LUGOSI AS DRACULA PAINTING

Whenever the Monster Kid mind thinks of Bela Lugosi in a painting of Dracula, we would normally think of the great artist, Basil Gogos. Of course, there are many others who have done the same and the one shown here today in particular deserves a good look.

Expected to sell between $2,000 and $4,000 at current auction is this 1975 painting by German artist and illustrator, Werner Bayer. Mr. Bayer was also a contributor to Vampir magazine.

Bela Lugosi as Dracula by Werner Bayer (1975).

Very Fine+. Signed Original Artwork in Acrylic on Paper (15.75" X 22.5").

Born in 1950, German artist Werner Bayer fell in love with Hammer's horror films as well as Universal's classic monster movies as he was growing up. Inspired by the films he loved and his artistic idol, Firuz Askin, Bayer began drawing and painting by the time he was twenty. Bayer went on to work for the German fantasy magazine Vampir, and he contributed art for the posters for the Festival des Phantastischen Films, a German film festival created by Vampir magazine which began in 1974. It was around this time that Werner Bayer created this gorgeous painting of Bela Lugosi in his iconic role as Count Dracula. Based on a promotional image of Lugosi from Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, this painting features vibrant colors that bring Lugosi's incredible menace to vivid life (despite the Count himself being undead). The painting has a few light scuffs and smudges in the image, but it is in otherwise great condition. The artwork is signed by the artist in the bottom right corner.