The group of 19 paintings was created in 1805 to illustrate a popular poem called The Grave by Scottish writer Robert Blair but had been thought lost until five years ago when they turned up in a house clearance in pristine condition.
The find, hailed as the most important Blake discovery in a century, led to fierce legal wrangling and an export battle. The Tate gallery in London spent months trying to raise the cash to buy them.
But it eventually conceded it could not match the asking price - which had soared to nearly £9m as word of the works’ significance spread - and the Government granted an export license.
Yesterday, Sotheby’s of New York announced it would sell each of the watercolours individually on 2 May in what it described as “the most important offering of works by the artist ever to appear at auction”. They are expected to make more than £10m.
Sir Nicholas Serota, director of the Tate, expressed disappointment. “That a group of works that have remained together for 200 years should be split up for financial reasons means that any opportunity for scholars to see them has evaporated,” he told the New York Times.

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Posted: 02|17|06 at 9:29 am. Filed under: UK News.