Leading Artists In Sotheby’s Charity Auction For Elton John AIDS Foundation

Sotheby's

A large number of leading contemporary artists have very generously donated no less than 12 artworks, all of which will be auctioned off at Sotheby’s to benefit the Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF). The participating artists are Allora & Calzadilla, Martin Creed, Olafur Eliasson, Jeff Elrod, Urs Fischer, Jonathan Horowitz, William Kentridge, Joel Meyerowitz, Rob Pruitt, Ed Ruscha, and Frank Thiel. Their pieces are currently featured in a public exhibition that precedes the auction.

The Contemporary Art Day Sale which will be taking place on November 12th will mark the fourth occasion that the auction house has partnered with the Elton John AIDS Foundation.

“Thanks to the generosity of caring people like these artists and the buyers who purchase their work, EJAF was able to award more than £4.5 million in grants to 114 worthy organisations during 2013,” said Elton John in a statement to the press. “Their gifts helped support programs assisting homeless teens in New York City, enabling poor people to access the treatment and care they need in the Deep South, providing housing and medical assistance to HIV-positive parolees in the Bronx, serving the urgent needs of HIV-positive people in Haiti, and so much more. This sale at Sotheby’s will help us to continue expanding on these efforts.”

Among the works up for charitable auction; there are a number of notable sales such as Urs Fischer’s large-scale bronze, Naked Arrest that has an estimate of £157,000 to £220,000; William Kentridge’s Indian ink drawing Huilboom which is estimated at £25,000 to, £37000); and Allora & Calzadilla’s woodcut print Intermission (Halloween Afghanistan: Still Life II) which expected to fetch £50,000 to £75,000. The full proceeds from the sales will fund EJAF’s grant initiatives in the future.

As well as the works donated by prominent artist’s to benefit the EJAF, Sotheby’s is featuring a wide selection of Andy Warhol’s iconic silkscreen portraits of female celebrities during next week’s sale, this will include canvases featuring Elizabeth Taylor, Marilyn Monroe, Jacqueline Kennedy, and Debbie Harry, among others.

Photo: Frank Thiel, Stat 12/59 (Berlin) courtesy Sotheby’s.

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