LONDON.- Christie’s Beyond Worlds: Fine Books & Manuscripts online auction, open for bidding from 14 May to 4 June, presents a collection of 12 drawings by Sir Quentin Blake, sold to benefit Comic Relief. The series, titled Imaginary Friends, has been created exclusively by Sir Quentin Blake to raise funds for Comic Relief and illustrate the imaginary companions people in isolation may dream of. Money raised by the drawings will go to charities in the UK and around the world that urgently need support to respond to the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.

Sir Quentin Blake commented: “When I was asked to make some drawings for Comic Relief I naturally thought of all those people isolated by lockdown, and I realised that I voluntarily spend quite lot of time on my own, with pen in hand, drawing imaginary friends (well, not always friends, actually). What I have produced is a dozen imaginary friends whom I thought might be interesting. I think my own choice would be the girl with the cocktail but I hope there may be imaginary friends here for all kinds of people on their own.”

The sale also presents a further selection of illustrations by Sir Quentin Blake to benefit Greenpeace and Survival International.

Comic Relief raises money to support people living incredibly tough lives. Through humour and stories of hope, we’ve shown that people can make a massive difference. We fund hundreds of amazing organisations who are working on the ground to support the most vulnerable people and communities in society including many of those hardest hit by the coronavirus crisis. This includes vulnerable children and young people, people who are homeless or living in extreme poverty, women and families at risk of domestic abuse and those struggling with existing or new mental health problems.

* Proceeds from the sale of each drawing will be donated to Comic Relief which is the trading name of Charity Projects (registered charity in England and Wales, charity number 326568 and in Scotland, charity number SC039730).