For $26K, You Could Have Owned This Dune Painting

[vansau]

For $26K, You Could Have Owned This Dune Painting

Just how much does the original cover artwork for Dune go for these days? A lot more money than many people make in a year.

If you're a die-hard Frank Herbert fan, then odds are that you're familiar with the image pictured at right. If you haven't seen it before, this is the original 11 x 15-inch watercolor painting that acclaimed sci-fi illustrator <a href=http://www.embracingthechild.org/aschoenherr.html>John Schonherr created for the ACE paperback first printing of Dune. Back when it was first commissioned, the illustration probably earned a decent fee, but it seems unlikely that it was worth nearly as much as the price it just fetched at an auction: $26,000.

The painting was sold at Heritage Auction Galleries; pre-auction estimates concluded that the image would net somewhere between $10,000 and $15,000. Needless to say, that estimate was clearly blown out of the water. Internet bidding drove the price up to roughly $19,000 before the live portion of the auction began, and the winning bid totaled $26,290.

Schoenherr's artwork was well-known to the sci-fi community: Aside from providing the cover illustrations for the hardcover and paperback editions of Dune (as well as the serializations of the novel for Analog - the magazine the story first appeared in), the painter also won a Caldecott medal for his illustration of Dragonflight and his 1975 cover of Analog is cited as a major influence on the design of Chewbacca.

I'm not going to lie: If I had a ton of cash just lying around, I'd be pretty tempted to pick up an iconic piece of science fiction art like this. Sadly, I don't, so I think I'll stick to matting my 1980s comic books and sticking them on my wall instead.

Source: io9

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[Jandau]

While normally I'd be all over paintings of my favourite books, not this one. It looks like a giant penis in the desert, with some people marveling at the size of the penis that is protruding out of the sand. I'm guessing it's supposed to be a sandworm, but the artist seems to have caught it at a bad angle, resulting in a penis...

 

[Dimitriov]

While normally I'd be all over paintings of my favourite books, not this one. It looks like a giant penis in the desert, with some people marveling at the size of the penis that is protruding out of the sand. I'm guessing it's supposed to be a sandworm, but the artist seems to have caught it at a bad angle, resulting in a penis...

It just looks like an out-cropping of rock to me...

Also I would totally have bought this if I had that kind of money.

 

[vansau]

Nice painting.

Anyway, Dune fans... What's the best way to pick up Dune? I've never read it, never watched it, never played it, just heard about it.

I couldn't get into the books, but I loved the original miniseries that Sci-Fi did back in 2000.

 

[Albino Boo]

Nice painting.

Anyway, Dune fans... What's the best way to pick up Dune? I've never read it, never watched it, never played it, just heard about it.

Personally I would start with the first book Dune, trying to come in with the later books will just leave you scratching your head and going eh a lot. The TV miniseries of the 1st two books wasn't bad, but it tended towards the the straight goodies and baddies interpretation. The books are much more ambiguous in there morality. The 1980s film, though visually stunning, has the plot changed too much and doesn't quite work. The films cast, in my view, is stronger. The games invented the RTS genera, I was Zerging dune buggies before there were Zergs, but there have been much better RTS games since.

 

[CAPTCHA]

Nice painting.

Anyway, Dune fans... What's the best way to pick up Dune? I've never read it, never watched it, never played it, just heard about it.

Read the first three books and stop there. After that they go "snooker loopy". If you don't feel like reading all three books, just read the first then watch the TV mini series "Children of Dune". It stays pretty close to the books (2&3) and is a decent production. Avoid the "Dune" mini series though, unless your a fan of Pantomine.

 

[Rawne1980]

Nice painting.

Anyway, Dune fans... What's the best way to pick up Dune? I've never read it, never watched it, never played it, just heard about it.

Amazon.

Has the book and the movie.

The movie was released in 1984 though so don't be expecting a massive special effects extravaganza.

 

[Gxas]

Chewbaca

I hate to do this... But Chewbacca has three C's in total.
(Sorry...)

OT: That painting belongs in my future house. It's beautiful.

 

[Antari]

I love Dune and all, but 26k is a bit much. I'm sure whoever paid it will certainly enjoy it. Hopefully it ends up in a museum/gallery collection.

 

[Skeleon]

Pretty. But definitely not worth 26K bucks.
Just get a reprint or something for the same nostalgia value. In fact, I'm saving that picture right now. There.

Loved Dune, by the way, up to including the fourth book. The last two, while still somewhat enjoyable, were a bit... weird to me. The first four just had a lot more political intrigue and awesomeness going on. Plus, I don't like open endings.

I guess I could go ahead and read some of the other works, such as the ones by Frank Herbert's sons which are supposedly based on his ideas if I remember correctly, but I didn't get around to it yet. Anybody know how good the other Dune works apart from the original six are?

Anyway, Dune fans... What's the best way to pick up Dune? I've never read it, never watched it, never played it, just heard about it.

See above, I recommend the first four books. They are a nice, long read with a proper ending to it. With book five, things start going a bit weird. Plus, it seemed to me like it was supposed to be the beginning of a new series of sorts. With book four, the loose ends from the first three books are tied up, books five and six open new ones up.

 

[Eleima]

Nice painting.
Anyway, Dune fans... What's the best way to pick up Dune? I've never read it, never watched it, never played it, just heard about it.

Don't listen to what other people said. Each and every Dune book (the "real" Dune books, the six ones Frank Herbert wrote before his death in 1986) is worth reading, *even* the last ones. I absolutely loved Heretics of Dune and Chapterhouse: Dune, even though it is true that leave unanswered questions.
Don't even bother with the tripe his unworthy son Brian Herbert wrote with his buddy Kevin J. Anderson, it's full of inconsistencies, and the writing is sub par. It's in stark contrast with the rich universe Frank Herbert wrote, a universe which dealt with commerce, religion, politics, ecology, and prescience. If you ever manage to get your hands on it, try and take a gander at the Dune Encyclopedia. It's the physical proof of how rich his world is.

Back on topic, I so wish I had had 30K to spend on this. I really, really, really do... *sigh* I still have my copy of Dune, the one which featured this piece of art. A paperback, dog eared copy with yellowed pages which has lovingly been read and reread so many times...

 

[ACman]

While normally I'd be all over paintings of my favourite books, not this one. It looks like a giant penis in the desert, with some people marveling at the size of the penis that is protruding out of the sand. I'm guessing it's supposed to be a sandworm, but the artist seems to have caught it at a bad angle, resulting in a penis...

What KIND of penises have you been seen? Looks like an alien rock to me.

 

[Falseprophet]

Nice painting.

Anyway, Dune fans... What's the best way to pick up Dune? I've never read it, never watched it, never played it, just heard about it.

Read the first three books and stop there. After that they go "snooker loopy". If you don't feel like reading all three books, just read the first then watch the TV mini series "Children of Dune". It stays pretty close to the books (2&3) and is a decent production. Avoid the "Dune" mini series though, unless your a fan of Pantomine.

I concur with Djinn8. Although I like the costuming from the Dune mini-series; it's a good take on what a decadent, galaxy-spanning feudal empire might look like without descending into Flash Gordon silliness.

And Book 4, God-Emperor of Dune, has a decent plot. Unfortunately, the plot comprises about 50 pages and is buried among 300 pages of pseudo-philosophy.

If audiobooks are your thing, Macmillian Audio released really excellent editions of all the Dune [http://us.macmillan.com/dune] books a few years ago, including a full voice cast for key chapters.

 

[Lionsfan]

Really wish I had enough money for that. It would look awesome in just about any room; and I'm forever grateful my cousin recommended this to my aunt for books I might like. Otherwise I might have never picked them up.

Don't listen to what other people said. Each and every Dune book (the "real" Dune books, the six ones Frank Herbert wrote before his death in 1986) is worth reading, *even* the last ones. I absolutely loved Heretics of Dune and Chapterhouse: Dune, even though it is true that leave unanswered questions.

While all the originals are good, I'd have to agree with one of the posters, they feel like the start of a newer series. But still excellent books, if only he hadn't died.

Don't even bother with the tripe his unworthy son Brian Herbert wrote with his buddy Kevin J. Anderson, it's full of inconsistencies, and the writing is sub par. It's in stark contrast with the rich universe Frank Herbert wrote, a universe which dealt with commerce, religion, politics, ecology, and prescience. If you ever manage to get your hands on it, try and take a gander at the Dune Encyclopedia. It's the physical proof of how rich his world is.

Agreed, the books are horrible, cheaply written, and it seems like they were written only to make a cash in profit

 

[rda_Highlander]

Culture is yet to create a creature of badassness comparable to GIANT DESERT WORMS, apart from the people who MOUNT them.

 

[Draconalis]

I'm not old enough to remember this art work, but it is nice.

 

[winter2]

They dun'e goofed..

hnf hnf hnf