Animation art is serious business:

Cels still sell, but today's animation art market is open for interpretation--and events, lots of events.

Galleries and publishers agree that demand for hand-painted celluloids (cels) is yielding to a greater demand for interpretive and illustrative fine-art originals and reproductions. The high-energy promotional events are also important ingredients for remaining successful in a highly competitive market with a limited, yet loyal, collector base.

Evolutionary, Not Revolutionary

Nearly two decades have passed since Disney's last "traditionally" animated film ("The Little Mermaid," 1989), says Heidi Leigh, owner of Animazing Gallery in New York's SoHo neighborhood.

Leigh says animation art has evolved into the world of CGI (computer-generated imagery). The evolution has caused Animazing to change from an exclusive animation art gallery destination to a store that combines traditional animation cels, ranging in price up to $40,000 for a "Lady and the Tramp" cel, to "fine art that is fun," such as interpretive "Peanuts" paintings by Tom Everhart and the "Secret Art" of Dr. Seuss and 3-D artist David Kracov.

"Even with all the computer-generated art, a great majority of concept, layout and story board art is still done by hand," says Sean McLain, co-president of Acme Archives, Burbank, CA. "As a result of this move to computer graphic production, we have found a new type of artist evolving; an individual as talented with a [digitizing] tablet and software as they are with a brush and canvas." McLain says Acme will add to its Studio Fine Art Programs for Twentieth Century Fox, Cartoon Network and Lucasfilm, a new Walt Disney Studio Art Program, in 2007.

When Collectors Editions began its Disney Fine Art program in 2002, Helen Tu, Collectors Editions' director of national sales, remembers the reaction as being less than enthusiastic. Tu says at the time, animation art galleries didn't understand the market for paintings and giclees.

Today, Collectors Editions has about 50 Disney fine art galleries in 15 to 20 states with strong representation on both coasts. "What makes our program so successful is that unlike animation cels, which are locked into one scene and one moment in time, the viewer is seeing an image that is reminiscent of a scene as an artist's interpretation."

Animation art revving up

Animation art isn't just kids' stuff. In January, an animation cel from Disney's "Fantasia" sold at American Royal Arts for $65,000. In February, a cel from "101 Dalmations," inscribed to John F. Kennedy, Jr., and signed by Walt Disney, sold at Sotheby's for $61,000.

In the '60s, a tourist could pick up a cel in Disneyland for as little as $5, but those days are long gone. Prices for rare vintage cels have shot up to as much as $498,000.

"There's been a tremendous shift in the industry" says Heidi Leigh, owner of Animazing Gallery, New York, commenting on escalating prices, increasing sales, and major market changes affecting animation art.

"Not everyone agrees that [animation art] is fine art, but they all recognize it is a lost art form."

Disney's last hand-animated movie, "The Little Mermaid," came out in 1989--16 years ago. Subsequently, Disney released "Toy Story" (1995), a Pixar movie done with 3-D computer imaging. Now all animated features and practically all cartoons--from the "Simpsons" to "Spongebob Squarepants"--are digitally created.

Thus, the age of original, hand-painted production cels is over. With no new production cels being made and the supply of vintage cels dwindling, the public is taking a second look, and gaining new respect, for this remarkable American art form.

Animation Art Pavilion debuts

For the first time in the 25-year history of Artexpo New York, a pavilion will be devoted entirely to the art of the animated film. In one pavilion, the leading publishers, distributors and representatives of this art genre will be exhibited together. The art of the animated film has been exhibited in museum and gallery venues around the world, including New York's Museum of Modern Art and the American Museum of the Moving Image. Other institutions which have hosted major exhibitions of the art and animated film are the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, The Capital Children's Museum and the Museum of the Moving Image in London.

The Animation Art Pavilion will be host to the work of the major film studios' most significant animated film artists and creators. Included will be work by Ralph Bakshi, Bob Clampett, Jim David, Walt Disney, Matt Groening and Chuck Jones. Studios represented will be Disney, MGM, 20th Century Fox, Warner Bros. and Universal.

Exhibitors currently include Acme Archives (www.acmearchives.com), American Royal Arts www.americanroy-alarts.com), Animated Animations (www.animatedanimations.com), Animazing Gallery (www.animazing.com), Choice Collectibles (www.choicecollectibles.com), Clampett Studio Collections (www.clampettstudio.com) and Linda Jones Enterprises (www.chuckjones.com)

Plans for the pavilion during the five-day festival may include ink & paint demonstrations, artist signings and seminars hosted by leading authorities in the field of animation art.