Art 4 Eve auction offers exclusive works by A-list artists

Sir Antony Gormley, Sir Quentin Blake and Grayson Perry give artworks for glittering Royal event at Christie’s to back the gynaecological cancer charity The Eve Appeal, reports Jon McKnight

A rare as ‘hen’s-teeth’ chance to buy sought-after original works by A-list artists including Sir Antony Gormley, Sir Quentin Blake and Grayson Perry will be on offer in the Art 4 Eve online charity auction ending in a glittering Royal event at Christie’s hosted by Viscount Linley.

The 25 artworks, all donated by the artists, are expected to sell for anything from £500 to £50,000 though no-one can predict what might happen to the bidding in the glittering finale in aid of The Eve Appeal, the gynaecological cancer charity.

The pieces include A Serious Piece Of Political Art, a unique glazed ceramic horse from English ceramics artist Grayson Perry; Reach II, a carbon and casein on paper drawing from Angel Of The North sculptor Sir Antony Gormley; and a striking and, sadly, timely painting of David Bowie by Annie Kevans, darling of the Charles Saatchi collection.

Another timely piece is an iconic photograph of Cilla Black from the Sixties by internationally acclaimed Observer photographer Jane Bown, while Sir Quentin Blake, known around the world for illustrating Roald Dahl’s children’s books, has contributed a unique original drawing depicting his interpretation of The Eve Appeal’s distinctive logo – a work he created specifically for the auction.

The full list of artists whose work is featured in the auction is: Marius Bercea, Sir Quentin Blake, Jane Bown, Kate Brinkworth, Sir Anthony Caro, Stanley Casselman, Jake and Dinos Chapman, Sir Antony Gormley, Maggi Hambling, Sir Howard Hodgkin, Annie Kevans, Susanne Kühn, Elizabeth Magill, Jason Martin, Harland Miller, Chris Ofili, Terry O’Neill, Grayson Perry, Marc Quinn, Dan Rees, Paula Rego, Lincoln Townley, Jonas Wood.

Online bidding starts on 1 April at www.eveappeal.org.uk/art and continues at a glittering charity gala dinner hosted by Viscount Linley and Helena Morrissey at Christie’s on Thursday 28 April.

“The Eve Appeal does tremendous work supporting research on women’s cancers,” says Grayson Perry. “I am pleased to contribute to the Art 4 Eve charity auction, and wish it great success.”

And Dominic Hourd, Art Event Director for The Eve Appeal, says: “We are so grateful to the incredible artists who have so generously donated their work.

“The range and quality we’re taking to auction is incredible – from iconic photographs to thought-provoking paintings. We really do have an inspiring collection.”

The online auction is being hosted by fundraising platform Givergy to, as Eve Appeal CEO Athena Lamnisos says, “combine the power of art and science to make a difference to the 20,000 women who have to face a diagnosis of a gynaecological cancer every year in the UK”.

Co-host Helena Morrissey adds: “The Eve Appeal is a charity very close to my heart, and is widely respected for its work in saving women’s lives through pioneering research into early detection and prevention of gynaecological cancer.”

Where and How:

Full information about the online auction and the Royal finale at Christie’s is at www.eveappeal.org.uk/art