Kevin Eastman’s defunct Words & Pictures Museum in Northamption, MA, was funded with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles money. Now, George Lucas has his vastly more ambitious Museum of Narrative Art in Los Angeles, funded with Star Wars money.
Great stuff, but I think it should be noted that the market for comic book original art became greatly inflated with the entry of movie star money. There were stories of George Lucas and Steven Spielberg bidding against each other through proxies. While it can be said that people are now paying what formerly throwaway art is worth, far fewer fans can afford it.
Your final comments on the bidding are duly noted. Still, it’s tempting to put this new funishment arena on my Bucket List!