Heath Robinson’s humorous and absurdist cartoons on modern life and technology were much admired in his lifetime. “Your absurd beautiful drawings… give me a pleasure like nothing else in the world,” wrote HG Wells, in a letter to the artist in 1914.
Today originals will range in price from £400 for a relatively simple ink drawing to more than £15,000 for larger, more elaborate and coloured pieces.
Heath Robinson was also an important illustrator of the Golden Age. His drawings for works by Kipling, Shakespeare, Kingsley and Andersen are acknowledged as being among the best of that period. Fully worked-up colour examples of these rarely come up in auction or gallery catalogues, and prices can vary from £3000 to over £10,000.
The William Heath Robinson Museum opened in October in Pinner, the artist’s home between 1908-18. It holds the largest collection of his original artwork as well as a permanent exhibition exploring the artist’s life and career.
