Bonham's in New York has two original pieces of artwork from Peter Sís up for auction on December 11th. They were both used for the 2001 Houghton Mifflin edition of The Hobbit on the dustjacket (front and back). Also for auction is a lot of the 12 illustrations that Pauline Baynes created for Frog and Water Shrew - while obviously not directly Tolkien related, the relationship between Baynes and Tolkien is strong and many collectors are interested in her other artwork.


Bonham's
Fine Books and Manuscripts
11 Dec 2013, starting at 10:00 EST
New York


Bonham's Sis Cover Lot 1302 Dec 2013
Lot 1302
Sís, Peter. b.1949.
The Hobbit or There and Back Again
"The Hobbit or There and Back Again," watercolor with pen-and-ink and gold paint, 406 x 215 mm, signed "SÍS" in lower central panel. Published: The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2001), front cover of dust jacket. Czech-born illustrator Peter Sís is one of the most honored of contemporary children's book artists. His picture books have been named Caldecott Honor Books and have regularly appeared in the New York Times best illustrated books of the year list. He is also the first children's book illustrator to have been awarded a MacArthur Fellowship. Sís employed a lighter, more fanciful approach to the great children's classic than that of previous artists. The various panels offer his solution to capturing the complexity of the novel in a single composition.
Estimate: $8,000 - 10,000
Did not sell

Bonham's Sis Map Lot 1303 Dec 2013
Lot 1303
Sís, Peter. b.1949.
Map of Middle Earth
Map of Middle Earth, watercolor with pen-and-ink and gold paint, 406 x 230 mm, signed "SÍS" lower right.
Published: The Hobbit or There and Back Again by J.R.R. Tolkien (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2001), back cover. Peter Sís prepared this picture as a frontispiece to Tolkien's classic, but it was used on the back jacket instead.
Estimate: $8,000 - 10,000
Did not sell

Bonham's Baynes 1132 Dec 2013
Lot 1132
Baynes, Pauline. 1922-2008
Suite of 12 illustrations for Frog and Water Shrew
Suite of 12 illustrations for Frog and Water Shrew, gouache, watercolor, crayon and pastel, 235 x 380 mm each, signed "Pauline Baynes" lower right, with tissue overlays showing text placement and other production markings (one lacking).
Published: Frog and Water Shrew by Helen Piers (Harmondsworth: Kestrel Books, 1981), endpapers and 11 interior double-page spreads. Baynes was from Brighton and studied at the Farnham School of Art and the Slade School of Art until WWII. She drew naval charts for the Hydrographic Department of British Admiralty, where she met many established illustrators who inspired and encouraged her. Although she illustrated over 90 books for various author, she is best known for her illustrations of the works of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien.
Estimate: $1,500 - 2,500
Sold for US$ 2,500 inc. premium