When it comes to finding the vocabulary to describe the work of the late video game artist Stephen Peringer, who sadly passed away last year, prolific is probably the first word that springs to mind.
Throughout both the 80s and '90s, Peringer contributed a frankly stunning amount of iconic art for some of the biggest video game companies around, like Nintendo, Irem, Square Soft, Sierra, and Kemco Seika, doing so in the capacity of a freelancer.
Not only was he responsible for the cover of games like Final Fantasy Mystic Quest, Deja Vu, and Shadowgate, but he also was the person behind the marquee + side art for games like R-Type, as well as promotional illustrations for everything from Super Mario 64 to King’s Quest VII: The Princeless Bride. It's, therefore, possible you've encountered his work in the past, even if you don't exactly know the artist specifically.
Now some of that amazing artwork is going up for sale over on Heritage Auctions (as spotted by VGDensetsu), next month on May 5th, giving people the chance to take home some rare and (in some cases) unused illustrations from the legendary artist.
In total, there are 12 items up for sale. These range from the iconic Super Mario 64 advert "Dinosaurs Will Fly" to an unused cover for the Street Fighter II Turbo Player's Guide, unused artwork for the cover of the Game Boy title The Final Fantasy Legend, and the original SNES cover for Irem's 1992 title GunForce.
As always with these kinds of auctions, ideally we'd want this stuff to end up in the hands of a museum that could potentially share it with the world, but we realize that's probably wishful thinking.
Instead, we can only cross our fingers and hope that this material will go to a good home.
You can view the full listing here.