About Heritage Auctions - Art: Animation

Jim Lentz is the former president and owner of the Midwest animation art gallery chain, Stay Tooned Galleries. In the past he has also served as the National Sales Manager for Disney Fine Art and ben a consultant to Walt Disney Art Classics. Jim sat on the Disney Advisory Board of Dealers while he was running his chain of galleries. Jim was a Corporate Sponsor for the Midwest Chapter of ASIFA (Chicago Chapter of the International Animated Film Association) as well as the creator and curator for the 1989 – 1999 Midwest Animation Lecture Series in Illinois and Minnesota. This lecture series was a virtual who’s-who of animation both young and old. Animators, animation historians, directors ,writers, animation “Legends”, voice talent,  studio heads and family members of deceased animation pioneers were all included in this impressive roster of speakers. Jim had an early career with such companies as Chrysler Corporation and Tenneco Automotive before opening his first gallery in Barrington, Illinois. Jim is a graduate of CW Post University in New York.

Before joining Heritage, Bill King was the former Director of Stay Tooned Galleries, a Midwest animation art gallery chain, and was a team member for the long-running 1990s Midwest Animation Lecture Series.  

A graduate of the University of Mississippi with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, he also has 25 years of experience in the graphic design and illustration field both as a Sr. Art Director for Omnicom’s Adpac Corp. and as a freelance artist/consultant to many of Chicago’s top ad agencies. In 2004, Bill and his cousin, Las Vegas Comedy Magician Mac King, created the syndicated Sunday comic feature “Mac King’s Magic in a Minute.” The strip continues to this day, distributed through Andrews McMeel Syndication and appearing online and in newspapers all over the world. He is also a member of the exclusive National Cartoonist Society, a club dedicated to the advancement of cartooning arts. Bill and his lovely wife Joetta live on Chicago’s north side.