This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 2/27/2026
Franklin Mint Gallery of American Art The Premiere Portfolio of Celebrity Art, 1973
Limited edition of 750; set 295
The complete portfolio of ten large-format color prints, each signed and numbered by the celebrity-artist, comprising: Duke Ellington, Ever Onward & Upward; Tony Bennett, New York; Candice Bergen, Summer Creatures; Richard Chamberlain, Memories of Sussex; Henry Fonda, Third Floor Rear; Peggy Lee, Gaby; Kim Novak, The Gull; Dinah Shore, Migrant Worker’s Children; Red Skelton, The Clown; and Elke Sommer, The Gamblers. Each approximately 30 x 24.5 in. Offered with the original certificate and descriptive booklet.
Conceived at the height of the Franklin Mint’s portfolio program in Franklin Center, Pennsylvania, this edition captures a distinctly early-1970s moment when celebrity culture and fine-art publishing collided pairing bold, vividly printed images with authentic signatures and strict limitation. The standout is Duke Ellington’s Ever Onward & Upward, a lifetime-signed work issued shortly before his death in 1974, bringing added crossover appeal to collectors of jazz history, American cultural ephemera, and signed graphic art.