Four Original MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE Paintings Dominate Auction With One Selling for $32,500
Four original Masters of the Universe paintings by legendary artist Earl Norem became the four highest-selling items in a recent Heritage Auctions event packed with rare He-Man memorabilia.
The original Norem paintings sold for $32,500, $30,000, $16,875, and $14,375, beating every sealed action figure and other scarce collectible offered in the auction.
For fans who grew up staring at this artwork in magazines and promotional material, these are original pieces of the imagery that helped define Masters of the Universe during the 1980s.
The second-highest sale was an incredible 1987 Castle Grayskull siege painting that went for $30,000. Norem created the piece to promote Mattel’s Power Gear accessories, including Cliff Climber, Scubattack, and Tower Tools, which were released toward the end of the original He-Man toy line.
The artwork appeared as a pull-out poster in the Spring 1987 issue of the U.S. He-Man and the Masters of the Universe magazine. It shows He-Man wearing his Power Gear equipment and descending the walls of Castle Grayskull to battle Skeletor and Webstor, with Man-At-Arms joining the fight.
It’s classic Masters of the Universe insanity in the best possible way. Castle Grayskull towers over the battle while He-Man and the villains clash around it, capturing the kind of adventure kids were creating on their bedroom floors with the toys.
Even at $30,000, though, the Castle Grayskull artwork wasn’t the auction’s biggest sale. That honor went to Norem’s painting of He-Man riding Battle Cat, which sold for $32,500.
Two more Norem originals rounded out the auction’s four biggest sales, fetching $16,875 and $14,375. Both pieces were used for posters promoting figures and accessories from the later 1986 and 1987 period of the original toy line.
Norem was one of the key artists responsible for giving Masters of the Universe its larger-than-life fantasy identity during the franchise’s original run. His work transformed He-Man, Skeletor, Castle Grayskull, Battle Cat, and the rest of Eternia into something that felt much bigger than a line of plastic action figures.
That original artwork has become increasingly desirable as collectors hunt for pieces directly connected to the creation and promotion of the classic franchise. Unlike a mass-produced figure, there’s only one original painting.
More than 40 years after He-Man first raised the Power Sword, collectors are still spending serious money on the artwork that helped build Eternia.
