Artwork is now the most valuable Harry Potter item ever sold

An original watercolor illustration has become the most valuable Harry Potter item ever sold, fetching $1.9 million (£1.5 million) at auction in the US.

The first edition illustration of JK Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone has sold for more than three times its expected price.

It was first sold at auction in 2001, before the book series ended, for £85,750 (about $108,000 at current exchange rates).

“It’s really the first viewing of Harry and the wizarding world,” said Kalika Sands of Sotheby’s auction house.

The work was expected to sell for between $400,000 and $600,000, which Sotheby’s said was the highest pre-sale estimate for a Harry Potter-related work.

It took nearly 10 minutes for the four-way auction to end on Wednesday. The identity of the buyer has not been revealed.

The artist behind the illustration, Thomas Taylor, was just 23 years old in 1997 when he created the iconic image of Harry Potter standing in front of the Hogwarts Express – the train that would take the young, bespectacled wizard into the world Magic.

This was done using concentrated watercolors with black pencil outlines and it took him two days to complete.

Mr Taylor, who grew up in Wales, was one of the first people to read the manuscript of the original Harry Potter book, which sold millions of copies and spawned a lucrative franchise including movies and theme parks.

Ms Sands said the difference in auction price between 2001, when only four of the seven books in the series had been published, now reflected how popular author Rowling’s creation had become.

“In the decades since, it has been extraordinary to see the conclusion of Harry’s story, but also to see how the Harry Potter franchise has taken off, and in that time, new generations have also begun to appreciate Harry and his journey.”