The Modern Art Council of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) will hold Art Auction 2004 on Wednesday, May 19, 2004. As the Museum’s most important fund-raising event, this year’s auction will feature an extraordinary range of art, including photographs by Diane Arbus, Richard Avedon, Will Rogan, and Cindy Sherman; paintings by John Baldessari, Tom Holland, Jennifer Morla, and Kathryn Van Dyke; and works on paper by Squeak Carnwath, Jim Dine, Robert Motherwell, Nathan Oliveira, Robert Rauschenberg, and Wayne Thiebaud, among many others, all donated by local and national galleries or by the artists themselves. Art Auction 2004 will also include a wide range of national and international art tours and travel packages—something for every taste and budget. Patrick Meade, senior vice president of Bonhams & Butterfields, will conduct the live auction while bidders peruse the vast array of artworks in the concurrent silent auction. Proceeds from Art Auction 2004 will directly benefit the Museum’s efforts to renew its focus on its renowned collection and educational programs.
The premier Art Auction 2004 travel package is London and Scotland: Indoors and Out. This exclusive trip to London includes two round-trip tickets on Lufthansa Airlines, a three-night stay at The Ritz London, a private tour of London’s major museums and galleries with art expert Roger Bevan, plus a special curator’s walkthrough at the Tate Modern museum. The trip also includes a two-night stay at Scotland’s Skibo Castle and unlimited golf on The Carnegie Links. Another travel highlight is a trip titled Sleepless in Seattle, which includes two round-trip tickets on Southwest Airlines, a three-night stay in a luxury suite at the Grand Hyatt Seattle, an exclusive private tour of the Microsoft Art Collection, and a nine-course dinner with wine pairing for two at the acclaimed Herbfarm restaurant in Woodinville, Washington. The equally desirable trip New York! New York! includes two round-trip tickets on ATA Airlines, a two-night stay with room service at the five-star Trump International Hotel & Tower and a two-night stay at the Stanhope Park Hyatt. New York! New York! also includes a private tour of the newly renovated Museum of Modern Art with MoMA curator Gary Garrels, as well as a private tour of the Forbes Galleries.
“This is our fifteenth biennial art auction, and for over thirty years it has been one of the favorite Modern Art Council events. Our focus this year is on art and art-related trips—there will be over two hundred pieces of artas well as tours of private collections and artist studios that are not available anywhere else. The combination of live and silent auctions guarantees a spirited evening for collectors from throughout the Bay Area and beyond,” event chair Sara Cumbelich commented. “We are thrilled to again be partnering with Bonhams & Butterfields and First Republic Bank and expect Art Auction 2004 will be the best yet.”
Items from the silent auction may be previewed at SFMOMA from May 14 to the 17 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Art Auction 2004 previews are free and open to the public. Please note: Silent auction bids will be accepted during previews, although bidders are encouraged to attend Art Auction 2004 to ensure success.
Art Auction 2004 will take place at SFMOMA on May 19. The evening begins at 6 p.m. with cocktails and a silent auction and continues at 7 p.m. with a live auction and hors d’oeuvres by McCall Associates. The event is organized by the Modern Art Council, an auxiliary of SFMOMA. Auction sponsors include Bonhams & Butterfields, First Republic Bank, Robert Mondavi Winery, Pacific Growth Equities, The Painter’s Place, and Ship Art International. Media sponsor: San Francisco Magazine.
Tickets for the event are: $350 Benefactor; $200 general. For tickets or more information, please call the Modern Art Council office at 415.357.4090 or go to www.sfmoma.org.
SFMOMA Art Auction Highlights
Diane Arbus, Mae West in a chair at home, Santa Monica, CA, 1965
Gelatin silver print
Est. $4500
Richard Artschwager, Untitled, 1990
Print 6/60
Est. $12,000
Richard Avedon, Harvey Lichtenstein, 1993
Gelatin silver print
Est. $4500
John Baldessari, Giraffe Wedding, 1985
Gelatin silver print, oil stick on paper
Est. $18,500
Joseph Cornell, Flora, c. 1966
Collage
Est. $22,000
Adam Fuss, Wish (Yellow Baby), 1992
Unique Cibachrome print
Est. $15,000
Nathan Oliveira, Standing Woman, 1961
Watercolor on paper
Est. $12,000
Robert Rauschenberg, Site (Marikitch), 2000
Color screen print
Est. $3600
Wayne Thiebaud, Dark Cake, 1983
Wood-block print
Est. $12,000
Kathryn Van Dyke, Foreshadowing sequence, 2002
Oil on canvas
Est. $3000
Edward Weston, Boats, San Francisco, 1925
Gelatin Silver print
Est. $3500
Christopher Wool, Untitled, 1989
Monotype in red on Suzuki
Est. $8000