Molly Hatchet ‘Flirtin’ With Disaster’ Art Sells For $6million

Frank Frazetta’s iconic painting “Dark Kingdom,” featured on Molly Hatchet‘s 1979 album ‘Flirtin’ With Disaster’, recently sold at Heritage Auctions for a record-breaking $6 million. The album itself was a significant milestone for the band, becoming their best-selling LP with over 2 million sales in the United States. The success of the album can in part be attributed to Frazetta’s incredible artwork, depicting a heavily armored warrior standing on top of a pile of bones.  Interestingly, “Dark Kingdom” initially was used as the cover for Karl Edward Wagner’s 1976 novel Dark Crusade before being associated with Molly Hatchet.

After the success of the auction, this sets a new record in the fantasy art genre and surpassed the previous record held by “Egyptian Queen” which sold for $5.4 million in a 2019 auction.  Heritage Auctions Executive Vice President Todd Hignite said in a statement. “It’s extraordinarily rare whenever an artwork universally considered the best in any genre becomes available on the open market… We’re excited – and proud – that today’s record-setting result reflects that status for this immediately recognizable image, which is burned into the consciousness of several generations of Frazetta fans.”

Frank Frazetta ‘Egyptian Queen’

It’s worth noting that “Dark Kingdom” was not Frazetta’s only collaboration with Molly Hatchet. His original “Death Dealer” artwork graced the cover of the band’s 1978 self-titled debut album, and his “Conan the Conqueror” painting served as the cover for their third album, 1980s Beatin’ the Odds. Frazetta, known as the “Godfather of Fantasy Art,” was a prolific artist who also provided album art for musicians such as Nazareth, Yngwie Malmsteen, and Wolfmother before his passing in 2010.