Patrick Nagel Portrait of Real Housewives Star Jeana Keough Brings $350,000, Shatters World Record

Painting of former model for Playboy and ZZ Top's "Legs" leads Illustration Art event at Heritage Auctions

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DALLAS, Texas (October 16, 2020) — Artist and illustrator Patrick Nagel's iconic style of Jeana, 1983 sparked a bidding war Friday, Oct. 16, when it sold for $350,000, shattering the previous artist auction record. The artwork was consigned by the model pictured in the image, Jeana Keough, who became well-known in the 1980s for appearances in Playboy Magazine and rock videos.

Heritage Auctions set the previous auction record paid for a Nagel portrait when it sold Bold for $200,000 in 2017.

"We could hardly believe our eyes as the bids came in so fast and so strong," said Ed Jaster, Vice President of Fine Art at Heritage Auctions.

Working under her maiden name of Jeana Tomasino, she was an elite model in the 1980s with a portfolio that ranged from Playboy Playmate of the Month in November 1980 to ZZ Top music videos. She returned to the public eye starting in 2006 as one of the original cast members of the reality show The Real Housewives of Orange County.

She and the 11 other 1980 Playmates caught the eye of Nagel, who began making large acrylic portraits of each. Nagel died in 1984. Shortly after his death, his wife called Keough.

"She said, 'I know he'd want you to have it,'" Keough said. "'Come and get it.'

"I wanted this pose. My boyfriend at the time wanted a (portrait with a) similar pose in a swimsuit, but it wasn't signed."

The offered lot is signed "1983 Nagel".

The ex-wife of former Oakland A's pitcher Matt Keough, Jeana Keough said she is offering the portrait because she is downsizing, but admits the decision was not easy.

"I'm moving – downsizing – and I don't want my kids to have to deal with it," Keough said. "I have other photos and pieces of art, but this one hung in my bedroom. I'm going to miss it."

For images and information on any of the lots in Heritage Auctions' Illustration Art Auction, visit HA.com/8027.

Heritage Auctions is the largest fine art and collectibles auction house founded in the United States, and the world's largest collectibles auctioneer. Heritage maintains offices in New York, Dallas, Beverly Hills, San Francisco, Chicago, Palm Beach, London, Paris, Geneva, Amsterdam and Hong Kong.

Heritage also enjoys the highest Online traffic and dollar volume of any auction house on earth (source: SimilarWeb and Hiscox Report). The Internet's most popular auction-house website, HA.com, has more than 1,250,000 registered bidder-members and searchable free archives of five million past auction records with prices realized, descriptions and enlargeable photos. Reproduction rights routinely granted to media for photo credit.


Eric Bradley, Director, Public Relations
214-409-1871; EricB@HA.com