PRESS RELEASE
Nearly 400 lots of Prince Valiant artwork from the estate of illustrator John Cullen Murphy will be auctioned by Nate D. Sanders Auctions on March 31, 2022.
Murphy was handpicked by creator Hal Foster to continue Val’s epic journey of adventure, romance and bravery. Never before have so many lots of original Prince Valiant art been available at auction, ranging from preliminary sketches by Hal Foster, to full-page strips by John Cullen Murphy from the 1970s to 2000s. The result is a feast for the eyes and heart, the grand illustrations that Prince Valiant is known for, coupled with the characters and tales that have captivated millions of fans around the world.
“Prince Valiant is the most continuous and beloved adventure strip of all-time, said auction owner Nate Sanders,” “This is an extraordinary opportunity to choose amongst the largest collection of Prince Valiant art ever to be available to the public.”
Prince Valiant in the Days of King Arthur was created by Hal Foster in 1937. Widely known as Prince Valiant, the epic comic strip has told an ongoing narrative during its entire run to the present. It has appeared in more than 4,000 Sunday strips. The strip is featured in more than 300 American newspapers and is distributed by King Features Syndicate.
Murphy was a successful magazine illustrator in the 1940s before he illustrated a boxing strip Big Ben Bolt in 1950. In 1970, Foster suffered from arthritis and tried several artists to replace him. He hired Murphy as a contributor to the strip in 1971. Murphy worked on Prince Valiant until 2004. He passed away four months after his retirement.
Additional information on the John Cullen Murphy collection can found at:
https://natedsanders.com/catalog.aspx
