Dec. 14, 2020 – Throughout his 50 years (1950-2000) appearing on the comic pages of thousands of newspapers, Charlie Brown would face his many frustrations with a sigh. And then he looked forward to another day, another try at kicking the football or flying a kite, or going on an escapade with his friends. Charlie had the last sigh last week when original drawings of Charlie and his friends, by Peanuts creator Charles Schulz, sold for $288,000 at auction.

Schulz made the drawings for “The Peanuts Album,” a 1953 promotional giveaway. At the time, the cartoonist was only 31 years old.

In the portraits, Charlie Brown wears his baseball cap and sports his oversized baseball glove. Lucy skips rope; Linus, without his blanket, stacks blocks; and Schroeder plays his piano adorned with a bust of his beloved Beethoven. Violet stands ready to sell her Ready-Mix Mud Pies, while Patty, chewing on her tongue, shoots marbles. Shermy stands with hands in pockets, smiling. And Snoopy rests beside his doghouse to which he has affixed a television antenna.

“We are immensely proud of the opportunity to have brought this historic piece to the marketplace,” Steve Ivy, Heritage Auctions CEO, said in a press release. “The record price it achieved demonstrates not only its rarity but the significance of Charles Schulz and his Peanuts characters to America’s cultural lexicon. It also stands as testament to one of the most exciting aspects of auction world – that great discoveries are still being made.”

One month before the auction, original drawings of a daily Peanuts comic strip sold for $192,000 during a Heritage Auction Comics and Comic Art event.

These eight portraits are quintessential Schulz – “a kind of Holy Grail of his artwork,” Jim Lentz, Heritage Auctions director of animation art, said in a press release. “When I first saw it, I knew instantly it was one of the most important pieces of Schulz art to surface.”

Related Redwood Learn Story: Rare Peanuts Drawings to be Auctioned (Nov. 25, 2020)

REVIEW QUESTIONS

1. At what point in Schulz’s career did he complete The Peanuts Album?

2. When did Peanuts first appear as a comic strip? When did it end?

3. What art by Schulz was offered at auction in December?

4. Why did Schulz create The Peanuts Album in 1953?

INQUIRY QUESTIONS

1. How would you describe Schulz’s career as a cartoonist?

2. Why do you think The Peanuts Album sold for such a high price?

3. Discuss and explain the headline.