SANTA MONICA, Calif. (AP) — Guillermo del Toro is an acclaimed master of horror and has built a huge memorabilia collection throughout his decades-long career. A close brush with California's devastating wildfires has led him to do what was once unthinkable — auction some of the 5,000 items in his prized collection.
The Mexican-born filmmaker is auctioning hundreds of items ranging from works by comic luminaries like Jack Kirby and Richard Corben to exclusive items from his own classics like “Cronos” and “Hellboy.”
Online bidding opened Thursday for the Sept. 26 auction, which is the first of a three-part series with Heritage Auctions.
“Whoever buys or gets it is going to love it as much,” del Toro said while showing off some of the items up for sale to The Associated Press during a tour of his so-called Bleak House. “That’s all you can do with your kids — sort of plan for them to have a good life after you.”
Here’s a look at the pieces del Toro says he struggled the most to let go of.
When del Toro's Bleak Houses were endangered by wildfires, he focused on securing just a few items: his diaries, some of his awards — and Bernie Wrightson's “Frankenstein” illustrations.
The collector is auctioning two original art pieces from the 50 pen-and-ink drawings that Wrightson created for the 1983 illustrated version of Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein."
The possibility of those items perishing in a fire “weigh so heavily on me, because that's his masterpiece,” del Toro said.
“Frankenstein” marked the start of del Toro's lifelong passion for monsters. The filmmaker adapted the classic horror story for Netflix and it will arrive on the streaming platform in November.
One of Wrightson's pieces, with a starting bid of $200,000, depicts the creature hiding near a stream. The other, starting at $100,000, portrays Victor Frankenstein’s pursuit of the creature.
“My eyes are going to start twitching,” he said. “Those two were pretty brutal.”
There was only one item that Mike Mignola — a celebrated comic book writer and del Toro's longtime friend — didn’t know was a part of the Bleak House collection. It happened to be one of his own.
Del Toro is parting with an original pinup artwork that Mignola drew in the late 1980s for "Hellraiser #2," Clive Barker’s comic series, before they were adapted into movies in the 1990s.
The director said he was a fan of the “Hellraiser” comics, and this particular piece was the precursor that led to Hellboy, a superhero that Mignola created in the 1990s. Del Toro later wrote and directed the “Hellboy” movies.
The item, with a starting bid of $40,000, is described in the auction catalog as “one of the greatest artworks” in del Toro’s collection. It was also one that took the longest to secure, he said.
“There’s a few items that are very hard to find. The Hellraiser cover was exceedingly hard.”
Before the reality of budget constraints set in, the film sets for the 2006 dark fantasy “Pan's Labyrinth” spread much wider in the minds of del Toro and the illustrators he works with.
He has long kept a tight hold on this art. Now, more than a dozen preproduction art pieces, which have never been up for sale, will be available to the wider public.
The mill compound, which was the heart of the dark fairy tale, for instance, existed on a much larger scale on paper than what made it on screen. That concept sketch drawn by Raúl Monge — one of del Toro’s favorites — has a starting bid of $6,000.
Del Toro had a clear image in mind when developing Santi, the haunting ghost of a murdered orphan that anchors his 2001 horror “The Devil's Backbone.” He envisioned the ghost's skull to be cracked like broken porcelain, with haunting eyes and ashen skin, according to the auction catalog.
The production makeup paint master that helped bring his vision to life is being auctioned with a starting bid of $6,000.
Santi is a “signature creature, that I think actually set precedence for a lot of creatures," del Toro told the AP.
Over 40 pieces of memorabilia from del Toro's “Hellboy” movies are being sold. Amid the dozens of illustrations and concept sketches are two one-of-a-kind pieces.
The iconic hero jacket, worn by Ron Perlman, who played Hellboy in the films, went straight from the actor's back into del Toro's arms, he said, and is now heading elsewhere with a starting bid of $40,000.
Also up for sale is “Big Baby,” Hellboy's signature six-round shotgun, which starts at $50,000.
“We couldn’t have many duplicates so the Big Baby is a hero hero hero piece," del Toro said. "That one hurt.”
One of the highest priced pieces in the auction is H.R. Giger's concept design for an unproduced science fiction and horror script, “The Tourist." Giger was a Swiss surrealist artist known for blending human and machine in his work.
The Giger piece is a star in del Toro's collection and has a starting price of $150,000.
“It was always a really good point in touring the collection to say very casually, and this is a Giger," del Toro said. "It was a big flex, you, know. Letting go of that big flex is not easy.”
“Cronos" was del Toro's critically acclaimed filmmaking debut in 1992. He began creating sketches for the movie in the 1980s and one is included in the auction, which he said is likely the only preproduction drawing for the movie he will part with.
The early concept sketch for a skeletal, muscular vampire holding a small pocket watch has a starting bid of $4,000. The pocket watch was later developed into the Cronos device, which gives an elderly man immortality in the film.
“It’s very beautiful to be able to say look this is a ‘Cronos’ design I made when nobody knew what ‘Cronos’ was,” del Toro said.
Guillermo del Toro poses for a portrait on Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2025, at his "Bleak House" in Santa Monica, Calif. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)
Guillermo del Toro poses for a portrait on Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2025, at his "Bleak House" in Santa Monica, Calif. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Smithsonian Institution gave the White House new documents on its planned exhibits Tuesday in response to a demand to share precise details of what its museums and other programs are doing for America’s 250th birthday.
For months, President Donald Trump has been pressing the Smithsonian to back off “divisive narratives” and tell an upbeat story on the country’s history and culture, with the threat of holding back federal money if it doesn’t. The institution is a cornerstone of American culture, operating 21 museums and a zoo that are among the most popular tourist destinations in Washington.
By Tuesday, the Smithsonian was supposed to provide lists of all displays, objects, wall text and other material dedicated to this year’s anniversary and other purposes. Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Bunch III told staff, in an email obtained by The New York Times and The Washington Post, that “we transmitted more information in response to that request.”
The White House did not respond to a request for comment, leaving it unclear whether it was satisfied with the material it received. Bunch indicated there was more to come, saying the institution will continue to engage in providing “relevant and appropriate materials.”
The Trump administration’s intent is to ensure Americans get an positive accounting of the country’s history, not one weighted by complexities or shameful episodes of the past.
The ultimatum was laid out in a Dec. 18 letter to Bunch from the White House budget director, Russell Vought, and the domestic policy director, Vince Haley.
“We wish to be assured that none of the leadership of the Smithsonian museums is confused about the fact that the United States has been among the greatest forces for good in the history of the world,” the letter said.
Americans “will have no patience for any museum that is diffident about America’s founding or otherwise uncomfortable conveying a positive view of American history, one which is justifiably proud of our country’s accomplishments and record.”
The Smithsonian is not a federal entity but receives a majority of its money from Congress.
The White House initially asked for all relevant materials in September but said documents turned over by the Smithsonian fell far short of what it requested.
In his March executive order, Trump claimed there had been a “concerted and widespread” effort over the past decade to rewrite American history by replacing “objective facts” with a “distorted narrative driven by ideology rather than truth.”
As part of that, Trump tasked Vice President JD Vance with overseeing efforts to “remove improper ideology” from all areas of the institution. Like other vice presidents, Vance serves on the Smithsonian’s board.
The Smithsonian and the White House did not respond to requests for comment Tuesday afternoon.
The prospect of polishing the historical record to satisfy a president is concerning to many who study the past.
“History is about evidence," said Matthew Delmont, a history professor at Dartmouth College. “It's about welcoming complexity and nuance. It’s not about crafting a single story that needs to make everyone feel happy.”
Jim McSweeney, a retired archivist from the National Archives, said: “Here’s our history. Here’s our shared experience. We have to learn from it and never go back and try to whitewash or change anything based upon your political leanings.”
In the months leading up to Trump’s order in August for an official review of all Smithsonian exhibits, Trump fired the head archivist of the National Archives and said he was firing the National Portrait Gallery’s director, Kim Sajet, who maintained the backing of the Smithsonian’s governing board, but ultimately resigned.
Already, references to Trump’s two impeachments have been removed from his photo portrait display at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery in its “American Presidents” exhibition, though the text was available online.
Administration officials have couched the accounting as work needed before the nation celebrates the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, which the letter calls “a singular opportunity to justify confidence in the operations of America’s leading cultural institutions.”
The Smithsonian review is just one part of Trump's broadside against a culture he deems too liberal.
Trump fired the board of the Kennedy Center, one of the nation’s premier cultural institutions, handpicking a new one that voted to add his name to the storied complex’s exterior. In the months since, a number of artists have withdrawn from performances at the venue, some citing the name change and Trump’s involvement.
At the White House, Trump designed a partisan and subjective “Presidential Walk of Fame” featuring gilded photographs of himself and predecessors, with plaques on what they did. He excludes Democrat Joe Biden, who is represented instead by an autopen to symbolize what Trump has described as a presidency in absentia.
At the time, the White House said Trump was a primary author of the plaques, which praised him as a historically successful figure and described Biden as the worst president in history and one who brought the U.S. to "the brink of destruction.”
This story was first published on Jan. 13, 2026. It was published again on Jan. 14, 2026, to correct that Vice President JD Vance was already on the Smithsonian Board of Regents when President Donald Trump directed him to oversee the removal of “improper ideology” from the institution. Vance was not placed on the board to oversee that effort.
FILE - A new sign at the presidential impeachment exhibit in the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History in Washington, on Aug. 26, 2025, describes the counts against President Donald Trump in his second impeachment trial. The Senate acquitted him in both trials. (AP Photo/Calvin Woodward, File)
FILE - A display in the "Great Debate" section of a democracy exhibit at the National Museum of American History, seen Aug. 26, 2025, in Washington, reflects some of the issues the nation grapples with. (AP Photo/Calvin Woodward, File)
People react to a photograph of President Donald Trump on display at the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery's "American Presidents" exhibit on Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026 in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)
A visitor stops to look at a photograph of President Donald Trump and a short plaque next to it are on display at the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery's "American Presidents" exhibit on Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026 in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)
