DALLAS, TX.- A rare collection of artwork by an assortment of artists that appeared in a book of fables and prose poems by Bradford Morrow could bring $7,000 or more in Heritage Auctions’ Prints & Multiples Auction April 21 in Dallas, Texas.

A Bestiary, 1990 (estimate: $5,000-7,000) is a selection of 36 woodcuts, linocuts and pochoir prints on Somerset wove paper by 18 of the most revered American contemporary artists. Artists whose work is included in the set include, but are not limited to Gregory Amenoff, Joe Andoe, Vija Clemins, Louisa Chase, Eric Fischl, James Nares, Ellen Phelan, Kiki Smith, Richard Tuttle and Robert Winters.

"This is an extraordinary collection of artwork from A Bestiary, which began as nothing more than an effort to entertain Bradford Morrow and his friends,” Heritage Auctions Vice President Frank Hettig said. "Each fable centers on a different animal, from whales to tortoises to even less obvious 'beasts” like plankton, and the images in this collection portray each in a different style, depending on the artist.”

The collection is particularly appealing to collectors in part because of the rarity; the offered lot is editioned No. 38 of 100 (there also were 10 artist’s prints). Morrow and each artist signed in pencil with numbering on colophon pages.

The artists whose works are featured in A Bestiary were given a manuscript and asked to contribute original artworks. The result is a stunning livres d’artists that has been exhibited in such institutions as the New York Public Library and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.