The Bob Clampett Auction

Van Eaton Galleries proudly presents The Bob Clampett Auction, an incredible two-day event featuring the collection of one of animation’s most influential artists! Over 950 lots are up for auction, including animation art from Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies classics, original puppets from “Time for Beany,” Beany and Cecil merchandise, a Charlie McCarthy stop-motion armature, and even rare photos of Walt Disney.

Clampett created or refined Warner Bros.’ most beloved cartoon characters of all time: Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, and Tweety Bird. He collaborated with famed author Edgar Rice Burroughs on a never-produced John Carter of Mars animated serial, art from which is included in this auction. A young Clampett even helped his aunt Charlotte Clark create the very first Mickey Mouse doll!

Many of the shorts Clampett directed are considered among the looniest and greatest ever, including “Porky in Wackyland,” “The Great Piggy Bank Robbery,” “Tortoise Wins by a Hare,” and the “Fantasia” spoof “A Corny Concerto.” He created the Emmy-winning puppet show “Time for Beany,” which counted Albert Einstein among its fans, and its animated successor “Beany and Cecil,” both rife with Clampett’s love of puns and topical humor.

Not only was Clampett a talented artist, he was a collector. Clampett preserved countless pieces of his own work and kept many of the books and artwork that inspired him as a child. We at Van Eaton Galleries consider ourselves lucky to be able to offer these treasures up for auction to the public.