On Oct. 4, Heritage Auctions Illustration Art Signature Auction realized $2.18 million, toplined by the world-record sale of a painting depicting Marlon Brando made for Apocalypse Now by the Father of the Modern Movie Poster. With 1,664 bidders participating, the sale served as a prelude to the auction houses upcoming American Art Signature Auction, which took place Nov. 5 and featured among its wide-ranging offerings some of the most important pieces by several of the worlds most renowned artists, among them Norman Rockwell, J.C. Leyendecker and Maurice Sendak. Science fiction and fantasy masterpieces from the Gary Munson collection shattered numerous auction records, among them works by James Allen St. John, Robert Gibson Jones and Lee Browne Coye. There were strong prices across the board, too, for pulp and paperback, pin-up and Golden Age illustration. Because of our deep and unrivalled commitment to all facets of the category for close to 20 years, Heritage owns the Illustration Art category from high to low, and the continued expansion of collector interest and cultural awareness is extremely gratifying to see, said Todd Hignite, of Heritage Auctions. As the undisputed worldwide leader, Heritage holds auction records for virtually every artist to work in the field. Over the years were proud to have been entrusted with scores of important institutional and private collections, and Mondays auction further solidified our status as the go-to auction house for the best work by the top illustrators across genres. The cover of the auctions catalog was Robert Peaks original Brando as Col. Kurtz, one of three posters made for Francis Ford Coppolas 1979 Apocalypse Now, which realized $212,500, an artist record. It shows Brando alone, water and sweat pouring off a shaved head that looks sculpted of wet clay, and serves as visual snapshot of the films most potent scene, as Kurtz confronts Martin Sheens Willard about his mission and intention. This image of Brando coming out of the darkness has become iconic, according to the artists son, Roberto Santo. Two James Allen St. John paintings that served as classic Edgar Rice Burroughs dust jackets likewise flew off the figurative shelves, The Chessmen of Mars and At the Earths Core, each from 1922 and each from the acclaimed assemblage of renowned illustration art collector Gary Munson. The two St. John covers each sold for $150,000, well above pre-auction estimates. A trio of Gil Elvgrens iconic pin-up girls, each painted for a calendar, rounded out the auctions top six lots: 1960s A Weighty Problem sold for $87,500; 1963s Measuring Up realized $68,750; and 1969s Squirrely Situation sold for $65,625. James Avati, so renowned as a maker of paperback covers theres a book devoted to his work, set a new auction record when his cover for Christopher Isherwoods 1952 novel Goodbye to Berlin brought $27,500. One of pulp and horror maker Lee Brown Coyes most famous covers The Vampire, which in July 1947 scared readers of Weird Tales, likewise set a new auction record for the artist when it sold for $25,000. For additional information, visit www.HA.com.