February 5, 2004
Sotheby's to Hold Benefit Auction at Mary and
Leigh Block Museum of Art
EVANSTON, Ill.
--- Sotheby’s, the internationally known
auction house, will lend a hand at a benefit buffet supper and
auction at Northwestern University’s Mary and Leigh Block
Museum of Art, 40 Arts Circle Drive, Evanston campus.
Titled “Auction Block,” this benefit will be held
in the Block Museum’s Main Gallery at 6 p.m. Thursday, May
20. Proceeds from the auction will support acquisitions, exhibitions
and scholarships.
Sotheby’s will conduct a live auction of original works
of art created for the benefit by five well-known Chicago artists
and Northwestern University faculty members: William Conger, Jeanne
Dunning, Judy Ledgerwood, Ed Paschke and James Valerio. Proceeds
from their sale of their artworks will support the Block Museum’s
acquisitions and exhibitions.
Attendees
also will have the opportunity to bid on more than 70 original
prints during a silent auction. The silent auction
will include lithographs, etchings and engravings by well-known
artists such as Leonard Baskin, Leon Golub, Robert Indiana and
Ben Shahn. The artworks being sold come from a grouping of original
prints donated to the museum in 1999 for the specific purpose of
sale to enhance the Block’s permanent collection and provide
student scholarships.
“As an institution dedicated to the study and collection
of works on paper, the Block Museum’s benefit will not only
support the museum financially, but also advance our mission of
encouraging the collection of original works of art among our audiences,” said
David Robertson, director of the Block Museum.
Chicago’s
Calihan Catering will provide a buffet supper for the event.
“We are delighted to engage John Calihan’s culinary
art to ‘Auction Block,’” said Christine O. Robb,
chair of the Block Museum Board of Advisors. “The evening
will prove to be a major social occasion for the North Shore and
we are anticipating 300 attendees.”
The May 20 event also will include musical entertainment and
refreshments.
Admission
is a $100 donation. Reservations for “Auction
Block” are required by calling (847) 491-7540.
Information also is available online at www.blockmuseum.northwestern.edu/welcome/news. |