A new “art virgin” executive at Phillips de Pury is adding 18 themed contemporary art sales to its auction calendar over the next year and a half, despite the downturn in the art market.  Learn more about this questionable strategy in this Wall Street Journal article by Kelly Crow.

This fantastic image by Korean artist JeongMee Yoon is Lot 72 in Phillips’ September 26th sale in London (somewhat obviously) entitled: “Now: Art of the 21st Century”.

Perhaps the best idea for a fundraising event ever (after date auctions!), the Santa Monica Museum of Art sells tickets to donors for $300 that allow them to select from over 650 original 8”x10” pieces of art donated by a variety of artists.  Part of the excitement comes from the fact that the artists’ names aren’t displayed when donors select their artworks, only after they choose…which means that some people with a good eye and a little bit of luck can score pieces by the likes of Ed Ruscha, John Baldessari, and Gary Baseman.  Check out an article from the Los Angeles Times here.

Just to give some monetary perspective, another contributor to this charity event was artist Raymond Pettibon.  Pictured above is his small 1998 Untitled (Noticing the wave…) that hits the auction block this month at Phillips de Pury & Company with an estimate of $10,000-$15,000.

Regardless, what an awesome event for a good cause– I don’t know of an NYC institution that does anything like this on a similar scale.  Let me know if you do!