Thursday, June 23, 2011

A Sendak Trio



Lot No: 212
Maurice Sendak (American, born 1928)
"1990 International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY),"poster design for the conference in Williamsburg, Va., September 1990.
Signed and dated 1988.
Watercolor.
55 x 42.5cm (21 5/8 x 16 3/4in).
Matted and framed.
Estimate: US$400,000 - 700,000 

On June 22, this lovely 1988 poster illustration by Maurice Sendak executed for the International Board on Books for Young People failed to sell at auction in New York. Original illustrations by Sendak are generally hard enough to come by, but images of this quality are rare indeed. The irony is that any number of Sendak fans and collectors would be absolutely delighted to acquire such a stunning, original, large-scale watercolor. The characters are recognizable and desirable, including Max, a Wild Thing (named Moishe), and the alligator from "Alligators All Around" in The Nutshell Library.

Alas, Bonhams's pre-sale auction estimate of $400,000 to $700,000 put this piece out of reach of all but a very few. At first I was stunned by the audacious estimate, but on reflection Sendak has an awful lot of admirers and I doubt whether many images of this quality will come to the market any time soon. So while the artwork didn't sell at this lofty price, it probably could have sold, perhaps in a better economy or else just on a better day. I certainly don't fault Bonhams for trying to coax an astonishing sale price from an astonishing painting. Ultimately, though, it's the market, not the seller, that determines the monetary worth of a unique work of art.

Maurice Sendak, IBBY Congress 1990
International Board on Books for Young People!
September 2-7
Williamsburg[,] Virginia
Pencil Rough
Image added April 15, 2012


Maurice Sendak, 1990 International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) Poster Original Art
Image added June 26, 2012




Maurice Sendak, IBBY Congress 1990
International Board on Books for Young People!
September 2-7
Williamsburg[,] Virginia
Pencil Rough
Image added June 26, 2012


The published poster:
Maurice Sendak, IBBY Congress1990 International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) published poster
Image added April 20, 2015
https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/16235827_ibby-congress-1990-international-board-on-books



Bonhams 20th Century Illustration Art Auction Catalogue Cover Illustration
June 22, 2011
New York
Image added January 19, 2013




The original auction listing is here:  http://bonhams.com/eur/auction/19514/lot/212/

Images copyright ©2011 Bonhams 1793 Ltd. and the artist.

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2 comments:

  1. Sous-ChefFriday, June 24, 2011 at 4:51:00 AM EDT

    Maurice Sendak is my all time favorite children's author/illusttators. Sadly as a humble librarian, I can only afford a poster of "Where the wild things are" in my guest room. I'd kill to be able to own an original work. BTW, his version/staging of the holiday ballet "The Nutcracker Suite" is awesome.

    Good luck with blogging. It was something I tried last summer but couldn't keep up, even when I had plenty of "time" on my hands while recovering from cancer. You're bookmarked now!

    Sue Larson (FB)

    ReplyDelete
  2. docnadWednesday, June 29, 2011 at 12:15:00 AM EDT

    Well, Sue, I think you, my first follower, defined what this whole blog thing is going to be about in your first line of the first comment: all-time favorites! There, I even put it up on the masthead, at least until I come up with something better!

    ReplyDelete

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