What do Picasso, Renoir, Colville have in common?
Works by these masters will be featured at Saturday’s Dundas Valley art auction
This year, the Dundas Valley School of Art auction includes a selection of lithographs from Pablo Picasso, Alex Colville, Joan Miró and Pierre Auguste-Renoir, as well as a sculpture from Abraham Anghik Ruben.
They’re the five biggest names among 1,400 pieces available at the school’s annual fundraiser, which hopes to raise $250,000 this year.
Heather Vaugeois, director of advancement at DVSA, says it’s not the first time the auction has featured work from masters. In the past, the school has auctioned off a Rembrandt, a Picasso and a piece from Milton Avery.
She says it’s impossible to know how many attendees will be drawn strictly by the chance to see work from the big names, but she says there’s definitely a level of intrigue to them, instantly recognizable to anyone who has taken an art history class.
“Who wouldn’t want to see an upclose Renoir or Picasso?” says Vaugeois.
“Sometimes the only opportunities for some people to have a chance to see these works is in a gallery setting. It’s nice and local and there is a pride to that,” she says.
The Picasso piece is one of 100 etchings that comprise his Vollard Suite — a series made in the 1930s, of a model named Marie-Thérèse Walter, with whom Picasso had a passionate affair.
Ruben’s sculpture, titled “Bird Shaman,” is representative of the Inuit artist’s approach to using non-traditional tools and materials to put a new spin on old legends.
The auction is now in its 46th year, and Vaugeois says the school is proud of the fact that it grows every year, both in terms of quality of work and in terms of attendance.
In its first year, the auction was a barbecue on the front lawn of the school and showcased six pieces of art.
These days, Vaugeois says it’s difficult to describe the scope of the show, which includes works from 428 local artists, and relies on the work of more than 300 volunteers.
“Until you walk in the doors you don’t realize how overstimulating it can be because there’s so much work.”
Over the three days of the fundraiser ’s previews and events, the school will host more than 3,500 visitors.
According to Vaugeois, the show not only helps the DVSA with necessary fundraising, it also helps the arts community as a whole, and it helps the individual artists, some of whom donate their work in full, and some of whom take 50 per cent of the proceeds.
The five marquee pieces are among 51 works being presented during the live auction, which takes place at the school on Saturday, April 9 at 8 p.m. For many of these pieces, the bids will be in the several thousand dollars.
The remaining pieces in the silent auction will have starting bids between $20 and $1,000.
Tickets for the live auction are $35 in advance or $40 at the door. Visit dvsa.ca for more information.