Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett is auctioning Frank Frazetta's painting *Conan the Berserker* (1967), which he purchased directly from the artist for $1 million in 2009. The work, originally used as cover art for a paperback edition of Robert E. Howard's novel *Conan the Conqueror*, will be offered in Heritage Auctions' “Hollywood/Entertainment Signature Auction” on December 9–10, with bidding starting at $10 million. The sale follows a record-breaking Frazetta auction in September, when his oil painting *Man Ape* (1966) sold for $13.5 million.
The auction underscores the soaring market for fantasy and illustration art, once undervalued compared to fine art. Frazetta's posthumous record prices—doubling from $6 million to $13.5 million in just two years—signal a shift in collector appetite toward commercial and genre-defining works. Hammett's decision to sell also highlights how celebrity collectors can amplify visibility and value for niche art markets.