Charles Martignette was a major collector of illustrations, especially pin-ups. Yesterday, his collection of 4,000 works went on sale in Dallas, according to the Huffington Post‘s Reyne Haines:

Up for bid are a variety of works such as original illustrations for the cover of the Saturday Evening Post to paintings used as the cover of calendars and paperback books.

It has been said this is the most important collection of illustration art to ever become available on the market at one time. In 2002, Illustration Art began reaching prices at auction never seen before. Norman Rockwells “Rosie The Riveter” painting sold for $4.9 million dollars.

Martignette was a very savvy buyer. He had a great eye, and new the art of negotiating a deal.
He began collecting art in the 1970s from his home in Florida. He was known for being cheap. While owning an important art collection, he was known for shopping for clothing at thrift stores.

The above Gil Elvgren A Near Miss sold for $143,400 topped only by Joseph Christian Lyendecker’s diptych which made $155,350. The top five lots brought in over $500,000 and

Collector’s Unique Art to Bring $20 million+ (Huffington Post)