$1.7 Million for Asterix: Tiny Painting Sparks a Frenzied Auction Battle

The painting depicting the Gaulish warrior Asterix heading off on yet another adventure has itself become a treasure decades later. The original cover artwork for the comic book Asterix in Britain sold at auction in Liège, Belgium, for nearly €1.5 million — around $1.7 million. An anonymous buyer paid roughly eight times the lower end of its initial estimate.

The auction was held as part of the 81st BD Enchères sale, which specializes in original comic-book art. The rare work had been estimated at just €150,000–€200,000, but after a fierce bidding war, its price soared to a record level. The painting set a new world record for a work by Albert Uderzo, the artist who created Asterix and Obelix together with writer René Goscinny.

Today, the adventures of the two famous Gauls have sold nearly 400 million copies worldwide and been translated into more than 110 languages.

The buyer acquired the original 34-by-47cm cover, painted in gouache. It depicts Asterix, Obelix and Teefax fleeing with a barrel while being chased by rugby players. Its vivid red, yellow, blue and green tones make the artwork instantly recognizable to fans of the classic Asterix albums.

But the painting’s greatest value lies not only in its famous characters. It also bears a personal inscription from Uderzo and Goscinny dedicated to their publisher, Georges Dargaud. The creators emphasized that he was first and foremost their friend, and only then their publisher.

Original artworks from the early Asterix albums are exceptionally rare. Only a few dozen such pieces were created over the course of the series, and many are now held in family, museum or long-established private collections.

The new record is particularly striking because the previous highest price for a work by Uderzo was set at a Paris auction in 2017. At the time, the original artwork for Asterix and the Gaul (Le Tour de Gaule d’Astérix) sold for around $1.6 million.

Nine years later, an anonymous collector paid even more — $1.7 million for a small but historically significant painting featuring Asterix.