By Christine Yeres
November 2, 2007
When Monica Lombardo reported to her friends at First Congregational Church that the art auction fund raiser at her children’s daycare had been a great success and fun besides, they began to think of hosting one themselves.
Now, a year later, they’re planning their second auction, next Saturday, November 10, starting at 7:00 p.m. at the First Congregational Church, 210 Orchard Ridge Road and Route 117.
“We have food and fellowship in the beginning, a social hour. [During the preview hour, 7:00 – 8:00 p.m.,] all the art is exhibited in the hallway outside the hall where the auction takes place,” explains Barbara Offenhartz, a member of First Congregational’s Mission and Service and Women’s Fellowship. “But it’s not your usual art auction.”
What makes this art auction unique is that ticket holders have a say in what items Rick Brandwein, founder of A.J. Ross Auctions, brings to auction. “When people buy their tickets, we ask them for input,” says Brandwein. “We want requests by subject matter, medium, artist and price point. This ensures that there’s something for everyone. Each auction is customized to each of the venues.” Tickets are $25 per person and can be obtained by calling The Congregational Church at 238-4411.
Mick Jagger autographed guitar; original etching by Picasso
“Last year,” he reports after a quick check of his records, “we offered about one hundred pieces, and they moved very quickly. We brought a Rolling Stones guitar autographed by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards; a guitar signed by Bob Dylan; a Toulouse-Lautrec original lithograph; an original etching by Picasso, signed and numbered; an autographed FDR letter; sports memorabilia; a watercolor by Itzack Tarkay. Items ranged from $45 to several thousand dollars. Contemporary, traditional, Impressionist. And our prices are generally one third to one half of traditional gallery list prices.”
Lombardo took home a signed color lithograph book illustration from “Daphne and Cloe,” by Marc Chagall. “I had seen Rick bring Chagalls to other auctions he conducted,” she recalls, “and I’d heard that he had a special relationship with the Chagall estate, so I was pretty sure I’d find some again.”
Remembering last year’s auction, Offenhartz confesses, “I must say I never expected to have such a super time last year—nor did I expect to purchase any art, but my husband Colin’s right hand kept flying upward—and he hates to shop—and we now enjoy the lasting effects of the evening on our walls.”
Although Brandwein didn’t invent the format, there were very few galleries doing this sort of thing when he began in 1988. He seems to have hit upon a winning combination of “something for everyone:” a program that provides a frame of reference to those inexperienced at buying art works; proceeds shared between auction house and host; and a party with a purpose. The beneficiaries of this First Congregational Church fund raiser will be Open Door Medical Center and Neighbors Link in Mt. Kisco, and the Sierra Club of the Lower Hudson Valley.
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