Bill Watterson’s rendering of Petey Otterloop sold for more than $13,000 at auction Sunday night. (courtesy of BILL WATTERSON / Team Cul de Sac 2011 )
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BILL WATTERSON’s FIRST widely viewed new art in 16 years sold for $13,145 late Sunday night as part of the Team Cul de Sac charity, according to Dallas-based Heritage Auctions.
The oil-on-board painting by Watterson — who retired his legendary strip “Calvin and Hobbes” in 1995 — received the highest bid (including buyer’s premium) among the more than 100 original works donated for Team Cul de Sac, which is working with the Michael J. Fox Foundation to raise funds for Parkinson’s research.
“Cul de Sac” creator Richard Thompsonand web designer/editor Chris Sparks launched Team Cul de Sac in January 2011, after Thompson announced he has Parkinson’s. The project’s companion book hit shelves and online shopping-carts Tuesday (Comic Riffs’ reprinted profile of Thompson is included in the book.).
Watterson told Comic Riffs about this interpretation of “Cul de Sac’s” Petey Otterloop last year: “I thought it might be funny to paint Petey ‘seriously,’ as if this were the actual boy Richard hired as a model for his character.”
Artworks by “Mutts” creator Patrick McDonnell , “Pearls Before Swine” creator Stephan Pastis , artist R. Sikoryak and, of course, Thompson himself received some of the highest bids.
Nearly $50,000 total was raised from the online sale, the auction house said.
[THE POST MAGAZINE PROFILE: In “Cul de Sac,” Richard Thompson comes through with flying colors].
