Lunch with Dame Joan Collins and drinks with Jools Holland are among the prizes going under the hammer at an auction held by Bonhams to benefit the NHS.
The online-only timed auction called BLUE Auction in aid of NHS Charities Covid-19 Urgent Appeal has lots from leading actors, musicians and artists such as Grayson Perry, Anish Kapoor, Antony Gormley, Julian Opie and the Connor Brothers. The sale ends on April 29.
At Bonhams' charity auction, among the prizes is a studio visit with artist Grayson Perry.
Bids can be made by going to bids@bonhams.com and are available to view online at www.bonhams.com/theblueauction.
At Dix Noonan Webb the auction house is donating 5% of its buyer’s premium to charity during the Covid-19 crisis. The London auction house has chosen to give the money to NHS Charities Together starting with its online sale Coins, Tokens and Historical Medals on April 8 when it raised £2681. It will continue with all auctions through the crisis.
The ongoing total is being recorded on its homepage. DNW has increased the number of sales in its auction schedule which will all be held as online sales for the forseeable future.
Fancy having your name used as a character in the next Jeffrey Archer novel? It is one of the lots on offer in Cheffins’ timed online auction in aid of the COVID-19 Fast Response Fund. This new fund has been set up by Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust (ACT) to support Addenbrooke’s Hospital. Scheduled to start on April 17, the timed online auction will also include the opportunity to have supper and a tour of The Pavilion at Lord’s and a private tour of Dalham Hall Stud in Newmarket.
The sale begins at 10am on April 17 and runs for one week, closing on April 24 at 7pm. Winners will be notified of their successful bids on Monday, April 27. The usual buyer’s premium fee of 22.5% will be waived for this online auction, as will the standard 3% online fee. All proceeds will go directly to the fund.
Derbyshire auctioneer Charles Hanson raised £30,000 for the NHS by conducting an online charity auction from his shed on March 3. The money raised will be donated to Derby and Burton Hospitals Charity Covid-19 Appeal.
The locked-down owner of Hansons broadcast the sale of ‘experiences’ over social media and the firm’s in-house bidding platform Hansonslive. Two donations from dealer Drew Pritchard of TV’s Salvage Hunters were in high demand. His trademark tweed cap brought £480 while a day out salvage hunting and antique shopping fetched £3700.
Dealers have also been taking part and James Hyman Gallery in London has launched an online selling show in support of the NHS.
Running until April 30, it features Modern British paintings, drawings and sculpture as well as vintage photographs and prints.
Dealer Hyman announced the show after one of his daughters came down with a mild case of coronavirus, which led to the family being quarantined, including his wife who is an NHS surgeon. He said: “As everyone pulls together, I have been thinking what I can do as an art dealer. I feel very helpless. What I have done is put together a selection of works by some of the major photographers of the 19th and 20th centuries, at reduced prices, and will donate all profits to the NHS.”
Eduardo Paolozzi’s plaster Krokadeel (1998) is offered for £1250 at James Hyman’s exhibition in support of the NHS running until April 30.
Prices start at £650 and new works are added regularly. Highlights so far include works by early photography pioneer Henri Le Secq as well as photos by Gustave le Gray, Andre Kertesz and John Greene. Other artists on show include Andy Warhol, Eduardo Paolozzi, Marc Quinn and Walter Richard Sickert.
