Illustrator Thomas Taylor Announces Exhibition Sharing Early “Harry Potter” Sketches

Illustrator Thomas Taylor, who created the cover artwork for the original UK version of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, has announced an exhibition showing a variety of early work from the wizarding world.

From May 1 to May 4, Taylor will host the exhibition at Naples Comicon. The exhibition will showcase a variety of character sketches, including some of Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, and Hagrid, as well as early visuals and drafts of the cover art for the first Harry Potter book. There will also be a pen drawing of Severus Snape on display. All of the memorabilia dates back to the 1990s.

Taylor’s work is iconic across the wizarding world. Just last year, the final watercolor painting he created for the book cover sold at auction for $1.9 million, making it the most valuable Potter lot to ever sell in an auction house. 

Taylor shared on Instagram how the exhibition had forced him to “properly search [his] chaotic paper archives” for the first time, leading to interesting finds such as this image he posted: a painting created to help himself with the composition for the Philosopher’s Stone book cover.

Thomas Taylor’s rough draft of the original cover painting for “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.” (Credit: @thomskagram/Instagram)

The exhibition will document Taylor’s journey as an illustrator, meaning that while there will be plenty of Potter pieces on display, there will also be artwork from other books he has worked on, including his own original children’s stories. It will be the first chance to see behind-the-scenes work for his Eerie-On-Sea mystery series.

All work shown at the exhibition in Naples will also be showcased at Comicon Bergamo in June. Will you be checking out Taylor’s work at either convention?