Above: Christoph Niemann: Petting Zoo, Limited Edition Silkscreen Print

Fellow art director Jenn McManus recently tipped me off to We Art Boston, an awesome online auction of original children’s book art that starts today.

Susan and Joe McKendry have collected over 100 original works of art from 50+ amazing children’s book illustrators and are auctioning them off online to raise money for the Emergency and Trauma Fund at Boston Children’s Hospital in memory of the Boston Marathon bombing victims. The auction runs through October 24.

A beautiful message from Susan and Joe, excerpted here, sums up the amazing generosity they encountered while putting this auction together.

“…As so many parents felt in those hours and days afterwards, I was certain that it very easily could’ve been us. We were anxious to find a way to help. As an artist, my first thought was to auction off a few paintings I’d created during the making of my first book, Beneath the Streets of Boston, and send the proceeds to the One Fund. But if I wanted to get involved, I thought, perhaps others would, too. I reached out to a few other children’s book author/ illustrators—David Macaulay, Matt Tavares, and Chris Raschka—to gauge interest in putting together a small collection of original art to be auctioned. Not only did every single one say yes, without hesitation, but they were so enthusiastic that they offered to help solicit donations from other illustrators as well.”

Read the full message here and check out all of the artwork here. A sampling of the great art for sale below…

Mo Willems: Elephant, Piggy & Pigeon, Blue Pencil on Layout Bond

Oliver Jeffers: The Great Paper Caper, Page 8 & 9, Print on Archival Paper from Pencil & Digital

Aaron Meshon: Take Me Out to the Yakyu, Page 30, Acrylic on Paper

Ed Emberley: Lion, Marker on Paper

Chris Raschka: Ugandan Mothers and Children, Watercolor on Rice Paper

Julia Denos: Dotty & Ida, Print from an Original Watercolor & Pencil

Melissa Sweet: Cover Art for Rubia and the Three Osos, Watercolor, Pencil & Collage