illustrations

Charlotte's Web Art Sells Way Above Estimate

Proving that sentiment sells, the original 1952 cover art for the best-selling children's book, Charlotte's Web by E.B. White, brought an incredible sum at tonight's sale by Heritage Auctions in New York City. The cover art drawn by legendary children's illustrator Garth Williams sold for $155,350 more than five times the pre-sale estimate and a world's record for any of Williams' art.

"The buyer is an anonymous New York collector who did not say what his plans are for the art," said Barry Sandoval, director of operations for the comics and original comic art auctions at Heritage.

White's story of Wilbur the pig, Charlotte the Spider and Fern, the young girl who tries to save Wilbur from the slaughterhouse, has enchanted generations of children. Another famous drawing from the book, the page 95 illustration entitled, "There Was the Handsome Pig, and Over Him, Woven Neatly in Block Letters, Was the Word TERRIFIC," brought $95,600. The late artist's family consigned 42 of Williams' original illustrations for Charlotte's Web to the auction, and they brought a combined total of $780,245 (including the 19.5 percent buyer's premium paid by all winning bidders).

"The response to the Charlotte's Web art was tremendous, especially to the iconic cover art. We expected that the cover art would exceed our initial estimate of $30,000 or more, but for it to break $150,000 is breathtaking. It just shows how universally beloved this book and this art really are," said Sandoval.

Tags: art auction, charlottes web, childrens books, e.b. white, garth williams, heritage auctions, illustrations

Winnie The Pooh On The Auction Block

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Auctions, Art

Along with millions of other children I loved Winnie the Pooh as a kid (my favorites were Piglet and Eyeore) and now a collection of the most loved iconic illustrations are going up for auction. Sotheby's will be exhibiting highlights of the auction in New York from December 3-6 and then in London from December 12th until the auction on the 17th. The drawing shown here, called 'Winnie-the-Pooh lived in a forest all by himself under the name of Sanders', goes with the first Winnie-the-Pooh chapter (when Pooh makes his first appearance) and is valued at £60,000-£80,000.

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Tags: art, auction, drawings, illustrations, sothebys, winnie the pooh, WinnieThePooh

Ornithology Collection To Benefit Crane Foundation

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Auctions

The International Crane Foundation will be the beneficiary of a special auction of one of the best collections of rare bird art and books to go on sale. On October 5, Sotheby's in New York will auction off the collection of Brooks McCormick, chief executive officer of the International Harvester Co. and a student of ornithology. McCormick was a private man and noted conservationalist who did not like to advertise his wealth. The collection features works by Audubon, Mark Catesby and Charles Darwin. The pieces shown above are from a lot of Mark Catesby works valued at between $400,000 and $600,000. The estimated value of the collection is between $1.5 million and $2 million.

[via WiscNews]

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Tags: aucton, bird art, birds, illustrations, international crane foundation, orinthology, rare books, sothebys

Edward Gorey Limited Edition Lithographs

by Nicole Weston (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Art

Edward Gorey was a brilliant writer and illustrator known for his unique, often macabre style. During the last decade or so of his life (1925-2000), Gorey produced a series of lithographs depicting some dark, but imaginative scenes. Only 1,750 of each were produced, any one of which would be a wonderful gift for a collector or fan. Signals has the remaining lithographs for each of seven designs: Tearoom Scene (1993), Street Scene (1992), Tower Scene (1996), Tower Dreams (1996), Castle Adventure (1995), Winter's Fantasy (1994) and Bacchanalia (1995, pictured). The lithographs are individually numbered, embossed with a seal of authenticity and come matted and framed. Each is $200.

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Tags: art, dark, edward gorey, EdwardGorey, gorey, illustrations, limited edition, lithographs, macabre