The Lake Chapala Society (LCS) art auction held Wednesday October 26 was a resounding success, reaping more than 190,000 pesos in proceeds to support the Children’s Art Program (CAP).
The core of the auction was the sale of works from the private collection of the late Laurie Paul Wilson, who bequeathed that part of her estate to LCS for the purpose of raising funds to help sustain CAP.
The event started in the morning with bids taken for the silent auction of 53 lots of art works and objets d’art. Another 51 single works in different media were put on the block in the live auction held in the afternoon under the gavel of Efrén González.
An additional 14 paintings donated by living artists who jumped on the bandwagon were sold at the early-bird auction handled by CAP manager Danielle Pagé immediately preceding the main event. The contributing artists were Ernesto Barba, Jaime Barbiery, Efren Gonzalez, Nancy Gray, Karina Gutierrez, Oscar Orlando Ibarra, Garry Musgrave, Robina Nicol, Joie Wessendorf, Javier Zaragoza, and Rodrigo Zuloaga.
Pagé expressed her thanks to the auction volunteers, the charismatic González, supporting artists and around 240 art lovers who attended, demonstrating their commitment to supporting the children’s art program started by Neill James in 1954.
Extending her gratitude to the event’s benefactor, she said, “Laurie Wilson’s thought of funding community programs through the disbursement of her estate will hopefully catch on. When thinking about what to do with all our stuff, we should consider willing our possessions to worthy causes.”