200 works up for grabs at art sale
From a work by Group of Seven painter A.Y. Jackson to pieces by contemporary artists between Niagara and Cuba, there will be a veritable smorgasbord for art lovers to feast on this weekend at bargain prices.
In an effort to keep the lights on, art on display and programming running, RiverBrink Art Museum is holding its first art sale fundraiser, with more than 200 works donated by artists and collectors set to sell this weekend.
“There’s a lot of good quality art,” said Nancy Bongard, who, with Mary Buller, Keith Buller and Don MacLeod, is heading up the volunteer effort organizing the sale.
More than 40 volunteers have come together to bring it all together.
Bongard said there are plenty of standouts in the works from 89 artists, including Quebec artist St. Gilles and local artist Barbara Bucknall.
Bongard was quick to note all the art is priced to sell, thanks to input from appraiser Geoffrey Joyner. Works are mostly priced from $50 to $90, representing works in photography, mixed media, paint and relief sculpture. Most are framed and ready to hang, demonstrating forms of abstract to realism to historical representation and even cartography, with something for every taste.
Beyond the chance to scoop up a thing of beauty at a bargain, Bongard said, the sale is also a chance to support the gallery and its efforts to promote the arts in the community with workshops and exhibitions. “It’s a marvellous gallery,” she said. Although the works will be on sale Saturday and Sunday between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m., people wishing to get a first crack at purchasing will have their chance today during an opening reception from 4 to 7 p.m. The event will feature canapés, hors d’oeuvres and wine, along with music from pianist and vocalist Peter Shea. Tickets to the reception can be purchased at the gallery, at a cost of $50 a person.
RiverBrink Art Museum is at 116 Queenston St., Niagara-on-the-Lake.