Help for Ukraine
AUCTION HOUSES: RAISE FUNDS FOR BESIEGED NATION Christie’s to sell a dozen artworks to support NGOs in war-torn country.
The world of culture continues to mobilize in support of Ukraine, more than two months after the Russian invasion. Christie’s has announced its intention to raise around $1 million (about R15.7 million) for three non-profit organisations working in support of Ukraine through a series of auctions.
The first was a private exhibition-sale Safeguarding the Irreplaceable, which ran until 5 May online and in London.
It was composed of about 100 pieces by Ukrainian artists and artists belonging to the Ukrainian diaspora. Works included about 20 photographs and artistic videos selected by Peter Doroshenko, director of the American museum Dallas Contemporary.
The Safeguarding the Irreplaceable exhibition and sale also featured a dozen paintings by modernist painters such as Maria Siniakova and David Bourliouk, as well as the personal collection of the late patron of the arts, Yakov Peremen.
A portion of the proceeds from this event will be donated to the American non-profit organisation World Monuments Fund, in order to help preserve Ukrainian heritage.
And there is an urgent need to act. Unesco expressed alarm, in a statement issued 3 March, about the damage inflicted on the cities of Kharkiv and Chernihiv, both of which have been targeted by Russian bombing.
On 13 May, Christie’s will also auction a dozen contemporary works donated by artists and art galleries to support the work of Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) in Ukraine.
These includes two drawings by Yoshitomo Nara, with estimates ranging from $80 000 to $150 000, as well as a set of photographs by Russian photographer Boris Mikhailov.
Frackattack by Kenny Scharf and Invisible Lip by Gina Beavers will be offered for sale on the same day to raise funds for Core, a non-profit global crisis response organisation. The former is estimated at between $100 000 and $150 000, while the latter could fetch between $40 000 and $60 000.
Sean Penn, who co-founded Core with Ann Lee, said in a statement: “The humanitarian crisis in Ukraine is one of the most heartbreaking moments in our lifetimes and an emergency for the world at large. It is a crucial moment for us not only to support the resilient people of Ukraine but for humanity itself.”
Christie’s is not the only auction house to have taken the initiative to donate part of its proceeds to charities working in Ukraine. Phillips donated the proceeds from its 3 March sale of contemporary and 20th century art to the Ukrainian Red Cross, totalling over $7 million.
But this was more than a charitable initiative. The British auction house found itself caught in the turmoil following the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, because it has been owned since 2008 by Russians Le- onid Friedland and Leonid Strunin.
While neither man is a target of Western sanctions, certain voices have been raised in the art world calling for a boycott of the auction house.
Anish Kapoor is one of them. The British artist told the New York Times that “Putin’s cronies are a legitimate target wherever they are” and that “Phillips is as good a target as Chelsea football club,” which is owned by the oligarch Roman Abramovich. –