Bonestell's artwork, once collected only by the cognoscenti, has become increasingly
desirable, especially in the last few years. Paintings from his classic period easily
command five-figure prices today and even minor works from late in his life are hotly
pursued by collectors. As Bonestell's reputation increases--partly as a result of the
popularity of the recent book,
The Art of Chesley Bonestell
--his work is becoming
both more collectible and harder to find. Unlike the work of many other illustrators,
Bonestell's tends to be collected by admirers who will obtain his paintings not so
much because of their potential value (though some do, since Bonestell's paintings
appreciate rapidly), but because they genuinely enjoy and appreciate them. This
means that his collectors tend to keep their paintings so that they are rarely, if ever,
offered for resale--which in turn means that as time goes on fewer and fewer Bonestell
paintings become available.
The nature of Bonestell's career contributed greatly to the present rarity of his work,
especially work done during his "classic" period--that is, the period roughly spanning
the mid-forties to the early 1960s. Always considering himself an illustrator rather
than a fine artist, Bonestell was no more careful about the disposition of his paintings
than was most other illustrators of the time--artwork was retained by magazines and
book publishers, taken by art directors and others, given away or even destroyed--with
the result that a great many paintings have become lost. Even later in his life, when
he kept a somewhat better record of his work (mainly through the efforts of his wife,
Hulda), paintings still disappeared, so that today the number of known works is only a
fraction of his total output.
With the ever-increasing prices being demanded for Bonestell's original artwork,
posters and fine art prints are a viable alternative for the Bonestell enthusiast. The
best known and most collectible of these are the two prints created under the
supervision of the artist himself in 1970. These were printed at the same size as the
original paintings on museum-quality, archival paper and signed by Bonestell. Only a
very small number of these still remain in circulation and are probably the most
collectible of all the Bonestell reproductions ever created. The rarest prints may be a
set published in 1977. There have been a large number of other prints and posters,
ranging from a limited-edition print published by
Astounding Stories
some 50 years
ago to posters advertising his joint exhibition with Kazuaki Iwasaki in Japan to
recently-published prints authorized by Bonestell Space Art. (Bonestell Space Art is
always ready to advise the collector on the authenticity of a print or autograph.)
Finally, the Bonestell collector can enter the rich field of Bonestelliana--collecting
Bonestell's work in books and magazines. To this end, Melvin Schuetz'
A Chesley
Bonestell Space Art Chronology
is an excellent guide to Bonestell's space art in print,
and there are new discoveries being made all the time.
