Urania & Finarte

First-Ever Auction Dedicated Lord of the Rings Art Held in Italy by Urania & Finarte

On December 14, 2022,  the first-ever auction exclusively dedicated to the art of The Lord of the Rings was held in Italy by Urania & Finarte. The Lord of the Rings fans and collectors could bid on and view paintings, illustrations, and drawings by major international artists who have lent their talents to J. R. R. Tolkien’s work since the 1960s. Artworks by Tim Kirk, David Wenzel, Omar Rayyan, Angelo Montanini, Ralph Bakshi, Stephen Hickman, Philippe Munch, Alan Lee, Greg and Tim Hildebrandt, Roger Garland, Ted Nasmith, and many others were put together in an extensive catalog. Michelucci Luca, The Anger of the Mountain, 1998. Image courtesy of Urania & Finarte. The sale started with The Anger of the Mountain, created by Luca Michelucci in 1998. It was the highest-estimated lot in the sale (lot #0065; estimate EUR 9,500 - €15,000 / USD 10,200 - $16,000) but failed to sell. It was an original illustration on thin cardboard, signed and dated by Michelucci. The painting depicts the fellowship of the ring descending in dismay, defeated by the mountain of Caradhras and its natural power. It was published, for the first time, as the cover of the famous J. R. R. Tolkien Calendar in 1999. Luca Michelucci illustrated several Italian Lord of the Rings calendars in the late 1990s and produced cover art for several comic books. Recreation made by Tim Kirk of Two Orcs, published in the J. R. R. Tolkien Calendar 1975 by Ballantine Books in 1975. Image courtesy of Urania & Finarte. The highest hammer price in the sale was for Tim Kirk’s Two Orcs (lot #0048; EUR 3,200 / USD 3,430). It was a 2009 pencil, ink, and watercolor on cardboard, a recreation of Kirk’s famous 1975 painting of the same title published in the J. R. R. Tolkien Calendar 1975 by Ballantine Books. The depicted scene of two Orcs is from The Return of the King. Kirk was the winner and nominee of the Hugo Award for Best Fan Artist from 1970 to 1976. With Ken Keller, Kirk co-designed the first cold-cast resin base used for…