Carl Barks made a great number of paintings featuring the characters from the Disney duck universe. The motifs were always in some way related to his former comic book front covers or stories, but they were spread over various genres. Some were pure gag artworks, others featured groups of characters, and some were depictions from Scrooge McDuck's Money Bin. On this page you are presented to Barks' cave paintings.

NB.: Most of the artworks were made with oil on board (Masonite). Each artwork is accompanied by a little technical information as well as a few comments. The paintings are exhibited in chronological order enabling you to observe how the prices skyrocketed through the decades.

 

 

ID: 8-72 The Golden Fleece
Size: 24x12" (610x305mms)
Price:
180 dollars. Auctioned in August 2010 at 62,737.50 dollars

Comments: Based on a panel from U$12 The Golden Fleecing (observe Barks' clever play on words by using the term Fleecing instead of Fleece).
The only artwork Barks made in this panoramic size.
Issued as a limited number serigraph in 1993.

ID: 25-73 In the Cave of Ali Baba
Size:
20x16" (510x405mms)
Price:
1,080 dollars

Comments: The artwork partly refers to U$37 Cave of Ali Baba, which takes place in today's Syria. A menacing, giant roc (a mythological, meat-eating bird) is lurking in the shadows.
Issued as a limited number lithograph in 1997.

 

ID: 11-74 Dangerous Discovery
Size:
20x16" (510x405mms)
Price:
2,340 dollars. Auctioned in August 2010 at 89,625 dollars

Comments: The artwork partly refers to U$37 Cave of Ali Baba, which takes place in today's Syria. A menacing, giant roc (a mythological, meat-eating bird) is lurking in plain sight.
Issued as a limited number lithograph in 1993.

ID: 3-75 I Found It! I Keep It!
Size:
8x10" (200x250mms)
Price:
550 dollars. Auctioned in August 2011 at 65,725 dollars

Comments: Somewhat reminiscent of a scene in U$26 'The Ghosts of Pizen Bluff'.

ID: 14-75 Cave of the Minotaur
Size:
20x16" (510x405mms)
Price:
2,650 dollars

Comments: The artwork partly refers to U$10 The Fabulous Philosopher's Stone, which takes place in today's Crete. A major difference, though, is that the creature was a statue in the story, but very much alive and menacing in the painting.
 

 

ID: 23-75 Golden Cities of Cibola
Size:
20x16" (510x405mms)
Price:
2,968 dollars. Auctioned in August 2011 at 101,575 dollars

Comments: The artwork partly refers to U$07 'Cibola', which takes place in today's New Mexico.
Obviously,
Barks forgot to add Scrooge's usual hat band.

ID: 133-87 First National Bank of Cibola
Size:
20x16" (510x405mms)
Price:
22,500 dollars. Auctioned in November 2011 at 95,600 dollars

Comments: The artwork partly refers to U$07 'Cibola', which takes place in today's New Mexico.
The motif is reminiscent of 123-81 Wanderers of Wonderlands.
Issued as a limited number lithograph in 1993.

ID: 141-94 Rich Finds at Inventory Time
Size:
34x28" (865x710mms)
Price:
200,000 dollars

Comments: The Money Bin as such can not be characterized as a cave. Still, in this painting it would seem as if Scrooge has added a mine shaft to the lower parts of the building.
Issued as a limited number serigraph in 1994.

ID: 1997 Far, Far Down beneath the Ground
Size:
13x10" (330x250mms)

Comments: In 1996 and 1997 Barks produced a large number of pastels made with crayons (see more HERE).
This pastel received the work ID Great
Adventures #3.
The motif refers to U$13 Land Beneath the Ground.

ID: 1997 At King Solomon's Mine
Size:
13x10" (330x250mms)

Comments: In 1996 and 1997 Barks produced a large number of pastels made with crayons (see more HERE).
This pastel received the work ID Great
Adventures #9.
The motif refers to U$19 The Mines of King Solomon
.
Barks deviated from the term Mines in the story title (which he initially titled King Solomon's Mines) and reduced it to Mine in the pastel.

 

 

EXTRA

In the midst of painting Disney duck motifs Barks suddenly opted for an artwork with no apparent connection to the duck artwork. It was even given both code numbering and a work title as if it was indeed to be a duck painting!
It seems to portray four human teenagers visiting and exploring a storage area of ancient Egyptian artifacts inside a cave. The detailed scenery has been detailed drawn with a lead pencil on a Masonite board, which is marked #26-73 Dreams of Discovery - Cache of Ancient Tomb Robbers on the backside. The size is 20x16" (510x405mms).
What Barks' intentions were, trying his hand in such an atypical scene, is unknown, but it must have been more than just a whim, because he took it up again a year after it was abandoned and marked it #8-74 Cache of Ancient Tomb Robbers. This too was abandoned...

 

 


 http://www.cbarks.dk/THECAVEPAINTINGS.htm

  Date 2018-09-05