James Thurber

Original Drawings for The Middle-Aged Man on the Flying Trapeze

Found at Christies
The Private Collection of William S. Reese: Part Three, Lot 424
19. May - 2. Jun 2022
Estimate: 7.000 - 10.000 USD
Price realised: 16.380 USD
THURBER, James (1894-1961). A collection of fifteen pen and ink drawings, [New York, 1935]. Original drawings for Thurber's 1935 book , The Middle-Aged Man on the Flying Trapeze. A series of scenes from his fifth book of short stories featuring Thurber's famous "wobbly" drawings featured in The New Yorker evoking his particular view of the world. "A Joyce in false-face, he stews hilarious pages with characters who take their subconsciousness out on benders." (C. G. Poore. " Mr. Thurber's Manias Are Loose Again," The New York Times Book Review, 24 Nov. 1935, p. 3). Thurber's work first came to the attention of The New Yorker when his friend and co-worker, E.B. White retrieved several examples from the trash and submitted from for publication. His friend Dorothy Parker, noted that the scenes conjured by Thurber, deals “solely in culminations. Beneath his pictures he sets only the final line. You may figure for yourself, and good luck to y

Upper estimate price exceeded by 64 %.

The work Original Drawings for The Middle-Aged Man on the Flying Trapeze by James Thurber was sold in the The Private Collection of William S. Reese: Part Three auction at Christies in June last year. The »bidding war« ended at USD 16,380.00 (€ 15,646.19), 64% above the upper estimate. Despite this good result, it is not the highest hammer price for an artwork by James Thurber; that achieved among the auctions we observed the lot Eight Pen and Ink Drawings by James Thurber on Various Themes sold at auction in June last year with the realized price of USD 17,640.00 (€ 16,849.75).

Oberer Schätzpreis um 64 % übertroffen

Die Arbeit Original Drawings for The Middle-Aged Man on the Flying Trapeze von James Thurber wurde im Juni letzten Jahres in der Auktion The Private Collection of William S. Reese: Part Three bei Christies versteigert. Das »Bietergefecht« endete beim Preis von USD 16.380,00 (€ 15.646,19) und damit 64% über dem oberen Schätzpreis. Trotz des guten Ergebnisses ist dies nicht der höchste Zuschlag für ein Kunstwerk von James Thurber; den erzielte unter den von uns beobachteten Auktionen die Arbeit Eight Pen and Ink Drawings by James Thurber on Various Themes im Juni letzten Jahres mit dem Hammerpreis von USD 17.640,00 (€ 16.849,75).

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