‘Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone’ Original Cover Artwork Sells for $1.9 Million
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The original watercolour illustration for Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone sold for a record-breaking US$1.9 million on Wednesday, becoming the most valuable Harry Potter item ever sold at auction.
Thomas Taylor’s artwork, which sold at Sotheby’s in New York, was featured on the covers of the first edition of the 1997 novel. Prior to the auction, its price estimate was between US$400,000 and US$600,000—the highest pre-sale estimate ever placed on a Harry Potter-related item.
The illustration was first offered at auction in 2001 at Sotheby’s in London, where it sold for a then-record £85,750 (US$121,431 at the time).
Taylor was just 23 and working in a bookshop when he received his first professional commission to create a cover for J.K. Rowling ’s first novel. Taylor came up with the first-ever depiction of Harry Potter, which has now become the universal image for the iconic character.
The previous record for a Harry Potter auction item was set in 2021 when an unsigned first edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone sold for US$421,000 at Heritage Auctions in Dallas. A handwritten copy of The Tales of Beedle the Bard by Rowling sold in a charity auction at Sotheby’s in 2007 for £1.95 million, however the copy had been produced specifically to raise money for the author’s charity, Lumos, which supports the end of the institutionalisation of children worldwide.
The cover art sold as part of the library of Dr. Rodney P. Swantko, a significant collection of 19th- and 20th-century English and American literature, according to Sotheby’s.
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The Financial Action Task Force also removed Jamaica and Turkey from the grey list
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A global financial watchdog has censored Monaco and Venezuela for not doing enough to strengthen their anti-money-laundering and counterterrorist financing systems.
The Financial Action Task Force, a Paris-based intergovernmental body that sets anti-money-laundering law standards, met this week in Singapore and added the two countries to its “grey list” of nations requiring increased monitoring. The FATF said it would work with the two countries to address the deficiencies identified in their anti-money-laundering systems.
The FATF also removed Jamaica and Turkey from the grey list, saying the two nations had made significant progress in improving their anti-money-laundering and counterterrorism financing regimes.
There has been speculation for some time that Monaco would be added to the gray list, according to news reports earlier this year.
Wealthy people from around the world have in recent years flocked to Monaco, one of the smallest sovereign states, because of its favorable tax policies, forking over millions for luxury rental apartments . Some real-estate agents in Monaco said before Friday’s announcement that they expect little impact on the residential market from the principality being added to the gray list.
The FATF said Monaco has made some improvements to its anti-money-laundering regime since December 2022, including through the establishment of a new combined financial intelligence unit and anti-money-laundering supervisor. But the principality still needs to improve in six areas, including its understanding of the risks related to money laundering and income-tax fraud committed abroad, and its implementation of penalties for violations of anti-money-laundering and beneficial ownership requirements, the FATF said.
For Venezuela, the FATF said the country needs to work on issues such as its investigation and prosecution of money laundering and terrorist financing, as well as ensuring its measures to prevent the misuse of nonprofit organizations for terrorism financing aren’t disrupting or discouraging legitimate humanitarian efforts.
Representatives for Monaco’s embassy in Washington and Venezuela’s mission to the United Nations didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
The FATF’s plenary also marked the end of T. Raja Kumar of Singapore as president of the organisation. Elisa de Anda Madrazo of Mexico will take over as FATF president on July 1.
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Just 55 minutes from Sydney, make this your creative getaway located in the majestic Hawkesbury region.
