He was a crazy dude, but I love me some Richard Scarry illustration, both his cartoony Cars and Trucks and Things That Go style and his more traditionally watercolor style, like his wonderful paintings for Ole Risom's I Am A Bunny.
Andy points to Every Picture Tells A Story, a Santa Monica gallery selling original Scarry artwork of both types for what seem like very reasonable prices, considering [around $2,000-2,500 apiece].
The subjectivity of the real [sic] art world is something I'm very comfortable with, but the way prices and values are calculated in the children's book/illustration art market is frankly baffling. I'd imagine original art for/from books is more valuable than made up drawings of those same characters. But I'd also imagine not many artists letting that stuff go, so what hits the market is by definition of secondary or tertiary importance at best.
Still, the graphite sketch above, from Scarry's book, Nicky Goes To The Doctor, is pretty cool, and I'm not just saying that because it depicts the number of bandaids the kid goes through every day.
Richard Scarry, "Band Aids," 16x9.75", $2,400 [everypicture.com]
There Once Was A Bear Named Pierre [stork bites man]
Previously: haha, that guy wrote children's books?? Hilarious Richard Scarry bio
My absolute favorite book as a kid was a golden book called "Tommy visits the doctor" that had two stories running through it. Tommy as the main pictures/story and along the bottom a little bunny doing the same things. Those illustrations looked so familiar.
Sure enough - Tommy's bunny and "Nicky" are one in the same.
http://www.seriesbooks.com/tommyvisitsthedoctor.htm
I own a Richard Scarry original illustration. It's framed and it has the stamp with an address in France. The painting of a Bumble Bee in color is signed by Mr. Scarry. Please advise who I can talk to in regards to the sale of this piece.
thanks in advance.
Omar
I've purchased several originals from Random House myself. There's nothing like seeing the original art up close. There are several pieces on sale at ridingthephoenix.com, or try finding when the "Golden Legacy" art installation is coming to a museum near you. They have over 50 original Little Golden Book illustrations from the most prominent illustrators, including Mr. Scarry.