The painting has been in the possession of Frazetta’s family since it was created in 1969. The image has graced multiple comic book covers, paperback novels, posters and album covers. Over the past 50 years, other artists have created their own versions of the painting in tribute to the important fantasy work.
“Egyptian Queen is quite possibly the most popular painting Frank Frazetta ever did,” Heritage Auctions Vice President Todd Hignite said. “His paintings single-handedly sold hundreds of thousands of books and scores of wildly popular posters, reinventing and massively expanding the entire field of fantasy illustration. It is an iconic image, masterfully painted, and is without a doubt the most desirable work of art by the artist to ever be auctioned.”
The painting is the headline lot in Heritage Auctions’ Comic & Comic Art Auction on May 16 – 18 in Chicago. Current online bidding is $2.2 M. There are three other lots of Frazetta work listed as part of this auction: Jaguar God #2 Cover Painting Original Art, Science Fiction Book Club Advertising Painting Original Art, and Harvey Kurtzman, Bill Elder, Frank Frazetta, and Jack Davis Playboy July 1965 Little Annie Fanny “Surfers” Page 3 Original Art.