Rick Harrison spends a fortune on artwork in one of Pawn Stars' most expensive deals ever made
To many who have seen Rick Harrison negotiate prices on "Pawn Stars," he may come across as a stingy person. But the pawn shop boss doesn't mind loosening purse strings if he comes across something truly rare and special. One such thing was a piece of art created by Maurice Sendak for the children's book, "Where the Wild Things Are," and he was ready to pay a whopping $250,000 for it.
Harrison visited a local art gallery in Las Vegas, which displayed the regional work of several artists. "We're talking about 'Where the Wild Things Are,' the greatest child's book ever," Harrison said. He added that he was excited to see the item since an artwork such as this has never been on the market. The item's owner, Nick, met Harrison at the gallery, where he showed the item to the pawn boss. "I have an incredible collection of twelve original illustrations from the classic children's book. It's always really difficult selling any artwork that you are so connected with but I've had these for a while I've enjoyed them and now I think it's kind of time to pass on the torch," Nick told Harrison.
The lead of the show was amazed to see the original works from the renowned artist and was struck with nostalgia. "I've loved these since childhood. It was one of Maurice Sendak's earliest books, written and actually illustrated as well. These are all original illustrations, and everything is one-of-a-kind," Harrison acknowledged. "When I was a kid, I was fascinated by the pictures. It was something about the way he painted everything, it was so different than any other children's work," he added. Nick then explained the detailing of the work, pointing to the cross-hatching, which was the signature of the artist. "What's really special about this, aside from the work itself, is the scale of the work. A lot of times it was on a smaller size," he explained.
He further told Harrison that the drawings were in great condition, which was rare to see amongst vintage art. "A friend of mine acquired them from a university professor in about 1974. He sold them to me," he shared. Harrison then asked the owner for the price of the item, and Nick told him that he was looking for about $375,000 for it. Harrison then called in his art expert, Chad, to come take a look at the item. Upon walking in, the expert acknowledged that Sendak was a big name in the industry and that his works were quite significant. "He's just an international cultural phenomenon. I mean the book is, of course the the cornerstone of everything it's just really great," he said.
Nick explained that Sendak never sold any artwork from the book, so the collection was one-of-a-kind. Coming to the appraisal, the expert noted that the two larger images were worth $80,000 a piece. For the whole collection, he estimated the value to be about $310,000.
Once Chad left, Harrison immediately got down to the negotiation. He made an offer of $200,000 for the collection, but Nick wasn't willing to go that low. "I could do like 300," he countered. Harrison then asked him to meet in the middle and seal the deal at $250,000. Nick accepted, and the two closed a massive deal.
"I can't believe I am doing this, but you got a deal," Harrison said before shaking hands.
