This Batman Painting Is Worth $173,000
Mel Ramos is a well-known and respected artist in the field of pop art and advertising, and has been working steadily for decades. His work mostly to consist of nude women integrated with well-known brands in some way such as a nude woman laying on top of a giant Toblerone bar rising up out of a can of Campbell’s chicken soup.
Mel Ramos also really likes painting superheros, specifically early takes on classic DC characters such as Batman, Catwoman and the Joker. In fact, his work painting superheroes early in his career are widely considered what helped him breakout as an artist in the early 1960s.
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One such painting of Batman himself, entitled “A Sinister Figure Lurks in The Dark”, which you can see in the featured image, recently sold at auction for a fairly impressive $173,000 by Heritage Auctions Wednesday in New York City. The painting was in the possession of Bill Steinfelt of California, which he’s had ever since a 1962 trade with the then-undiscovered artist. Granted, there’s art that sells for millions all the time, but this is a pretty high price for a painting of a superhero.
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What would Batman/Bruce Wane think of such a painting? Would he buy a painting of himself? I think he would accept such a painting as a gift. However traditionally Batman kind of shuns any kind of spotlight (unless we are talking 1960s TV Batman), so I doubt he’d buy it for himself. However that’s a nice chunk of change for Mr. Steinfelt. You can check out more of Mel Ramos’ work at his website, but as you may have guessed b the fact he mostly paints nudes, it’s NSFW, so be forewarned.
h/t Comicbook.com