We spent much time enjoying in the anecdotes blue-skinned cartoon characters – the Smurfs. Now collectors and true fans of our little blue friends can purchase a rare original drawings of the Smurfs, created by Belgian artist Pierre ‘Peyo’ Culliford. Many pieces expected to fetch as much as $167,000 each.
The highlight of a sale of 33 full-page Peyo comic strips at the Artcurial auction house on the Champs-Elysees in Paris will be a black-and-white sketch, The Smurfs and the Magic Flute. The Magic Flute drawing was the basis for the cover of Peyo’s 1960 Johan and Peewit comic, a precursor of the Smurf series in which the diminutive figures, who sport white pants and pointy hats, first appeared before becoming stars in their own right.
Since their creation, Smurfs – or Schtroumpfs as they were originally called in French – have gained international popularity. And cartoon expect Eric Leroy, of the Artcurial auction house says that this is because the loveable little creatures have universal appeal.
Peyo’s stroke of genius was to have picked blue, so everyone can identify with [the Smurfs], a Chinese person as well as a European one can identify with the Smurfs, because they’re not Asian or European or American or South American, everyone can identify with Smurfs, really, Leroy told Reuters.
It is the first time Peyo’s family has sold original Smurf artwork, although some drawings given as gifts has been sold, and the sale is drawing interest from enthusiasts worldwide. [Artcurial]
