DALLAS – Frank Frazetta’s “The Princess of Mars” sold for $1.2 million, including premium, at Heritage Auctions’ September 10-13 Comics & Comic Art sale. The firm called it “one of the most identifiable and influential pieces of the artist’s stories career.”

The auction house said, “The painting… was one of two Frazetta made for the cover of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ A Princess of Mars, which Doubleday republished as hardback in 1970. Frazetta sent the first take to the publisher, and was so enamored and proud of the piece, he immediately began painting another for his own collection, which remained with the family following his death in 2010. It was clear how much Frazetta adored the piece because of the small details included in the second version not visible in the first. Friends and family said Frazetta liked the second painting better than the one filling fantasy readers’ bookshelves.”

More than 600 people were watching the lot on the auction house’s platform as it made its way to the final price. It is the third highest auction result for the artist and all have been set with Heritage Auctions. Watch for a full review in a future issue.