuck Jones, Friz Freleng, Bob Clampett, and Tex Avery are actively collected. Characters including Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Tweety, Sylvester, Wile E. Coyote, Road Runner, and Porky Pig all attract strong bidder interest. Multi-character cels with matching original backgrounds command the strongest prices.
Hanna-Barbera and Other Studios
Hanna-Barbera productions including The Flintstones, The Jetsons, Scooby-Doo, Yogi Bear, and Tom and Jerry attract active collector interest, particularly for cels with matching backgrounds. MGM theatrical cels, Jay Ward productions including Rocky and Bullwinkle, Rankin-Bass holiday special artwork, and early television animation production art round out the broader market.
Production Cels vs. Limited Edition Cels: What to Know Before You Sell Animation Artwork
Understanding the distinction between production and limited edition animation artwork is the first step in evaluating what you have.
Original Production Cels
Original production cels are the actual hand-painted acetate sheets used in the making of an animated film or television program. Each cel represents a single frame, painted by studio artists and photographed over a background. Production cels are inherently unique. Golden Age Disney production cels from Snow White, Pinocchio, Bambi, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and other classic features are the most valuable in the category. Setups with original matched or key master backgrounds are significantly more valuable than cels alone.
Limited Edition Cels and Sericels
Limited edition cels and sericels are commercially produced items created after the production of a film, authorized by the studio and sold through galleries. They are produced in numbered editions, often hand-signed by an artist or director, and come with certificates of authenticity. They were not used in the making of the film. Disney, Warner Bros., and Hanna-Barbera all produced extensive lines of limited edition cels in the 1980s and 1990s. Signed examples from key films and artists — particularly Chuck Jones and Carl Barks signatures — can achieve meaningful auction prices.
Disney Animation Artwork at Auction: The Most Valuable Category
Original Disney production cels and related artwork represent the pinnacle of the animation art market. The Walt Disney Studio’s Golden Age from 1937 through the 1960s produced some of the most visually stunning animation ever created, and the original artwork from this period is correspondingly rare, significant, and valuable.
The most sought-after Disney production cels come from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), Pinocchio (1940), Fantasia (1940), Bambi (1942), Cinderella (1950), Alice in Wonderland (1951), Peter Pan (1953), Lady and the Tramp (1955), and Sleeping Beauty (1959). Cels from Disney’s Renaissance period including The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and The Lion King have also become increasingly sought-after as nostalgia drives demand from a new generation of collectors.
Concept paintings, color key artwork, and background paintings by named Disney artists including Eyvind Earle, Mary Blair, and others command significant premiums over anonymous production pieces. Walt Disney-signed animation drawings and production cels are exceptionally rare and represent the highest tier of Disney animation collecting.
Courvoisier Gallery setups, which were special presentation arrangements of production cels with watercolor backgrounds produced and sold by the Courvoisier Gallery in San Francisco in the late 1930s and 1940s with Disney’s authorization, are among the most desirable Disney animation art items on the market.
Warner Bros. Animation: Looney Tunes Cels and Original Art
Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies production cels from the Golden Age represent the second major pillar of the animation art market. Directors including Chuck Jones, Friz Freleng, Bob Clampett, Robert McKimson, and Tex Avery produced some of the most critically acclaimed animated short films ever made, and original production cels from these films are actively collected.
Key Warner Bros. characters including Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Tweety and Sylvester, Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner, Elmer Fudd, Speedy Gonzales, Pepe Le Pew, and Yosemite Sam all attract collector interest. Multi-character cels from famous scenes and cels with matching original backgrounds command the strongest prices.
The Warner Bros. Gallery and Studio Store also produced extensive lines of limited edition signed cels and sericels beginning in the 1980s, many signed by Jones, Freleng, and others. These remain popular with collectors at accessible price points and represent an entry point for new animation art buyers.
Modern Television Animation Artwork at Auction: An Emerging Market
While Golden Age Disney and Warner Bros. cels remain the most established segment, original production artwork from modern television animation is increasingly sought after by a new generation of collectors. Shows that defined the childhoods of millennial and Gen Z audiences are now producing their first serious collector demand, and the window to acquire original production art from these series before it becomes scarce is open right now.
SpongeBob SquarePants, now more than 25 years old and one of the most successful animated television series ever produced, is at the leading edge of this trend. Original SpongeBob production drawings, animation sketches, and related studio art have begun appearing at auction and attracting serious collector attention. The same pattern applies to Nickelodeon productions including Rugrats, Hey Arnold, and Ren and Stimpy; Cartoon Network originals including Dexter’s Laboratory, The Powerpuff Girls, Samurai Jack, and Johnny Bravo; early Fox Animation including The Simpsons and Futurama; and Adult Swim productions. The Simpsons in particular, as the longest-running primetime animated series in television history, has a deep and serious collector base for original production cels, drawings, and artwork.
The market dynamic for modern television animation artwork is similar to what drove demand for Golden Age cels in the 1980s and 1990s: nostalgia reaching a financially capable generation, increasing scarcity as studios archive or discard production materials, and a growing awareness that this material has lasting cultural and monetary value.
Weiss Auctions is actively seeking consignments of original production artwork from modern animated television series. If you have original drawings, sketches, storyboards, or production materials from SpongeBob SquarePants, The Simpsons, Rugrats, or any other contemporary series, contact us for a free appraisal.
What Is Animation Artwork Worth? Auction Price Guide
Animation artwork values span an enormous range. A common limited edition serigraph from a minor film or character might sell for $50 to $200. A standard production cel from a Disney feature in average condition without a background might bring $500 to $2,000. Production cels from Golden Age Disney features in good condition with matching backgrounds regularly achieve $5,000 to $25,000 or more. Concept paintings and background art by named artists such as Eyvind Earle and Mary Blair have sold for $20,000 to $66,000. Carl Barks original oil paintings have exceeded $68,000. Exceptional pieces from the most important films and the most celebrated artists can reach significantly higher.
The most important factors in animation art value are: the studio and film of origin, the characters depicted, condition, whether an original production background accompanies the cel, the specific scene depicted, whether the piece is signed by an artist or director, and overall provenance.
If you have animation artwork and are not sure what it is or what it might be worth, contact us for a free, no-obligation appraisal. We can help identify production cels, limited editions, concept art, and more.
Why Sell Animation Artwork at Auction With Weiss Auctions?
Weiss Auctions has been handling animation artwork for over 40 years. We have sold original production cels, Carl Barks limited editions, Eyvind Earle prints, Mary Blair concept art, animation drawings, and related material across hundreds of sales. Our bidder base includes serious animation art collectors and Disney enthusiasts from across the United States and internationally.
Phil Weiss and Jordan Weiss are featured appraisers on PBS Antiques Roadshow. Phil, Jordan, and Matthew Weiss bring decades of combined expertise to every appraisal. Our competitive consignment rates and buyer’s premiums mean more money in your pocket as a seller. We handle everything from photography and cataloging to promotion and payment.
Whether you have a single cel inherited from a family member, a Carl Barks serigraph, a Mary Blair print, or an entire animation art collection, we can help. View our past auction highlights.
How the Consignment Process Works
Frequently Asked Questions
Selling Animation Artwork at Auction — Weiss Auctions
Where can I sell animation artwork at auction?
Weiss Auctions is a trusted venue to sell animation artwork at auction, handling original production cels, animation drawings, concept paintings, background art, limited edition cels, Carl Barks artwork, Eyvind Earle paintings, Mary Blair concept art, Chuck Jones signed pieces, Charles Schulz animation cels, and complete collections. Contact us at info@weissauctions.com or (516) 594-0731 for a free appraisal.
How do I know if my animation cel is an original production cel or a limited edition?
Original production cels are made of acetate and were used in the actual filming of the animation. They typically show slight paint wear and have irregular hand-painted character edges. Limited edition cels and sericels are commercially produced after the film, often numbered on the mat and with certificates of authenticity. If you are unsure, send us photos and Weiss Auctions will help identify your animation artwork for free.
How much is a Disney production cel worth at auction?
Disney production cel values range from a few hundred dollars for common pieces to $15,000 or more for Golden Age cels with matching backgrounds. Concept paintings and background art by Eyvind Earle and Mary Blair have sold for $20,000 to $66,000. The film, characters, condition, and whether an original background accompanies the cel are the key value drivers when you sell animation artwork at auction.
Where can I sell Carl Barks or Eyvind Earle artwork?
Weiss Auctions has a proven track record with Carl Barks artwork including signed limited edition serigraphs and lithographs, and with Eyvind Earle material including Sleeping Beauty concept paintings, color key art, and signed limited editions. Contact us for a free appraisal at info@weissauctions.com or (516) 594-0731.
Does Weiss Auctions sell Warner Bros. animation cels?
Yes. Weiss Auctions handles Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies production cels, limited edition signed cels, and signed artwork by Chuck Jones, Friz Freleng, and other directors, featuring characters including Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Wile E. Coyote, Road Runner, Tweety, and Porky Pig.
Does Weiss Auctions handle original artwork from modern animated TV shows like SpongeBob?
Yes. Weiss Auctions is actively seeking original production artwork from modern animated television series including SpongeBob SquarePants, The Simpsons, Rugrats, Futurama, The Powerpuff Girls, Dexter’s Laboratory, Samurai Jack, and other Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, and Fox Animation productions. This is an emerging area of the animation art auction market and we welcome consignments. Contact us for a free appraisal.
Can I sell a complete animation art collection at auction?
Yes. Weiss Auctions regularly handles complete animation art collections, inherited artwork, dealer inventory, and studio estate material. We can help identify key pieces, assess value, and determine the best auction strategy for your animation artwork. Contact us for a free, no-obligation appraisal.
What is the difference between a production cel and a sericel?
A production cel is an original acetate sheet hand-painted and used in the actual making of a film or television program. A sericel is a commercially produced limited edition item created after the film, screen-printed and typically numbered and sold through galleries. Original production cels are generally more valuable than sericels, though signed examples by major artists can achieve meaningful prices when you sell animation artwork at auction.
What are the consignment fees for animation art at Weiss Auctions?
Weiss Auctions offers competitive consignment rates and buyer’s premiums that are often lower than many major auction houses. Contact us for a personalized quote based on the value, type, and size of your consignment. All appraisals of animation artwork are free with no obligation to consign.
Ready to Sell Animation Artwork at Auction?
Weiss Auctions is actively seeking consignments of original production cels, animation drawings, concept paintings, Carl Barks artwork, Eyvind Earle paintings, Mary Blair art, Chuck Jones signed pieces, limited edition cels, modern television animation art, and complete collections. Free appraisals, no obligation, competitive rates, worldwide buyers.