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WILLIAM RUSSELL FLINT.
“They went into their country of Benoye, and lived there in great joy.”Watercolor on
paper. 215 x 290 mm, 8
1
/
2
x11
1
/
2
inches. Signed in ink, lower left image. Illustration facing
page 64 in Thomas Malory’s “Le Morte d’Arthur,”Vol III, Book X, Chapter XXXIX,
London: Philip Lee Warner for The Medici Society, 1910-1911. Archivally matted and
framed, accompanied by portion of original dust cover with Flint’s signature and
description of illustration.
[6,000/9,000]
This romantic scene shows Alisander and his rescuer and wife, Alice the Beautiful Pilgrim, with a
handmaiden playing a dulcimer. Le Morte d’Arthur was Flint’s most acclaimed work of illustration
and his personal favorite of the classics he illustrated for the Medici Society and Riccardi Press.The
lavish 4-volume set was reprinted numerous times in various formats and remains the most popular
illustrated edition of Malory’s works.
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FRANK FRAZETTA.
Lord of the Rings. Pen and ink and pencil on paper. 390x465 mm; 15
1
/
2
x18
1
/
4
inches. Few
soft creases and light smudging. Unsigned in frame. 1975.
[4,000/6,000]
In 1975 Frazetta published an interpretation of Lord Of the Rings (Denver: Middle Earth, 1975)
comprising a portfolio of 6 lithographs (with the first plate of each suite signed by Frazetta) illustrating
Tolkien’s classic fantasy in an edition of 1000 numbered copies.This is one of the original drawings retained
by the publisher of the portfolio.Though lacking his signature, Frazetta was notoriously reluctant to sign
works of his that he didn’t own.The subject appears to feature what is likely Bilbo and aWarg, an encounter
fromThe Hobbit rather than the trilogy, nevertheless it was included in the limited edition portfolio.
This is apparently a preliminary but still finished drawing for Plate 3 retained by the publisher and differing
from the published version in only minor details.While the published picture is a vertical, this one is a
horizontal which may explain why the roots in the lower part of the final design are somewhat shorter in
this rendering. Perhaps the ink splatter visible above the central mushroom on the moss covered log between
the Hobbit and theWarg, not evident in the published picture, convinced the artist to redo the drawing.
124