Art for Arf's Sake Art Auction

Saturday, April 17, 2010

(Patron Preview Reception April 2, 2010)

Art for Arf’s Sake Art Auction is back and bigger and better than ever!  This year, Art for Arf’s Sake will be held on Saturday, April 17.  We are delighted that this year’s Auction will take place at the Reading Crowne Plaza in Wyomissing.  This great new venue offers the elbow room our growing auction needs along with great food and complimentary beer and wine bar hosted by Sly Fox Brewing Company.  And, of course, Arf’s Art will feature the best of local, regional and national art and other nifty things in our live and silent auction. 

This year there will be a few new patron perks at various levels, including reserved tables with wait service and a private, “patrons only” preview reception, hosted at the home of HSBC executive director, Karel Minor and his wife, Kimberly, in historic Warwick Village, Elverson, on Friday, April 2.

The Minor’s home is the former Roseside Gardens, which was a commercial horticulture garden in the first half of the twentieth century.  Twice a featured Chester County Day home, the property features one hundred year old specimen planting, arbors and pergolas.  Preview dozens of selected pieces of art while sampling beer and hors d’oeuvre pairings by the brewers and chefs at Sly Fox Brewing.  Plus, patrons will receive an exclusive first look at the HSBC’s brand new 30’ mobile veterinary and adoption center!

Individual Arf's Art Auction tickets are $40.  Patron packages, which include passes to the Preview Reception on April 2 and other perks, start at $150.  Both may be purchased online by clicking here, may be obtained through the mail with a form available by clicking here, or you may register by phone at 610-921-2348, ext. 99.

Since the Humane Society of Berks County does not receive any county, state or federal tax funding, or funding from any national animal groups, your support of the Arf's Art Auction is most meaningful.  We look forward to seeing you on April 17th (and April 2nd!), and a very special thank you from all our four-footed friends.

Buy tickets or become a Patron with credit card online here!

Download form here to order by mail.

Are you interested in submitting art or a high quality item or service in support of the Art for Arf's Sake Art Auction?  Please email Rachel Duffie at rduffie@berkshumane.org or call at 610-921-2348, ext. 23.

More details, participating artists and art images to follow!

Better Known Friends

The HSBC is proud of the strong support it has received from our spectacular local and regional arts community.  We're also extremely proud of the support that we have received from others from around the country, including some well known names if a variety of fields.  This year we are offering advance proxy bidding again and if you are really nuts for anything, we might even be able to do that cool looking cell phone proxy bidding like they do at Sotheby's- how cool would that be? 

Past Arf's Art supporters have included John Flansburgh of They Might Be Giants, John Doe of X, Jim Collins, author of Good To Great, and others.  At this year's Arf's Art Auction, you'll be able to pick up some neat art from folks like:

Sue Coe: Sue Coe is one of the most important politically oriented artists living in the U.S. today. From the outset of her career working as an illustrator for such publications as the New York Times and Time Magazine, Coe was committed to reaching a broad audience through the print media. Later, she began creating extended visual discourses on subjects (such as racial discrimination or animal rights) that she felt were not being adequately addressed by conventional news organizations. Widely written about and exhibited, Coe has appeared on the cover of Art News and been the subject of a retrospective exhibition at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, D.C. Her work is in the collections of many major museums, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Modern Art in New York.  Shown right is Sue's submission to this year's Auction, "Topsy Is Fed Lit Cigarettes".  What's the word for her art?  Oh, right: unflinching.  

Betsy Lewin: Betsy grew up in Clearfield, Pennsylvania. She always loved to draw and can’t remember wanting to be anything but an artist. Betsy’s art is usually humorous, drawn in pen or brush with watercolor washes, as in Click, Clack, Moo; Cows That Type, but she also paints in a naturalistic style as in Chubbo’s Pool. Gorilla Walk is her first collaboration with her husband Ted and is about their trek to see the mountain gorillas in Uganda. Many of Betsy’s books have appeared on the New York Times Best Seller List and she has garnered many awards including a silver medal from the Society of Illustrators, and a Caldecott Honor for Click, Clack, Moo; Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin. 

Betsy has donated a three pieces this year. A special watercolor created just for our auction after Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring (shown at top of page), a page of studies from her and husband Ted Lewin's book, "Balarama: A Royal Elephant" (detail shown), and an original "Duck"(!), well known for his mischievous starring role in the award winning "Click, Clack, Moo" books!

Somewhere, there is an elementary school teacher, librarian or parent of young children having hot flashes over this.  Remember, if you can't make the auction, you can always make a proxy bid via email or phone !

Check out some photos from the 2009 Art for Arf's Sake Art Auction held last Saturday, March 28, 2009 which raised $55,000!  Thank you to all our artists and supporters!

Click here to watch a cool YouTube of the evening!

Now, didn't that look like fun and wasn't that one fine looking crowd?