LONDON.- It is hard to believe, but the illustrator and author Quentin Blake celebrates his 90th birthday this December. Known to generations of children (and their parents) for his illustrations for the books of Roald Dahl, Blake has worked on more than 300 other titles – dozens of which he wrote himself. He is marking the occasion with an online sale of 140 works at Bonhams. Quentin Blake at 90: A Birthday Auction in Support of the Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration will run on Bonhams.com from Friday 2 December - Friday 16 December, midday to midday. It ends on the day he turns 90.

Estimates for the works have been set at a competitive level to encourage as many people as possible to participate and begin at £300-500.They include the charmingly witty Measuring a Dragon No. 1 as well as drawings of amazing performing dogs, balancing ducks, and dragons. The sale also holds a surprise lot in the shape of A Chance Encounter. To enter the prize draw for this lot go to https://www.qbcentre.org.uk/quentin-blake-prize-draw.

As the title of the sale suggests, the proceeds will go to benefit the Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration. Founded by Quentin Blake in 2002 as House of Illustration, the Quentin Blake Centre is the UK’s national centre for illustration. The proceeds raised in this sale will help in the restoration of a fascinating but forgotten 18th and 19th century heritage site, New River Head in Clerkenwell, London, to create a home for the organisation. The Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration will offer a dynamic, distinctive programme of exhibitions, and will also provide a home for the 40,000-work archive of the UK's best-loved illustrator, Quentin Blake.

Janet Hardie, Bonhams Senior Specialist in Modern British and Irish Art and head of the sale, said: “It has been a great privilege working with Quentin and the team from the Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration to put together this magnificent sale and help celebrate the 90th birthday of this remarkable man.”

Lindsey Glen, Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration Director, said, “These drawings, created in Quentin Blake’s 90th year, are filled with the intriguing stories, eccentric characters and warm humour for which he is so beloved. The campaign for a national centre for illustration came about through Quentin’s vision, tenacity and generosity. We are so grateful that he has chosen to mark his birthday with this special fundraising auction in partnership with Bonhams.”