Harry Potter Illustrations
Bloomsbury approached Cliff Wright for illustrating the British First edition cover for the second Harry Potter book. The cover illustration for the first book was drawn by Thomas Taylor, a young artist out of college. The popularity of the first book decided Bloomsbury to select a more experienced illustrator, and hence Cliff Wright was chosen. Wright was the obvious choice for the cover illustrator of the third Harry Potter book as well.
Wright was the first to illustrate the following Harry Potter concepts and characters:
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (1998):
- Hedwig the Owl
- Weasleys' Ford Anglia
- Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (1999):
- The Hippogriff Buckbeak
- Sirius Black in his dog-form
Wright retains the rights to the illustrations. He refused to illustrate the fourth Harry Potter book after Bloomsbury lost his original front and back cover artwork for Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. The huge black market of the Harry Potter fandom has been rumoured to be the cause of the disappearance. He also sued Bloomsbury for offering insufficient compensation.
The original artwork for the second book Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets went on auction at Christie's in 2001 but was unsuccessful at meeting the reserve price of £ 30,000. The work has since been acquired by investor Luke Heron on behalf of illustration investment company Storyboard Assets Plc for an undisclosed sum. The original art for the first book raised £ 85,000 at auction.
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