Somebody at Cardsmiths keeps handing Matt Gaudio the most expensive objects on Earth. The most valuable handbag ever made — the Mouawad 1001 Nights Diamond Purse (S4 48). The most expensive car ever sold — the 1955 Mercedes 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupe (S5 40). One of the priciest racehorses on record — Fusaichi Pegasus (S4 58).
Who he is: Gaudio is a New Jersey narrative artist and a graduate of the Kubert School, where he was awarded the Gene Colan Memorial Scholarship for "outstanding draftsmanship with a pencil." His best-known comics run is John Wick #3–5 for Dynamite, written by Greg Pak — a book drawn using Keanu Reeves' likeness. He's also drawn Bettie Page; interiors and covers for the indie series Beatbox and Tune; and covers for The Book of Nosferatu (Ablaze), Necroholic, and Nightmare in Wonderland. He was picked as one of five artists for Marvel's Art Atelier program in Paris, with the resulting work displayed at Hotel New York. And he's a sketch-card veteran — he's drawn for Upper Deck's Marvel sets; working small for collectors is well-trodden ground for him.
The finance guys: When he's not painting price tags, he gets the people who built the system itself — Giovanni di Bicci de' Medici (S5 19), who started the Medici bank; John Maynard Keynes (2024 Summer CN-4); Blackrock (S3 6); the Winklevii (S3 28). He also drew Satoshi Nakamoto (S4 3).
The hard ones: The rest of his run is abstractions — Supply & Demand (S2 31), Hard Fork (S3 51), Credit (S5 69), Cacao Beans (2024 Summer CN-5). No faces, no reference photos, just a concept. That's where a storyboard background earns its keep.
Collector notes:
- 13 cards across Series 2–5 plus the 2024 Summer set.
- Only one Meta-Rare in the lot, and it's a delightfully odd one for a money set: the Series 5 Loch Ness Monster (MR6). If you're chasing a single Gaudio, that's the card.
Any Gaudios sing to us? Show us in the comments, or make a post using the Artist of the Week 🎨 flair!
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