On what seemed like an average everyday Monday, Pete Hoefling, President of Star City Games, offered the remainder of his Magic: the Gathering original art collection on the MTG Art Market on Facebook. The listing consisted of five paintings, each one of an Angel: Baneslayer Angel, Exalted Angel, Resplendent Angel, and two Serra Angels.
Three pieces sold immediately after the post went live, while the fourth sold by Tuesday afternoon. The fifth remains unsold.
Let’s go through them one by one.
Baneslayer Angel
Baneslayer Angel by Greg Staples. Traditional. Asking Price: $50,000. SOLD.
The angel atop the post was Greg Staples’ Baneslayer Angel, arguably one of Magic’s most iconic creatures and a fan favorite artwork since it first appeared in Magic 2010. It was marked sold after only ten minutes and carried a $50,000 ask.
Exalted Angel
Exalted Angel by Rob Alexander. Traditional. Asking Price: $20,000. SOLD.
The next angel offered was Rob Alexander’s Judge Promo Exalted Angel. This artwork was used for one of the first waves of promotional cards given to Magic judges for their achievement and participation in events. Hoefing offered this work earlier this year in February 2020 via auction in the same Facebook group with the same $20,000 opening bid ask. It failed to sell at that time but was marked as sold around noon on Tuesday for the same $20,000 ask.
Resplendent Angel
Resplendent Angel by Volkan Baga. Traditional. Asking Price: $30,0.00 SOLD.
The third and newest work of the five is Resplendent Angel by Volkan Baga, created for the more recent Core Set 2019 expansion. A beautiful example of Baga’s work, it was first (and last) sold in June of 2018 for $24,100. It was marked sold at the same time as Baneslayer Angel, this time with a $30,000 ask.
Serra Angel
The final two works were both related to a reimagining of the iconic Serra Angel; Greg Staples’ 9th Edition card artwork, as well as an alternate artwork for the 9th Edition Player’s Guide.
Serra Angel by Greg Staples. Traditional. Asking Price: $60,000. SOLD.
Serra Angel by Greg Staples. Traditional. Asking Price: $20,000. Still available.
The 9th Edition card artwork is perhaps one of the most widely-recognized images in Magic’s history, and was marked sold alongside Baneslayer Angel and Resplendent Angel. The alternate artwork was originally sold in April 2018 for $5,050, shortly after Staples’s rediscovery of the work. When it sold, the auctioneer noted it was going to be “reunited with its sisters.”
Hoefling detailed the story of those “sisters” and his role in reuniting them:
When Wizards of the Coast asked Greg Staples to paint a new version of Serra Angel for inclusion in their forthcoming 9th Edition set, Greg painted three. Wizards’ chose this one, and began using the art in their promotional advertising for the set. It was also published in the 9th Edition Player’s Guide, before Wizards’ changed their mind, and decided to instead use the 9th Edition Serra Angel artwork that we all know and love. The third piece was later used for Magic 2010’s Baneslayer Angel. This painting was originally thought to have been lost, but when Greg later found it, I purchased it in order to reunite her with her two sisters. This is the first time the complete set of three have ever been offered for sale simultaneously, and could potentially be the last.
This is one of the landmark offerings in the world of Magic art during this roller coaster of a year, and one that will be remembered for quite some time.