Adorable Winnie the Pooh and Piglet illustration comes up for auction

A watercolor of Winnie the Pooh and Piglet created by illustrator E.H. Shepard is being auctioned this week. Shepard illustrated many classic children’s books, including A.A. Milne’s “Winnie the Pooh,” “When We Were Very Young,” “Now We Are Six” and “The House at Pooh Corner.”

Shepard drew Pooh and Piglet dancing in a letter to his agent in 1932. It was a thank you, in which Shepard wrote that his agent had “done splendidly,” noting that “this view is shared by others.”

Citing the rarity of such stand-alone illustrations, auctioneer Nate D. Sanders has set the beginning bid at $50,000.

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Earlier this year, one of Shepard’s unpublished illustrations of Winnie the Pooh sold for more than $53,000 at auction at Sotheby’s. That sketch, which included Owl and his tree house, was never colored.

At another recent sale, an image of Winnie the Pooh, Christopher Robin and Piglet that was published in the book “The House at Pooh Corner” sold for considerably more. The winning bid was for more than $482,000.

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