A simple watercolor painting of a train engine and , has been sold at a Sotheby’s auction in New York. Sotheby’s representatives claim that it has achieved the highest sum for any item related to the entire franchise about the teenage wizard. The drawing decorated the first edition of J.K. Rowling’s book: “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” from 1997.
Over seven million zlotys for a Harry Potter drawing
The watercolor picture is slightly larger than an A4 sheet of paper. It was made by Thomas Taylor in 1997 – the artist took two days to complete the publishing house’s order. He received about three thousand pounds for them, but he did not receive any further orders. The next books were illustrated by Cliff Wright, a more experienced illustrator than the 24-year-old Taylor. Just four years later, the drawing was auctioned for the first time. Back then, the “Harry Potter” craze was just getting started. Only the first four parts of the book and one film were on sale. At that time, the price of the drawing was “only” just over 85,000 pounds (430,000 zlotys).
In 2024, his moment of glory came. The painting was auctioned at Sotheby’s in New York along with other works of art. On June 25, the buyer auctioned it for 1.5 million pounds (over PLN 7 million). According to TheGuardian, a ten-minute bidding battle was fought for the Thomas Taylor drawing. Thus, the illustration became the most expensive item related to the Harry Potter franchise – previously this name was held by the first printed book in the series.
Source: Gazeta
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