?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 8,000 - $ 12,000
ARTHUR RACKHAM (1867-1939) "The beggar took her hand and led her away."
Illustration for the tale "King Thrushbeard" published in Snow Drop and other Tales by the Brothers Grimm. (London: Constable & Company; New York: Doubleday Page & Co., 1920). Watercolor, pen, and ink over graphite on board. 260x185 mm; 10 1/4x7 1/4 inches. Signed and dated "A Rackham 14" in lower left corner; printing and ownership indications on board verso. Set in contemporary frame with U.S. Customs stamp on frame backing.
Provenance: Sotheby's London; private collection, New York.
King Thrushbeard is a cautionary tale about the beautiful but very haughty princess Anna who cruelly mocks each of her suitors including the handsome and charming young King Thrushbeard. Finally, she is forced by her exasperated father, the King, to marry the next man to arrive at their door, who turns out to be a beggar. Their ensuing life of poverty, hard work, and sacrifice teach the princess a lesson and turn her into a loving and kind person.
The image illustrates the text: "The beggar-man led her out by the hand, and she was obliged to walk away on foot with him. When they came to a large forest she asked, 'To whom does that beautiful forest belong? 'It belongs to King Thrushbeard; if you had taken him, it would have been yours.' 'Ah, unhappy girl that I am, if I had but taken King Thrushbeard!'"
In the end, the beggar turns out to be Thrushbeard in disguise, and Anna has learned to be kind and grateful.
