Tasha Tudor, “She was standing inside the secret garden.” cover illustration for the Harper Trophy edition of The Secret Garden, watercolor & graphite, 1998. Estimate $7,000 to $10,000.
With a wonderful discovery of treasures for intrepid collectors, the spring Illustration sale features a rich selection from the late Emily and Sam Bush collection, including notable children’s classics, as well as theatrical ephemera, works from notable picture books, cartoons, comics and more. Those seeking uncommon but historically noteworthy works of illustration will have the opportunity to place bids on June 9.
Edmund Dulac, “The Lady Bedr-el-Budur.”, illustration published in Sindbad the Sailor & Other Stories from The Arabian Nights, watercolor, gouache, pen & ink, 1914. Estimate $8,000 to $12,000.
The Emily & Sam Bush Collection
A selection of children’s classics is centered around a collection formed by the late Emily and Sam Bush of Norwich, Vermont. The couple opened Bush Galleries in 1984, focusing on and promoting the original artwork of local New England illustrators.
Hilary Knight, The Mysterious Gallion, illustration published on the covers of Cricket Magazine, watercolor, pencil and white tempera, 1984. Estimate $3,000 to $4,000.
This sale contains colorful works by New Hampshire artist and Caldecott winner Trina Schart Hyman, and Alice & Martin Provensen, Hilary Knight, and one of the most iconic images for childhood storybooks—Tasha Tudor’s cover for Frances Hodgson Burnett’s The Secret Garden.
At auction June 9: From left to right: Alice & Martin Provensen, The Swan Maiden illustration for the story by Howard Pyle, mixed media, 1971. Estimate $2,000 to $3,000; Trina Schart Hyman, “Oh, easy for Leonardo!” illustration for A Child’s Christmas in Wales, watercolor, 1985. Estimate $800 to $1,200.
Theater Illustrations & Set Design
For fans of Al Hirschfeld and the late, great composer Stephen Sondheim, we are thrilled to offer Hirschfeld’s iconic cast drawing for the Tony Award-winning Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, as well as a gorgeous set design for Alexandra Exter’s Romeo and Juliet for the 1921 Kamerny Theatre production.
Al Hirschfeld, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, illustration for the 1979 Broadway production at the Uris Theatre, pen, ink and graphite, 1979. Estimate $15,000 to $25,000.
Alexandra Exter, stage design for “Romeo and Juliet.” created for the 1921 performance at Alexander Tiro’s Kamerny (Chamber Theatre), gouache, 1921. Estimate $10,000 to $15,000.
Other highlights include: an illustration by then 18-year-old N.C. Wyeth from a series he created for his maternal grandparents entitled My Grandfather’s Farm, a study by Jessie Willcox Smith for The Five Senses, an incredibly detailed drawing by Eleanor Vere Boyle for The Story Without an End and a fascinating archive of preparatory material from the collection of illustrator Bob Childress.
N.C. Wyeth, War, illustration from the series My Grandfather’s Farm, graphite, ink & gouache, circa 1900-02. Estimate $3,000 to $5,000.
At auction June 9: From left to right: Eleanor Vere Boyle, “But he was only sunk in a dream of delight.”, original illustration for The Story without and End, watercolor, 1868. Estimate $15,000 to $20,000; Jessie Willcox Smith, “Tasting.”, study or artist’s copy of illustration published in McClure’s magazine, watercolor, 1907. Estimate $12,000 to $18,000.
Picture Books, Magazines & Literary Material
At auction June 9: From left to right: Harold Anderson, Grandma will make it all better, cover illustration for American Druggist magazine, 1935. Estimate $2,000 to $3,000; Jay Paul Jackson, Etta Moten Barnett dancing, illustration created for the American Negro Exposition, watercolor, circa 1940. Estimate $800 to $1,200.
