Birthday Wings: Own a Quentin Blake Original
– Sir Quentin Blake"I have liked birds – to look at and to draw – ever since I was a child; and more recently I have found that if you need an extra note of colour, a small parrot or cockatoo is very useful"
Bonhams online auction: June 1 - 10 2026(opens in new window)
Birthday Wings, comprises 21 lots by the much-loved illustrator Sir Quentin Blake, depicting his iconic characters and winged creatures in various modes of flight. Quentin turned 93 in December and over his birthday weekend and beyond he worked on this series of 21 drawings illustrating feathered friends. Birds are an abundant source of inspiration for Quentin, and he has created hundreds of cockatoos, parakeets and other birds over his nearly 80-year career.
This online auction marks the opening of Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration, the UK's only permanent place for illustration, which opens it's doors to the public on Friday 5 June 2026. The charity was founded in 2002 by Sir Quentin Blake and previously presented and toured exhibitions from the smaller House of Illustration galleries in Kings Cross, London. The new Centre, located in Clerkenwell within an 18th Century waterworks, will house a permanent space to exhibit items loaned from Quentin's 40,000-work archive and offer a dynamic, distinctive programme of exhibitions, alongside illustration-based community and learning programmes that unlock the power of visual storytelling. Each of these drawings will be auctioned to help support this wonderful cause.
Viewing by appointment only Monday-Friday from the 1st June, at our Knightsbridge saleroom. Please contact zoe.luchmun@bonhams.com to book an appointment.