ID 460901
Lot 6 | Quentin Blake (b.1932)
Estimate value
£ 600 – 900
'Darwin's Beetles'
2016
Pen, ink, watercolour paper, signed.
277 x 390mm
An alternative version from a series of designs produced by Quentin for window blinds installed at Cambridge University's Museum of Zoology in 2016. The blinds are visible from the outside of the David Attenborough Building on Pembroke Street; the designs showcase Quentin's humour and love of the natural world and depict museum specimens including a Finback Whale, inspired by the 70-foot skeleton held by the museum; the Aldabra Giant Tortoise, patiently posing for its portrait; and Charles Darwin collecting beetles from the fields around Cambridge.
As Quentin, explained: 'I was given lots and lots of unusual material and was able to choose among that. They gave me pictures of the creatures, but the stories that go with them were particularly good, and I chose those that had stories: Darwin and the beetles is particularly good. He had two beetles and wanted to get hold of a third, so put one into his mouth, and it spurted acid down his throat and he lost them. It's stories like that that bring it alive to people'.
Address of auction |
CHRISTIE'S 8 King Street, St. James's SW1Y 6QT London United Kingdom | |
---|---|---|
Preview |
| |
Phone | +44 (0)20 7839 9060 | |
Buyer Premium | see on Website | |
Conditions of purchase | Conditions of purchase |
Frequently asked questions
First of all, you should register to be able to purchase at auction. After confirming your email address, enter your personal information in your user profile, such as your first name, last name, and mail address. Choose a lot from the upcoming auction and the maximum amount you want to place on it. After confirmation of your choice, we will send your application by e-mail to the appropriate auction house. If the auction house accepts a request, it will participate in the auction. You can view the current status of a bid at any time in your personal account in the "Bids" section.
Auctions are performed by auction houses and each of the auction houses describes their terms of auction. You can see the texts in the section "Auction information".
The results of the auction are published within a few days after the end of the auction. In the top menu of the site, find the tab "Auctions". Click on it and you will be on the auction catalog page, where you can easily find the category "Results". After opening it, select the desired auction from the list, enter and view the current status of the interested lot.
The information about the auction winners is confidential. The auction winner will receive a direct notification from the auction house responsible with instructions for further action: an invoice for payment and the manner in which the goods will be received.
Each of the auction houses has its own payment policy for the won lots. All auction houses accept bank transfers, most of them accept credit card payments. In the near future you will find detailed information for each case in the section "Auction information" on the page of the auction catalog and the lot.
Shipment of the won lot depends on its size. Small items can be delivered by post. Larger lots are sent by courier. Employees of the auction houses will offer you a wide range to choose from.
No. The archive serves as a reference for the study of auction prices, photographs and descriptions of works of art.