Sale 2300 Lot 164

DR. SEUSS [THEODOR GEISEL]. A Pair of Llamas in Peru.
Pen, ink, and watercolor on board, Inscribed and Signed in pen, lower right: "For Hope Morris, That Llama Fancier - Dr. Seuss" with large ink and pencil study on verso, showing the llamas, a boy, rooster, and tile roofed dwelling in the background (marked "void"). 241x222mm; 9 1/2x8 3/4 inches, professionally matted and framed with double-sided acrylic and grey wood to show both images, few scuffs to frame edges. not examined out of frame but very good condition.
Estimate $20,000-30,000

Geisel and his wife Helen, avid travelers, visited Peru twice between 1932 and 1934. The main focus of his first trip was to study animals: "I just came back from Peru . . . [where I] looked into the llama situation . . .They can spit at you and aim every shot they make . . . I go all over looking for peculiar animals [and] I've discovered that God has turned out more ridiculous looking creatures than I have"--(Morgan, Judith and Neil Bowen. Dr. Seuss & Mr. Geisel, 1995, pages 76-77.) Peru was the inspiration for several images he made during these years, including a short-lived Hearst newspaper comic with an Andean theme called "Hejji by Dr. Seuss" in 1935.