The Talisman cycle, originally began in Mirrodin and illustrated by Mike Dringenberg, has finally been completed by the master of mana rocks herself, Lindsey Look! On Thursday August 15, 2019, Lindsay Look sold the final work of her five piece Talisman cycle from the Modern Horizons expansion. The combined group of five was sold, both eBay and privately, for a grand total of $15.625.
Each of Look’s offerings included a ready-to-hang custom frame, as well as an actual Talisman itself, used as a reference model and made of painted clay and Swarovski crystal.
Talisman of Creativity was the first painting offered—in the ever popular Izzet colors of blue and red. It sold to a private collector on eBay for $3050, and would set the tone for the remaining auctions.
The next painting and model was Talisman of Hierachy, the black and white colors of the Orzhov. This piece in particular got a lot of interest in the MTG art Marker prior to the auction, and featured and incredibly detailed chess set. It was the top lot of the five, achieving a final eBay selling price of $4550.
Third was the blue and green Simic Talisman of Curiosity. It ended very close to its Izzet sibling, selling for a final price of $3150, also on eBay.
The fourth work was the Talisman of Resilience in the Golgari color of green and black. Ending on a particularly crowded weekend of concluding art auctions, it was the eBay deal of the five at a final price of $1875.
The final suite of painting and model, the red and white Boros Talisman of Conviction, was the only work not sold on eBay. An email from Lindsey was sent to her email mailing list and offered the painting as a direct sale for $3000, and it was sold in a matter of hours, completing the sales of the set.
The Modern Horizons Talismans are an exceptional cycle of artifacts by an incredible artist, and the collecting community certainly didn’t sleep on these fantastic pieces of art. To own a Look mana rock for Magic is something special for a collector, and it will probably be some time again before a similar opportunity arises. Lindsey still has two other original paintings from the set, those for Shenanigans and Rebuild, which will be offered for sale at a later date.
About the Artist
Lindsey Look has illustrated 22 cards for Magic, and her art is instantly recognizable on many notable mana-producing artifacts and through her stunning depictions of hands. She is one of my favorite artists, and I’m privledged to have a painting by her hand on my wall.
To see more of her Magic work up close, check out the Mirror Gallery’s two part series surrounding her Powerstone Shard panting: Lindsey Look’s Powerstone Shard; Powerstone Shard & Hand Artistry.