July 2014 |
Rare Sendak Watercolor at Auction
A rare painting by children's author/illustrator Maurice Sendak goes to auction this week at Hake's Americana & Collectibles of York, Pennsylvania. Sendak created the 26" x 32" watercolor (seen below) in 1985 for a television adaptation of the Prokofiev opera, "The Love For Three Oranges." The piece has since been in the collection of Hake's founder Ted Hake, a friend of Sendak's who acquired the painting directly from the artist.
According to Hake's, only three other finished watercolors are known, and only one of those in private hands, which sold at auction in March 2009 for $74,000. After having a heart attack in his late thirties, Sendak ensured his legacy by making arrangements to donate all of his future original art to the Rosenbach Museum & Library in Philadelphia. So very few pieces of Sendak's art appear on the market.
The bidding is open--starting at $25,000--and will close on July 17.
Image: Maurice Sendak (American, 1928-2012), original watercolor art created for 1982 TV adaptation of Prokofiev's opera 'The Love For Three Oranges,' 26in x 31in (framed). Provenance: Ted Hake collection. Image courtesy of Hake's.
According to Hake's, only three other finished watercolors are known, and only one of those in private hands, which sold at auction in March 2009 for $74,000. After having a heart attack in his late thirties, Sendak ensured his legacy by making arrangements to donate all of his future original art to the Rosenbach Museum & Library in Philadelphia. So very few pieces of Sendak's art appear on the market. The bidding is open--starting at $25,000--and will close on July 17.
Image: Maurice Sendak (American, 1928-2012), original watercolor art created for 1982 TV adaptation of Prokofiev's opera 'The Love For Three Oranges,' 26in x 31in (framed). Provenance: Ted Hake collection. Image courtesy of Hake's.
