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Carl Barks Art

Home | ART (originals and prints) | Carl Barks Art

Carl Barks (1901 - 2000)
Known as the "Good Duck Artist" for his work on Donald Duck in the days before artists were credited. He drew his first duck story Donald Duck Finds Pirate Gold in 1942 after leaving the Walt Disney studios where he worked as an in-betweener. Barks is now recognised as one of the greatest ever comic book artists, and amongst many others was responsible for the Adventures of Uncle Scrooge and Scrooge McDuck, the world's richest duck. He retired in 1965, but continued to produce paintings and lithographs on commission, with the secondary market in his early lithographs being very active. His originals occasionally surface at major auctions at Sotheby's and Christies and fetch thousands of dollars.

See also our Carl Barks books.

An Embarrassment of Riches (Signed) (Limited Edition)
(Ref: BarksEmbar)

Artist: Carl Barks

Medium: Numbered Limited edition Lithograph print on Acid-free Paper

Size: 20" x 16" (508mm x 406mm)

Date: 1983

Signature: Signed by Artist

Description: Carl Barks' An Embarrassment of Riches is a lithograph limited to two editions, one of 395 signed and numbered copies, plus a final bon-a-tirer trial proof, six artist's proofs and 14 publisher's proofs, produced on 20" x 24" Buckeye Ltd. paper with a 16" x 20" image area.

Buckeye Ltd. is a sturdy 90 lb. stock with a neutral pH factor. It is constructed of 100% cotton fiber to give it strength and longevity, is acid free to resist the ravages of time, and has alkaline buffering to counteract the effects of acids normally present in the environment. It has exceptional ink holdout for quality and consistency in color reproduction.

This lithograph has had no prior editions and will have none in the future. There are no unsigned or unnumbered copies. All printing plates have been permanently scarred to prevent future use and are being kept for historical purposes in the Walt Disney Archives.

An Embarrassment of Riches is the second Carl Barks lithograph produced by Another Rainbow Publishing. It was printed by Alan Lithograph of Los Angeles.

Our Price: £2,250.00 ($3,600.00) (€2.475,00)

The Stone That Turns All Metals Gold (Signed) (Limited Edition)
(Ref: BarksStone)

Artist: Carl Barks

Medium: Numbered Limited edition Lithograph print on Acid-free Paper

Size: 16" x 20" (406mm x 508mm)

Date: 1991

Signature: Signed by Artist

Description: Carl Barks' legendary 1955 comic book story, "The Fabulous Philosopher's Stone," tells of the fantasticatillionaire, Uncle Scrooge Me Duck, who researches a myth in ancient books of bygone pagan kings and an alchemist who fused four metals into a ball of mother-of-gold, thereby making a true Philosopher's Stone that - by touch - turns all base metals into pure gold! The lure of such an unlimited source of gold tempts Scrooge to try to find the Stone.

Nephews Donald Duck and Huey, Dewey and Louie assist their miserly old Uncle in a quest or riches that takes them from the Black Forest of Germany to the Mideast and finally into the labyrinth of the bestial Minotaur on the island of Crete, where they find the famous Stone in the throne room of fabled King Minos. The exact moment of their discovery is captured in The Stone That Turns All Metals Gold, an oil painting finished by the Old Duck Man in his 90th year (36 years after the original appearance of the comic book story).

The Stone That Turns All Metals Gold is the seventeenth Walt Disney oil painting by Barks to be reproduced in the continuing full-size, limited edition lithograph series. Printed by the Black Box in Chicago, in an image measuring 20" x 16" on 25 ½” x 21" paper, it is available in a limited Edition of 350 copies.

Our Price: £895.00 ($1,432.00) (€984,50)

Dangerous Discovery (Signed) (Limited Edition)
(Ref: BarksDangerous)

Artist: Carl Barks

Medium: Numbered Limited edition Lithograph print on Acid-free Paper

Size: 20" x 16" (508mm x 406mm)

Date: 1993

Signature: Signed by Artist

Description: Mythology meets fiction: Carl Barks' inspired 1974 oil rendering, Dangerous Discovery, portrays the Donald Duck clan-including patriarch Uncle Scrooge McDuck and the nephews Huey, Dewey and Louie-in the fabled cave of Ali Baba, astonished at the priceless treasures their torchlights have just revealed, but yet unaware of the menace lurking in deep shadows.

The roc - a huge, legendary Arabian bird of prey so powerful it is reputed to be able to carry off elephants to feed its young - is awake, alert and ready to fend off (and perhaps eat) all intruders!

The twentieth release in a series of full-size, signed and numbered lithographs produced by Another Rainbow from paintings by Barks, Dangerous Discovery, is a limited signed edition of 350 copies printed with eleven (11) brilliant and clear screenless lithography full-plate and touchplate colours by the Black Box of Chicago. The image area is 16" x 20" on 21 1/2" x 25" Opalesque Keramique, a sturdy and substantial acid-free paper.

Our Price: £795.00 ($1,272.00) (€874,50)

Nobody's Spending Fool (Signed) (Limited Edition)
(Ref: BarksNobody)

Artist: Carl Barks

Medium: Numbered Limited edition Lithograph print on Acid-free Paper

Size: 20" x 16" (508mm x 406mm)

Date: 1997

Signature: Signed by Artist

Description: Uncle Scrooge began his fortune in the Klondike during its famous gold rush days, digging precious metal from the frozen and unyielding earth. But unlike most of the others who moiled for gold, Scrooge bypassed the businesses that had cropped up to part "spending fools" from their money and elected instead to hoard his wealth.

Nobody's Spending Fool is a full-size lithograph created from Carl Barks' renowned oil painting and is the twenty-fourth lithograph in a series of limited, full-size, signed and numbered prints from an edition of 350 produced by Another Rainbow.

It is taken from chronological Disney oil #81, painted by Carl Barks in mid-summer, 1974. It pictures Scrooge as a young miner, as he was in Dawson City in 1897 - exactly 100 years ago from the year of this release! (note the bulletin board that has scrawled on it, "Scrooge Go Home!").

Our Price: £1,295.00 ($2,072.00) (€1.424,50)

Visitor From The Underground (Signed) (Limited Edition)
(Ref: BarksVisitor)

Artist: Carl Barks

Medium: Numbered Limited edition Lithograph print on Acid-free Paper

Size: 10" x 8" (254mm x 203mm)

Date: 1991

Signature: Signed by Artist

Description: Visitor From Underground was Another Rainbow’s first Carl Barks money bin lithograph -- large-size or miniature -- in eight years when it was released in 1991. It was an instant success and quickly sold out. It was also the only miniature money bin litho.

In The Fine Art of Walt Disney’s Donald Duck by Carl Barks, a slip-cased coffee table book, Barks historian Barbara Boatner wrote the following text about Carl’s painting and what was happening in a Visitor From Underground: “Worse than the Beagle Boys are little varmints that nibble thousand-dollar bills or squirrel away round, shiny objects … but Scrooge’s helpers are too tired from a long day in the south forty to even notice an intruder. “In the center of the painting is one of Scrooge’s many lanterns, which, Barks explains, the old miser used ‘because he owned all those oil wells. He wouldn’t pay an electric bill when he could light his money with some very cheap kerosene that he already owned … unless, of course, he owned the electric company, too.’ The money bin scenes, Barks continues, are popular in part ‘because they give people the feeling of looking right into the source of all the wealth in the world.’ For the ducks who have to till Scrooge’s fields, though, the three cubic acres of cash act mainly as a mild soporific. “In the fall of 1973, shortly after the sale of this painting, its current (and present) owner gathered with the Barks and several others at the nearby home of a friend. Late in the evening Carl got the collector off to the side and confided -- with a twinkle in his eye -- that ‘Visitor From Underground' isn’t the real name of that painting. I just put that title on there because I had to call it something. Its real name is, When the **** Hit the Fan.’

Obviously, a story for posterity. Visitor From Underground and text about the painting are printed as a double-page spread in the Fine Art Book (plate 41, pages 150-151, chronological number 51, Barks’ 12th oil painting from 1973). Visitor From Underground was printed in continuous tone by the Black Box of Chicago and is a limited signed edition of 595.

Our Price: £995.00 ($1,592.00) (€1.094,50)

Sixty Years of Quacking (Signed) (Limited Edition)
(Ref: BarksSixty)

Artist: Carl Barks

Medium: Numbered Limited edition Lithograph print on Acid-free Paper

Size: 7" x 9" (178mm x 229mm)

Date: 1994

Signature: Signed by Artist

Description: “Hi, I’m Donald Duck!” is quite special for a number of reasons. If one were to overlook a faint shakiness from the hand of the Old Duck Man, this image could be blown up to a vertical, twenty-four sheet billboard and the whole world would salute as they passed by, chanting in unison, “This is the definitive Donald Duck! May he live to be six thousand years old!” When it was duplicated into a fine art bone china porcelain by the masters at Connoisseur of Malvern, an English ceramics studio, the sculptor had to return to his modelling several times just to get the stance and “bone structure” of the duck right: a deceptively difficult task.

Any artist who has tried to draw the duck runs into the same problems. Donald Duck may be anthropomorphic -- talking and acting like a human being -- but, nonetheless, he’s a duck… walks like one, originally talked like one (in animation), is built like one and stands like a duck! Just study the figure closely: notice how the head and neck connect -- not like a man -- and how the legs come out of his feathered torso -- not like a man! Carl Barks’ 1950s model sheet of how to draw the duck is the best ever done and is still copied today.

“Hi, I’m Donald Duck!” is in The Fine Art of Walt Disney’s Donald Duck, reproduced as Colour Plate #88, Carl Barks’ tenth painting of 1975, chronological #101. It was one of only two minis done slightly smaller than 10”x 8” -- painted to make them more affordable to collectors commissioning his work. (Barks carefully calculated time spent doing an oil painting by measuring his work by the square inch. This oil was originally sold -- amazingly, in retrospect -- by the Old Duck Man in 1975 for a mere $150. Today, it’s worth at least $25,000 - $30,000!)

Chronology: The painting was published on the title page of the Gladstone comic book, Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories #625 (June 1998); plus five Barks pencil concepts for the bone china figurine were reproduced on the Table of Contents page, the figurine itself appearing on the back cover. “Hi, I’m Donald Duck!” was printed by the Black Box of Chicago, image size 8 7/8”x 6 5/8” on 12 1/4”x9 1/2” Opalesque Keramique, a paper constructed of 100% cotton fiber for strength and longevity, guaranteed not to fade under normal and stable storage conditions for hundreds of years. Limited and signed from an edition of 595.

Our Price: £495.00 ($792.00) (€544,50)

Far Out Safari (Signed) (Limited Edition)
(Ref: BarksFarOut)

Artist: Carl Barks

Medium: Numbered Limited edition Lithograph print on Acid-free Paper

Size: 10" x 8" (254mm x 203mm)

Date: 1994

Signature: Signed by Artist

Description: Uncle Scrooge McDuck and his nephews Donald Duck with the scintillating trio of little ducks, Huey, Dewey and Louie, are on their way to Africa so the patriarch of the clan can bid on -- and hopefully buy -- the famous Kaffir de Gaffir gold mine. Little does Scrooge know, however, that his arch rival, Flintheart Glomgold, also has eyes to own the mine and is determined to keep Scrooge from getting it!

After their private plane is shot down, the ducks must rely on the boys’ copy of the Junior Woodchucks Guide Book instruction section on how to make animal-taming whistles so they can “hitch rides” on passing fauna and fowl: lions, hippopotamuses, crocodiles, cape buffaloes, warthogs, ostriches, elephants, giraffes, zebras, gemsboks, impalas, jackals and, yes, even rhinoceroses, to help convey them to their destination.

Far Out Safari was taken from a simple cover design Carl Barks drew for Uncle Scrooge #61, published in January 1966, illustrating the lead story inside, So Far and No Safari. Far Out Safari was printed by the Black Box of Chicago, image size 7 1/2x10 on 11x13 Opalesque Keramique, a paper constructed of 100% cotton fiber for strength and longevity, guaranteed not to fade under normal and stable storage conditions for hundreds of years. Limited signed edition of 595.

Our Price: £495.00 ($792.00) (€544,50)

The Goose Egg Nugget (Signed) (Limited Edition)
(Ref: BarksGoose)

Artist: Carl Barks

Medium: Numbered Limited edition Lithograph print on Acid-free Paper

Size: 8" x 10" (203mm x 254mm)

Date: 1996

Signature: Signed by Artist

Description: Carl Barks was asked in an interview on June 24, 1984 to comment on his paintings in general and his own favourites, in particular of the 122 he did that were published in Another Rainbow’s The Fine Art of Walt Disney’s Donald Duck. He responded with a smile, I always liked The Goose Egg Nugget very much -- it told its own story.

Another Rainbow produced it as a mini litho and did a full-size print of another that Barks said was a very close second, Nobody’s Spending Fool. If collectors today thought they wanted to invest in a single lithograph, serious consideration would have to be given to The Goose Egg Nugget!

This is the story of his masterpiece. One day many long years ago, young prospector Scrooge McDuck brazenly strode into the local Dawson City saloon. As all (well, almost all) patrons stare in wide-eyed wonder, he reaches into his poke and reveals the gold that will forever separate him from every other seeker of fortune in the Klondike -- The Goose Egg Nugget!

In this painting, Carl Barks wove a rich tapestry of tension that draws the viewer’s gaze inexorably to the prize, glittering in light that seems to come more from Scrooge’s look of unbridled triumph than from the dim oil lamp. This painting was issued as a limited edition miniature lithograph by Another Rainbow, the thirty second (32nd) of a long-run series, rendered in fourteen (14) colours and touchplates, printed by Chicago’s Black Box on Opalesque Keramique, an exotic archival paper with exceptional ink holdout.

The Goose Egg Nugget comes with a comic book reprinting the story behind the painting, Back to the Klondike, which first appeared in Uncle Scrooge #2 (1953). Signed edition of 595.
Comic book accompanying the lithograph.

Our Price: £595.00 ($952.00) (€654,50)

The Goose Egg Nugget (Klondyke Edition) (Signed) (Limited Edition)
(Ref: BarksGooseK)

Artist: Carl Barks

Medium: Numbered Limited edition Lithograph print on Acid-free Paper

Size: 8" x 10" (203mm x 254mm)

Date: 1996

Signature: Signed by Artist

Description: Carl Barks was asked in an interview on June 24, 1984 to comment on his paintings in general, and his own favourites in particular, of the 122 he did that were published in Another Rainbow’s The Fine Art of Walt Disney’s Donald Duck. He responded with a smile, I always liked The Goose Egg Nugget very much -- it told its own story.

One day many long years ago, young prospector Scrooge McDuck brazenly strode into the local Dawson City saloon. As all (well, almost all) patrons stare in wide-eyed wonder, he reaches into his poke and reveals the gold that will forever separate him from every other seeker of fortune in the Klondike -- The Goose Egg Nugget! In this painting, Carl Barks wove a rich tapestry of tension that draws the viewer’s gaze inexorably to the prize, glittering in light that seems to come more from Scrooge’s look of unbridled triumph than from the dim oil lamp.

This painting was issued as a limited edition miniature lithograph by Another Rainbow, the thirty second (32nd) of a long-run series, rendered in fourteen (14) colours and touchplates, printed by Chicago’s Black Box on Opalesque Keramique, an exotic archival paper with exceptional ink holdout.

The Goose Egg Nugget comes with a comic book reprinting the story behind the painting, “Back to the Klondike, which first appeared in Uncle Scrooge #2 (1953). LIMITED TO 100 copies. These 100 commemorative prints were issued for the benefit of the Klondyke Centennial Society in Dawson City, Yukon. Print comes with Full-color, comic reprint of Back to the Klondike.
Full-color comic book accompanying the lithograph.

Our Price: £795.00 ($1,272.00) (€874,50)

Lavender and Old Lace (Signed) (Limited Edition)
(Ref: BarksLavender)

Artist: Carl Barks

Medium: Numbered Limited edition Lithograph print on Acid-free Paper

Size: 8" x 10" (203mm x 254mm)

Date: 1996

Signature: Signed by Artist

Description: Carl Barks worked over thirty years on Walt Disney films and comics, fashioning fantasies that would allow him to address serious issues. Donald Duck’s small circle of acquaintances expanded into a neighborhood, then a city, and finally a kind of global village spanning history and time. At the core of this achievement lies the creation of the tight-knit and caring Duck Family he first used for a comic book cover (Duck Album Four Color 450, February 1953); second, in 1973, a fine art oil painting; third, in 1995, a truly unique, premium quality porcelain; and, fourth, in 1996, a miniature lithograph. The latter two variations of Lavender and Old Lace were released in limited editions signed by Barks.

The eight anthropomorphic ducks most commonly associated with the artist’s career are, standing left to right: Uncle Scrooge McDuck, money bin mogul, who began empire-building in the days when pick, shovel, and will power were the main requirements; Grandma Duck, matriarch of the duck clan, who represents Barks’ fondness for the frontier spirit; Donald Duck, middle center, Disney’s quacking clown, who, in his own way, is a pioneer and single parent to three rambunctious boys; Daisy Duck, unrelated to Donald -- as of now; and Gladstone Gander, first cousin to Donald, who, with his perfectly coiffed hair and insufferably charmed life, nonchalantly twirls a lucky horseshoe . Sitting, middle foreground, wearing yellow, green and blue turtleneck sweaters, are the nephews and grandnephews, Huey, Dewey and Louie.

Of all the oil paintings Carl Barks ever did, Lavender and Old Lace enjoys distinctions equalled by no other. In 1973, when the Old Duck Man did this masterpiece, collectors labelled it the quintessential effort -- a perfect representation of the Donald Duck family!

Lavender and Old Lace was printed by the Black Box of Chicago. The image size is 10x 8 on 13 1/2x11 Opalesque Keramique, a paper constructed of 100% cotton fiber for strength and longevity that is guaranteed not to fade under normal, stable storage conditions for hundreds of years. Limited to an edition of 595 signed and numbered.

Our Price: £595.00 ($952.00) (€654,50)

The Expert (Signed) (Limited Edition)
(Ref: BarksExpertx)

Artist: Carl Barks

Medium: Numbered Limited edition Lithograph print on Acid-free Paper

Size: 8" x 10" (203mm x 254mm)

Date: 1997

Signature: Signed by Artist

Description: The Expert was what the old duck was all about: his money, the acquisition of it, the hoarding of it and his expertise in this arena of obsession, Tycoon McDuck examines a gold coin through a magnifying glass.

A full-figure portrait released in six U.S. edition 12-color Opalesque Silk TM lithographs printed with a 10 x 8 image on paper trimmed to 13 1/2 x 11 that is constructed of 100% cotton fiber for strength and longevity and guaranteed not to fade under normal, stable storage conditions for hundreds of years . Limited signed and numbered from 595.

Our Price: £695.00 ($1,112.00) (€764,50)

Dude For A Day (Signed) (Limited Edition)
(Ref: BarksDudex)

Artist: Carl Barks

Medium: Numbered Limited edition Lithograph print on Acid-free Paper

Size: 8" x 10" (203mm x 254mm)

Date: 1997

Signature: Signed by Artist

Description: Noontime on a busy street in Duckburg. Donald Duck has just picked up his new tweed jacket and bullied cousin Gladstone out of the loan of a walking stick. He stops at the florist for a bouquet and a boutonniere. On the way out, he bumps into one of his nephews lugging a shoeshine kit. Don checks his watch: there’s time for a quick buff on the way to Daisy’s.

A simple scene, but it shows us ourselves. His hopes and dreams are our hopes and dreams; even a downtown street corner can be touched for a moment with magic, and this has made the duck one of the world’s most beloved cartoon characters. Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories #620 (Series II), January 1999, featured Dude for a Day twice, the oil painting plus an explanation of the lithograph editions on the back cover and a variant-angle color photo of the porcelain on the title page. Dude for a Day was printed by the Black Box of Chicago in 1991.

The image size is 10 x 8 on 13 1/2 x 11 Opalesque Silk TM paper constructed from 100% cotton fibers for strength and longevity, guaranteed not to fade under moderate, stable storage conditions for hundreds of years. Limited and signed from an edition of 595.

Our Price: £495.00 ($792.00) (€544,50)

Invasion of Privacy by Carl Barks (Signed) (Limited Edition)
(Ref: BarksInv)

Carl Barks. This is a very limited edition lithograph produced by Disney Gallery Images and printed on acid free archival quality paper by ColorServices of California. This is #226/300 signed edition. Uncle Scrooge Carl Bark's most popular character created in 1947, is alarmed while in his money bin while reading a copy of The Duckberg Times. Professionally double matted with certificate of authenticity. A reprint copy of the comic comes with this print, see picture. 10" x 12" (25cm x 30cm)

Our Price: £695.00 ($1,112.00) (€764,50)

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