One of Gil Elvgren's greatest pin-ups, the iconic Thinking of You (Retirement Plan), attracted top bids in Heritage Auctions' Illustration Art Signature Auction.

'It's iconic, it's gorgeous, it's Elvgren in absolutely peak form'

The piece was originally created for a Brown and Bigelow calendar in 1962, and features on the cover of Elvgren scholar Charles G Martignette's definitive book of the artist's work, published by Taschen.

Thinking of You comes to auction direct from Martignette's estate, which contained the greatest collection of Elvgren's work ever assembled prior to Heritage Auctions' 2012 auction. Starring as the highlight in Beverly Hills on May 7, it made $209,000.

"This is one of the masterworks from The Martignette Estate that we've been holding onto," commented Todd Hignite, vice president of Heritage Auctions, before the sale.

"It's iconic, it's gorgeous, it's Elvgren in absolutely peak form. This painting has everything that a collector could want and we expect a final price realized in concordance with its desirability."

Due to its ephemeral nature, pulp magazine cover art is very rare at auction

Also featuring at Heritage was a selection of pulp magazine artworks, topped by the fantastic Lizards from Hell, True Men cover by Will Hulsey - a magnificent example of the genre - which sold for $17,500.

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