Market Changes for Animation Art Cels : Auctions: Recent L.A. and N.Y. sales show top prices falling but there is a hike in mid-price purchases.

Recent auctions of artwork from animated films in Los Angeles and New York City indicate that top prices are falling but that the number of buyers for mid-priced works is increasing.

Monday night, at an auction at the Burbank Hilton, the highest prices were paid for three cel and background set-ups from Disney features: Snow White kissing Dopey goodby at the end of “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” (1937) brought $22,000, well within its pre-sale estimate of $20,000 to $30,000; Cinderella surrounded by the mice from the 1950 film sold for $19,800, slightly below the estimate of $20,000 to $30,000; and Bambi standing in a snow bank from the 1942 film fetched $15,950, somewhat above its estimated price of $9,000 to $13,000.

All but 20 of the 271 lots sold, for a total of $509,630.

The Burbank sale followed the pattern set at a Nov. 28 auction at Christie’s East in New York, with the exception of gaveled prices versus estimates. A cel and background of Alice talking with the Caterpillar from the 1951 Walt Disney feature “Alice in Wonderland,” sold for $82,500, twice the pre-sale estimate of $30,000 to $40,000. A cel and background set-up of Mickey and Minnie Mouse from the 1935 short “On Ice” brought $46,200--eight times its estimate of $5,000 to $7,000, but a set-up of Mickey leading the musicians from the 1935 classic cartoon “The Band Concert” sold for $55,000, matching the presale estimate of $50,000 to $60,000. Of the 349 lots offered, more than 80% found buyers, for a sale total of $1,035,925.

The sale prices represent a substantial decline from May, 1988, when a buyer at Christie’s paid $286,000 and $181,500 for two cel and background set-ups from the 1934 black-and-white Disney cartoon “Orphan’s Benefit.”

“We’re getting good, strong prices in all areas of the market,” said Joshua Arfer, director of animation and collectibles at Christie’s. “Some prices might have been exceptionally high in the past because certain collectors were willing to go higher to get certain items for their collections, but we started getting more realistic prices about a year ago.”

“More people are moving into the middle ground,” said dealer Howard Lowery, who conducted Monday night’s auction. “They start out with pieces that may sell for a few hundred dollars, then, as they become more knowledgeable, they expand their collections with pieces in the $2,000-to-$5,000 range. I think Monday night’s sale indicates that despite bad news and a leveling off in prices, people want to continue building collections of animation art.”

Other sales scheduled: On Wednesday, Lowery’s Burbank gallery will host the first American exhibit and sale of artwork from the Will Vinton Studio, the creators of the commercials featuring the animated clay figures of the California Raisins. The exhibition will include cels from the Saturday-morning television series starring the Raisins ($70 to $240), limited-edition sculptures ($890 to $2,950) and clay figures that appeared in some of Vinton’s films ($2,500 to $10,000).

On Dec. 15, Sotheby’s will auction 283 lots of cels and backgrounds from the 1989 Disney hit “The Little Mermaid” in New York. Estimated prices range from $1,000 to $1,500 for images of the minor characters, Scuttle and Flounder, to $10,000 to $15,000 for a three-cel and background set-up of Eric and Ariel driving through the forest.