Thomas Taylor Harry Potter illustration, $1.6m at Sotheby's, New York.
Sotheby's
The original artwork for Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone sold at Sotheby’s for $1.6m (£1.3m) plus 20% buyer’s premium in New York on June 26.
The 1997 artwork by Thomas Taylor was expected to fetch $400,000-600,000, but a battle between two phone bidders and two online bidders resulted in the seven-figure price – making it the most expensive Harry Potter item ever sold at auction.
Taylor created the artwork when he was 23 years old and fresh out of art school. The pencil and watercolour artwork (401 x 282 mm) was signed and dated ('Thomas Taylor 1997'), captioned and signed again on the accompanying cover sheet.
It did previously make an appearance at auction: in July 2001 it realised £85,750 off a £20,000-25,000 estimate. It was sold as part of the library of Dr Rodney P. Swantko.
Other Harry Potter items have appeared at auction recently. On June 24, Daniel Radcliffe’s shoes worn for the 2004 Prisoner of Azkaban film sold for £3600 (£4000-6000 estimate) at Dawsons on behalf of the Children's Hospices Across Scotland (CHAS) charity. The shoes came with a letter of provenance from Radcliffe’s mother.
On June 20 a complete set of Harry Potter books inscribed by J.K. Rowling also fetched £17,000 at Dominic Winter (plus 20% buyer’s premium).
