{"id":4963,"date":"2026-09-15T12:57:39","date_gmt":"2026-09-15T16:57:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kirbymuseum.org\/blogs\/effect\/?p=4963"},"modified":"2026-09-15T12:57:41","modified_gmt":"2026-09-15T16:57:41","slug":"kirby-museum-receives-major-gift-of-original-jack-kirby-art","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kirbymuseum.org\/blogs\/effect\/2026\/09\/15\/kirby-museum-receives-major-gift-of-original-jack-kirby-art\/","title":{"rendered":"Kirby Museum Receives Major Gift of Original Jack Kirby Art"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Unpublished Kirby cover art for What If? #10 from 1978, featuring Jane Foster as Thor<\/em>
\u2014 part of the legendary Howell\/Kalish collection gift.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hoboken, NJ, Sept. 15, 2026 \u2014 The Jack Kirby Museum and Research Center (kirbymuseum.org) announced today that Richard Howell has donated a significant number of pages of original art by Jack Kirby from the legendary Howell\/Kalish collection to the Museum’s permanent collection. Howell is a comic book writer, artist, and editor; co-founder of Claypool Comics; a Kirby scholar; and a longtime collector of comic art.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Jack Kirby has been an inspiration in my own comic art and storytelling for as long as I remember,” said Richard Howell. “I want these pages to be seen and studied, and giving them to the Jack Kirby Museum was the right way to do that.”<\/p>\n\n\n

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Page 12 from Fantastic Four Annual #4 from 1966, featuring ink art by Joe Sinnott and lettering by Sam Rosen, also part of the generous gift to the Kirby Museum from Richard Howell.. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“This gift represents a great selection of Kirby’s work from several major periods of his career. It is a significant addition to our permanent collection and will provide a strong foundation for our upcoming exhibitions and programs in the years ahead,” said Rand Hoppe, Director of the Jack Kirby Museum and Research Center.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The gift comprises more than 50 pages and is the largest donation of original Kirby artwork the Museum has received. It spans his industry-defining work at Marvel in the 1960s, including Fantastic Four<\/em>, X-Men<\/em>, and Thor<\/em>, through his mid-1970s work for DC on 1st Issue Special<\/em>, his return to Marvel on 2001: A Space Odyssey<\/em> and Devil Dinosaur<\/em>, as well as his animation concept art of the early 1980s for Hanna-Barbera. The gift also includes pencil art for an unpublished Kirby cover for What If?<\/em> #10, featuring Jane Foster as Thor. Also included are two original stories from Kirby’s Boys’ Ranch<\/em> series, published in 1950.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Selections from this donation will go on view in 2027 in an exhibition curated by the Museum (exact dates and exhibition theme will be announced at a later date). The works will also be available for viewing through the Museum’s online archive, now in development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additionally, the Kirby Museum has been named a beneficiary of a trust established by another longtime collector who wishes to remain anonymous at this time. Gifts of original art, whether made during a collector’s lifetime or through a will or trust, are how the Museum builds its permanent collection and keeps Kirby’s work available to researchers and the public.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Collectors and families considering a gift of artwork or a bequest can contact Rand Hoppe at info@kirbymuseum.org<\/a> or (201) 204-0532. The Museum can provide its legal name, tax identification number, and sample bequest language for collectors and their advisors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About the Jack Kirby Museum and Research Center:<\/strong> The Jack Kirby Museum and Research Center is organized exclusively for educational purposes; more specifically, to promote and encourage the study, understanding, preservation, and appreciation of the work of Jack Kirby by:<\/p>\n\n\n\n