NEW YORK, NY.- Christie’s reported RADArt4Aid, a special fundraising collaboration for COVID-19 relief, totaled $232,375. 100% of the proceeds of sale from the online auction, produced in partnership with award-winning photographer Mark Seliger and RAD (Red Carpet Advocacy), will benefit 19 charities around the world that support communities impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.
Bidders from the Americas, Asia and Europe converged on Christie’s online sale platform to compete for 26 of Seliger’s most celebrated portraits, driving the final sale total to more than twice the pre-sale estimate with every lot sold. A new auction record price was set for any work by Mark Seliger, with the sale of his iconic and instantly recognizable 2010 portrait of President Barack Obama which achieved $37,500. Additional top prices were achieved for Jennifer Aniston, Los Angeles, CA, 1995, which realized $16,250, against a low estimate of $5,000; Brad Pitt, Humboldt, CA, 2014 and Dr. Dre + Snoop Dogg, Los Angeles, CA, 1993, both sold for $15,000, against low estimates of $5,000 and $6,000, respectively.
Mark Seliger commented on the sale result: “I’m very grateful to all the artists and partners involved with this auction. It has been an incredibly fulfilling experience for me and my studio and a truly collaborative effort with RAD, Christie’s, Beekman Social and Lund & Partners. I also want to thank the generous collectors and fans from around the world who contributed to these important charities. I hope they enjoy these prints knowing they are benefitting so many people.”
Carineh Martin and Arianne Phillips, co-founders of RAD noted: “RAD is thrilled with the results from the RADArt4Aid auction and very grateful to Mark Seliger and Christie’s for their unwavering support in achieving its extraordinary success. Our goal was to raise as much money as possible for our 19 benefitting charities and to use this campaign as an amplification tool to advocate for their critical work. To have so many industries, companies and talents come together with a united purpose has been remarkable and gives us hope for future RAD advocacy campaigns.”
Paola Saracino Fendi, Specialist and Head of Sale, remarked: “It has been a true pleasure partnering with Mark Seliger and Carineh Martin and Arianne Phillips of RAD on this exciting and meaningful undertaking. We were able to leverage Christie’s trusted online-only sale platform and global reach to create a high-profile platform for this vital fundraising effort, and we are so thankful for the gracious involvement of the artists, musicians and personalities that lent their own voices in support of the charity of their choice.”
Selected charities to receive proceeds from sale include: The American Red Cross, America's Food Fund, the National Association of Free & Charitable Clinics, New York Cares, The Prince's Trust, World Central Kitchen, UN Women, One Family LA, Direct Relief, Meals on Wheels, Community Food Bank of New Jersey, Get Us PPE, Good+ Foundation, Hidden Heroes, The Let Love Rule Foundation, Middle Way House, Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS' COVID-19 Emergency Assistance Fund, Support + Feed, and Pieta. The charities where selected by Seliger in partnership with the subject of each portrait. Where possible, the winning bidder will receive a signed note from the sitter as a personal thank-you for supporting RADArt4AID.
The auction featured portraits of Jennifer Aniston, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Johnny Cash, Kurt Cobain, Laura Dern, Leonardo DiCaprio, Dr. Dre, Billie Eilish, Tom Hanks, John Lee Hooker, Lenny Kravitz, Kendrick Lamar, Jennifer Lopez, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jerry Garcia, Courtney Love, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Willie Nelson, Brad Pitt, President Barack Obama, Keith Richards, Nicole Kidman, Jerry Seinfeld, Snoop Dogg, Bruce Springsteen, Amy Schumer, U2, Oprah Winfrey, and Reese Witherspoon.
