We had the best time at last night’s silent art auction to benefit the Vander Zee Foundation (which supports the painting students at the Vander Zee Gallery as well as other students of the arts).  The place was packed to the gills, hot as Haiti, and the wine and conversation were flowing very fast.  I saw many people I hadn’t seen in a few months.  Enjoyed talking to Rob about Chile!  

The auction component was well organized and featured works not only from master painter Rob Vander Zee, but also successful works from several graduate students.  Gary’s muted landscapes went like hotcakes, Roberta’s works were well thought of, Judith’s work was admired, and Sheila showed and sold her very first work completed as a student of Rob’s.  Keys to a successful art auction are plenty of works, a wide variety of sizes, great pricing at various price points, and two tricks of auctioning which Vander Zee successfully employed  - 1) having a bidder (an art dealer) set the bar a bit higher by placing bids early and 2) taping the bidding sheets to the tables and manning each table with a gallery-aligned overseer.  

I brought my friend Lenda who drove all the way from upper Maryland and she had exactly the right spirit for us to have a blast.  She was funny and thoughtful and playful and I really enjoyed the night with her.  Here she is guarding our bid sheet for “42nd Street” (featured in the background).  Lenda was trying to dissuade any potential bidders from increasing the ante!  Great job!

Here’s Lenda laughing as she stands guard – all 5’1″ of her!  This was early on in the evening and as 9pm drew nearer, the place continued to get packed.  Lenda was a true trooper!

Here’s David (plaid shirt) employing the same strategy we used as he acquires a work for Maurice.  The auction and bidding process started getting a bit heated!

The evening got increasingly crazier and when I met “Buddha” I knew we were headed down a one-way avenue!

The silent auction included figurative works, landscapes and abstracts.  Here’s one of the abstracts we very much liked (and wished its complement had been offered as a diptych.)  What great fun for a smart cause and a very fun Saturday night!