Artwork now most valuable Harry Potter item ever sold

An original watercolour painting of Harry Potter has become the most valuable Harry Potter item ever sold, fetching $1. 9 million at an auction in the United States. The artwork was created by Thomas Taylor when he was just 23 years old in 1997. It depicts Harry Potter standing in front of the Hogwarts Express, the train that takes him to the magical world. The painting was expected to sell for between $400,000 and $600,000, but it sold for much more. The identity of the buyer has not been revealed.

The painting was first auctioned in 2001 for £85,750, which is about $108,000 at current exchange rates. At that time, only four of the seven Harry Potter books had been published. The auction house, Sotheby's, said that the high price reflects how popular Harry Potter has become over the years. Kalika Sands from Sotheby's said, 'This is really the first visualization of Harry and the wizarding world.

Thomas Taylor was working at a children's book shop in Cambridge in 1996 when he decided to send examples of his artwork to publishers, including Bloomsbury. Bloomsbury gave him the job to create the Harry Potter painting. The painting took him two days to complete, using concentrated watercolours and black pencil outlines. Taylor was one of the first people to read the Harry Potter manuscript. The book series went on to sell millions of copies and became a lucrative franchise, including movies and theme parks. Ms Sands said that the difference in auction price between 2001 and now shows just how popular the Harry Potter franchise has become. 'In the intervening decades, it's been extraordinary to see not just the conclusion of Harry's story, but also how the Harry Potter franchise has taken off, and in that time, new generations have come to appreciate Harry and his journey as well,' she added.