St. Mary's Convent To Host Art Auction Fundraiser

Eminent local artists support nursing home expansion

Sir Peter Blake RA is one of a number of distinguished artists from Chiswick and the surrounding area whose work will feature in an art auction to support St Mary’s Convent and Nursing Home.

(An Altercation, Sir Peter Blake RA, 2009)

The auction will take place at the Convent and Nursing Home premises, on Burlington Lane just off the Hogarth roundabout, on Saturday, 20th September.

Sister Jennifer from the Convent and Nursing home commented, "We currently have £150,000 shortfall in funding for our building project, but local artists and their families have been fantastic in offering works to help us raise the money we need to plug this gap. It’s going to be a great community event."

All the art works have been donated by the artists or their descendants, with 100% of the proceeds from the sale going to help fill the funding gap for the current building project - the construction of five dwellings for residents at the Convent and Nursing Home who are still semi-independent.

The full catalogue of works is also available on the Saint Mary's Convent website.

Sir Peter Blake is donating a signed limited edition print from his 2009 Venice Suite. Inspired by his visit to the city in 2007, An Altercation describes an eccentric vision of human types and local characters, animals and birds set in front of St Mark’s Basilica (estimate £300-500, pictured above).

Another leading contemporary artist and Chiswick local is Ben Johnson. The two interior views that Johnson has donated (estimate £250 - 250 each) also take an Italian theme. ‘Space for Reflection’ (pictured below) is inspired by Fra Angelico, the floor of a church in Arezzo, and the ceiling of the Victoria Miro Gallery in the East End of London.

(Space For Reflection, Ben Johnson)

Other oil paintings, watercolours and prints to be featured in the auction, will offer unique perspectives on familiar local W4 landmarks, including series' on Chiswick House and views of the Thames. The estimate for Anthea Craigmyle's 'Picnic in Chiswick Park' (pictured below) is £700-1,000.

As well as local artists giving their works for free, suppliers are also supporting the Convent's and Nursing Homes appeal. Wine during the pre-auction viewing is being kindly supplied by local wine merchant Ralph Smith of Ralph's Wines; the catering is by Joe Ouseley of Good Times Food, and light entertainment is being provided by Dr Lockhart's Midnight Soul Train.

(Anthea Craigmyle, Picnic in Chiswick Park)

Sotheby's auctioneer and local resident Adrian Biddell, who will be wielding the gavel, during the auction said of the occasion: "We are so lucky in Chiswick to have such a rich seam of artists in our midst, and it is wonderful that so many have given unconditionally to support such a worthwhile cause: an institution at the heart of the Chiswick community that has been providing care to the elderly and infirm for over 120 years."

Cecil Beaton photograph of James Pope-Hennessy in the Grounds of Chiswick House in January 1941. The photograph has been donated by Sotheby’s.

More information contact: Adrian Biddell 020 7293 5380; adrian.biddell@sothebys.com

September 1, 2014