Late on Sunday June 9th, 2019, the original painting for Marit Lage’s Slumber by Randy Vargas was sold for a thrilling $4,400. It is his second traditional painting for Magic, and the first to be offered with his preliminary work included alongside.
Marit Lage’s Slumber by Randy Vargas is an impressive work of oil on hardboard measuring 11.8 inches by 15.75 inches and was commissioned for the newly released Modern Horizons expansion. This was only the artist’s second traditional painting released for Magic, with his only other being Tetsuko Umezawa, Fugitive, for Dominaria in 2018. A bidding war ensued near the end of the auction that pushed this work to its final selling price; and also unlocked the inclusion of the artist’s preliminary thumbnails, added as a part of the sale once the price reached $4,000.
The painting also had an accompanying color study that was auctioned separately, and that piece sold for a stellar $825. Color studies can be a fabulous alternative to owning the final painting, and this is one of the nicest to enter the market in some time.
Color Study for Marit Lage’s Slumber, acrylics on paper, 8.66” x 6.875”
This is one of very few depictions of the legendary Marit Lage, and the artwork is simply stunning. It was included as a personal favorite in my Modern Horizons Grand Art Tour, and is a standout work amongst the entire set. You’ll see some minor digital additions of purple when looking at the card, but the blue Vargas uses here is so deep and so chilling it’s as if we’re watching her wake up from a nearby mountaintop, shivering all the while.
The details are delicious: Marit Lage’s maw, the incredibly tiny scale people in the foreground, and the fissuring ice pieces all add to the complexity and immensity of this as a painting. This piece has put Vargas on the traditional art collector’s radar, and we’ll all be watching to see what he has coming next.
