For a little more than US$100 on EBay Inc's auction site, you can buy a small portrait of Larry Flynt, Hustler magazine publisher and founder.
You can also buy a portrait of Fred Rogers of "Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood" fame. Allow three to four weeks for delivery.
The portraits are part of the Wall Street Journal's six, week-long sales of more than 582 so-called hedcuts of individuals including sports stars, chief executive officers, celebrities and, of course, porn kings. These portraits have graced the Journal's pages since 1979.
All are hand-drawn using a method called stipple, which uses dots and dashes instead of lines, giving a look similar to an engraving technique. The style is used because of its close tie-in to stock certificate illustrations and US dollar bills.
Penthouse Publisher Bob Guccione's portrait is for sale, as is radio personality Rush Limbaugh's. Portraits of golfer Tiger Woods already sold for US$860 and basketball star Michael Jordan sold for US$733.45.
The Journal publishes about 10 hedcuts a day from "live" shots and from an electronic archive of more than 9,000 portraits.
The paper has six artists that draw the stippled portraits. The hedcuts are created using a sheet of vellum and are mounted to an artboard.
Signatures from the individuals depicted aren't included, though the pieces may include an original pencil sketch, art tape, White-out, smudges and finger prints. The average size is six inches wide by 10 inches tall. All the portraits offered have the artist's signature and a letter proving authenticity.
Artist Kevin Sprouls started drawing for the Journal's publisher Dow Jones & Co as a freelance artist in the marketing department and page one editor Glynn Mapes admired his style.
Profits from the auctions will go to the non-profit Dow Jones Newspaper Fund, founded in 1958, to help fund minority journalism scholarships. The National Portrait Gallery will soon display 46 Wall Street Journal hedcuts. The company said it has raised about US$5,523 so far.
The design of the Wall Street Journal, published by Dow Jones, was revamped April 9, the biggest changes in 60 years. The front page was redesigned and includes color.
The auctions began April 8 with a selection of politicians and the second week featured history and world leaders. This week's auction includes personalities and executives from the media. Next week's theme is business, and the final auction the week of May 6 features entertainers.
Other portraits up for auction this week include Cable News Network anchors Paula Zahn and Lou Dobbs, as well as George Stephanopoulos, former senior adviser to President Bill Clinton; CBS News anchor Dan Rather; and Viacom Inc Chairman Sumner Redstone.
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