C harlie Mackesy’s drawings of a boy, travelling and posing questions to animal companions, began three or four years ago.

'I was making drawings and sending them to friends who weren’t feeling so great,' he tells Sotheby's. But when the British artist, illustrator and author started sharing the pictures on Instagram, the universal themes of friendship, kindness and vulnerability struck a deeper, universal chord - and his works swiftly went global.

In October 2019, Mackesy arranged a collection of drawings into a loose narrative, which was published as The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse. This heartwarming story became a bestseller and, during the lockdowns of 2020, caught the public's imagination in a time of loneliness and emotional isolation for millions, opening conversations around love, hope, mental health and grief.

In summer 2022, Charlie Mackesy’s original works were sold at Sotheby’s as part of the Jubilee celebrations, in a sale titled We Are All A Work In Progress. Now, between December 2022 - January 2023, Charlie returns to Sotheby’s London for another selling exhibition entitled Look How Far We’ve Come, featuring 63 unique, hand-painted or hand-drawn works revisiting the charming characters from The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse.

But that's not all. To commemorate the sale, Mackesy has undertaken a very special collaboration with Sotheby's over the festive season, a takeover of the Sotheby's Story Café. Created over two days, and accompanied by his faithful dachshund Jeffrey, Mackesy created a beautifully-immersive experience, applying murals inspired by his books directly onto the walls of the café, in what the artist calls 'an event, rather than just an exhibition'.

Highlights from Charlie Mackesy: Look How Far We’ve Come

Launch Slideshow

Highlights from Charlie Mackesy: Look How Far We’ve Come

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  Charlie Mackesy,
  Success
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  Charlie Mackesy,
  Being Honest
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  Charlie Mackesy,
  All We Need to Know
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  Charlie Mackesy,
  A Huge Difference
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  Charlie Mackesy,
  The Best Thing About Storms
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  Charlie Mackesy,
  I Can't See a Way Through

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Charlie Mackesy thinks through drawing: he plays, tests, adjusts. 'I love sharing the process as much as the finished work,' he tells us. Among the drawings in Look How Far We've Come are works responding to 'the journey we’ve all been through' during the pandemic. From the outset, it soon became clear to Mackesy that his work was touching a nerve - so much so, that he acknowledged a sense of responsibility 'to keep people’s spirits up.' And the reaction more than proved him right.

Grateful and appreciative of the wisdom and quiet reassurance in his work, fans poured out their souls to him, sensing an empathy to their anxieties and fears. At one point, he recalls facing 52,000 unopened emails, knowing many would contain heartbreaking stories.

'I will always remember [an email from] one nurse,' he recalls. 'On 20 March she said, "I’m the only nurse on my ward who doesn’t have Covid. Two of them are on ventilators. I’m thinking of taking my own life. I’ve got your book under my pillow."' How did he cope with it all? 'There was a point, a year in, where I did suddenly feel the weight of everything. I cried a lot.'

This Christmas, an animated short film adaptation of The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse will be broadcast on BBC One in the UK on the afternoon of the 25 December - one of the most coveted broadcast slots of the year. Created by what Mackesy describes as a 'ridiculously talented' group of animators, it promises to be a major event, with a stellar line up of British talent including Tom Hollander as ‘the mole’, Idris Elba OBE as ‘the fox’, Gabriel Byrne as ‘the horse’ and newcomer Jude Coward Nicoll as ‘the boy’.

The mood, as ever, will be emotional, cathartic and ultimately uplifting, according to the artist. 'Given where we’ve all been and what we’ve come through, I think people need to be told "You’ve made it here, you’ve got through – well done"'

For more details and opening times for Sotheby's Story Cafe, click here

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Charlie Mackesy.