Presenter Donna Air hosted the event.
By Molly Kersey and Douglas Patient
Macmillan have raised £69,000 after a star-studded art auction at the Royal College of Art in Kensington on Monday.
The event was attended by a number of star names including singer Katherine Jenkins, fashion designer Pearl Lowe with her model daughter Daisy, and actress and presenter Donna Air.
Work worth up to £6000 was donated by famous names, artists and photographers including Ringo Starr, Alison Jackson and upcoming painter Andrew Salgado.
One piece of artwork entitled ‘Stephen Sutton’ was drawn especially for the Macmillan De’ Longhi art auction. The subject of the drawing, Stephen, was diagnosed with incurable cancer. He had a blog in which he spoke about his wish to have his portrait taken by an artist, a wish that artist Kelvin Okafor fulfilled. Mr Okafor was the winner of the 2013 National Open Art Competition, also sponsored by De’Longhi.
Head of special events at Macmillan, Samantha Clarke, said: “We wanted to make use of the gallery and really raise awareness for Macmillan.”
Nick Pickle’s photograph of Coldplay’s 2012 tour went for £527, over double the estimate.
Alison Jackson’s photograph of William and Kate being taught how to change a nappy by Queen Elizabeth II went for £1000, and a chance at a photo shoot with her was auctioned for £2500.
“It’s a great honour to be invited to host this art auction,” said Donna Air, who hosted the event.
“Like many of us, I also experienced the loss of somebody to cancer.
“I just cannot believe the generosity and the enthusiasm of the artists here tonight.”
The auction was one of a series of events held by Macmillan this year, the next being a Dartmouth House luncheon in Mayfair on October 15.
Alex Wooding, head of community partnerships at Macmillan, is delighted with the work provided by the artists.
“We are hugely amazed by the generosity of artists over the past seven years. The quality of the work is quite unbelievable,” she said.
Currently there are two million people with cancer in the UK and it is estimated this will rise to four million by 2014.
Macmillan offers support for cancer patients, financially, logistically and emotionally.
The auction, sponsored by coffee machine maker De Longhi, is in its seventh year, and has raised over £800,000 since 2006.
To donate to Macmillan phone 0800 808 00 or visit the website at www.macmillan.org.uk
Photo courtesy of by Caliban 7, with thanks.
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