William Blake, Craigie Aitchison and Tracey Emin work up for sale It was one of the great discoveries of the modern era when William Blake's original illustrations for Robert Blair's poem The Grave were found in a bookshop in Glasgow. After negotiations about who would get paid what, and Tate's offer of £4.2 million for the lot was turned down, they were bought for £4.9 million by a Swiss consortium of investors, which antagonised the arts community by splitting them up and selling them individually at auction. The decision nearly backfired, as only 11 of the 19 drawings found buyers, reaping just £3.4 million. That was seven years ago, since when some of the unsold drawings have been spotted with dealers for sale, hampered by high prices. Now, one unsold drawing has returned to auction at Sotheby's in New York. The Gambols of Ghosts had previously been estimated at $700,000 dollars, but is up for $400,000 in tomorrow's sale. An unrivalled private collection of 50 paintings by the much-loved, idiosyncratic Scottish artist Craigie Aitchison, who died in 2009, is to go on view at Waddington Custot Galleries in Cork Street in March. The paintings belonged to Irish-born Sheelagh Cluney, who came across Aitchison at the opening of his exhibition in Kettle's Yard, Cambridge, in 1978. She had lived in Japan for 20 years, collecting Asian works of art, and, on her return, wanted a British artist to collect. Cluney did not speak to Aitchison on that occasion because he was blind drunk, but she bought a painting and continued to do so, often direct from the artist, until close to the end of his life. After Cluney died in 2011, Leslie Waddington, who represented Aitchison for 20 years, together with Timothy Taylor, was asked to value the collection and then bought it outright. It covers Aitchison's entire range from 1978 onwards, with prices ranging from £15,000 to £200,000. A neon sign by Tracey Emin that reads "More Passion" might be familiar to visitors to No 10 Downing Street. Last year, Emin, a CBE in the New Year's honours list, donated it to the Government Art Collection so that David Cameron could enjoy it. But how much was the gift worth? The neon was produced in an edition of three with two artist's proofs, and another from this edition will be offered by Christie's next month with an estimate of £35,000 to £45,000. Disappointment at Bonhams last week, when the star lot of a 19th-century sale, a rediscovered six-panel drawing by Burne-Jones estimated at £150,000, attracted no bids. It was all smiles a few lots later, however, when another important rediscovery, an early Newlyn School painting of three fishermen's wives in conference by Albert Chevallier Tayler, soared over estimates to fetch £118,850. The price was the second-highest for the artist, who is often overlooked in favour of his contemporaries, Stanhope Alexander Forbes, Henry La Thangue and George Clausen.