Frank Frazetta‘s Conan is easily one of the greatest paintings ever created by the towering artist, standing as a definitive image of Robert E. Howard‘s barbarian adventurer – so it’s no surprise its upcoming sale is attracting huge bidding at Heritage Auctions.
As of this morning, bidding for was at $8,500,000. Expect that to rise before the auction ends on 12th September 2025.
Frazetta masterfully personified elements of the Howard’s now classic tales to create absolutely indelible images, none more so than in what’s now known as “Man Ape”, art that has subsequently been reproduced almost endlessly as a poster as well as comic book and book covers, showing off the dynamic composition and bold, inventive palette are Frazetta at his peak.
“Man Ape”s it was later known, was completed in 1966 and published as a cover for Conan, the fifth volume of the Lancer/Ace Books reprints, which were immediately a huge hit due in huge part to Frazetta’s powerful cover paintings. Beginning with this series the artist completely reinvented fantasy illustration for an entire generation.
Frazetta’s memorable covers went on to serve as the template for the pop culture figure, leading to the Marvel Comics book series and the later series of feature films.
It was fellow illustrator Roy Krenkel who guided the look of many of the Lancer covers.
“Frank has never been a reader,” he told Arnie Fener in interview, “and I had read all of the Conan stories so I talked to Lancer’s editor, Larry Shaw, found out what stories were going to be in which book, and made suggestions to Frank.
“They never really give the artist a manuscript to read, you know, just suggestions or maybe a synopsis, so I was able to give Frank some ideas…”
“This quintessential image of Robert E. Howard’s famed barbarian is easily one of the (if not the) most desirable of Frazetta’s Conan-related covers,” say Heritage, “and one of the small handful of greatest paintings ever created by the towering artist.
“The Conan paintings serves as the lightning bolt of an opening – and in our minds most important and revolutionary – salvo. This imagery defined the character and was instrumental in making the Conan resurgence of the late 1960s a mass market success.”
“[Frazetta] frequently brought up his emphasis on creating movement through an image, which both leads the eye to the focal point and provides a visual narrative that continues to resonate after multiple viewings – a key to the artist’s enduring popularity and acclaim and as aspect perhaps more evident in this painting than any ever created throughout his storied oeuvre. The blood red of the creature’s cape is a brilliant device that lodges the image into a viewer’s mind, one that is never forgotten.”
“This painting by Frank Frazetta is one of the most recognisable and iconic images of Conan the Cimmerian”, according to noted Robert E. Howard historian Mark Finn, who went on to say, “This scene is from the story ‘Rogues in the House’ wherein Conan fights the man-ape Thak.”
Created in oil on a 16″ x 20″ canvas wrapped board. Open-front framed to 22.5″ x 26.5″. The piece is signed and noted “© 74” in the mid-to-lower left. The reverse side of the board is dated “Nov. 1967”, which looks to be a production notation from a publisher
Head downthetubes for…
• Tellers of the Well: Conan and The Lancer Artists
• Those Were Books! (The Lancer Conan Series) by Gary Romeo
• Muddy Colors: A Little Frazetta Conan History
An archive interview with illustrators Roy Krenkel and Frank Frazetta talking about Frank’s first Conan paperback cover. Read how Krenkel, in discussion with Frazetta, took a knife to Conan’s head!
• Pay a visit to the Frazetta Girls website, which is owned and operated by Frank’s granddaughter, Sara Frazetta
- About the Author
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John is the founder of downthetubes, launched in 1998. He is a comics and magazine editor, writer, and Press Officer for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He also runs Crucible Comic Press.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine and Overkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.
He’s the writer of comics such as Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs”, with Dave Hailwood.
Categories: Art and Illustration, Auctions, Comics, downthetubes Comics News, downthetubes News, Other Worlds, US Comics
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