Original Harry Potter Cover Art Sells for $1.9m

The original watercolor painting for the cover of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone has just made history, selling for $1.9 million at an auction, making it the most expensive piece of Harry Potter memorabilia ever sold.

This artwork, created by Thomas Taylor, was used on the cover of the first edition of J.K. Rowling’s beloved book in 1997. The illustration shows Harry Potter on Platform 9¾, waiting to board the Hogwarts Express for his first trip to Hogwarts.

Taylor, who completed the painting in just two days, used watercolors and black pencil on cold-pressed paper. For his work, he was paid $650 at the time.

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The painting sold at Sotheby’s New York after a heated 10-minute bidding war. It far exceeded expectations, as the artwork was estimated to sell for between $400,000 and $600,000—almost four times its projected value.

The previous record for Harry Potter memorabilia was held by a first edition copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, which sold for $421,000 in 2021.

Sotheby’s called the sale the “highest pre-sale estimate ever placed on any Harry Potter-related work.”