Sotheby’s Take Home a Nude annual auction. All photos on site for Art Observed by Nicholas Wirth.
Monday night on the seventh floor of Sotheby’s, art enthusiasts took in a variety of works—many of them nudes or variations thereof—at the 20th annual Take Home a Nude benefit by the New York Academy of Art. A 6 o’clock cocktail hour loosened up bidders for the concurrent silent auction, closing at 8:30 with a live auction, followed by dinner downstairs at 9:00. The night honored artist Jenny Saville and critic John Richardson, with artists Jeff Koons (in attendance further down town at the National Arts Awards) and Nan Goldin up for bid at the live auction, while artist Dustin Yellin—whose work caught the eye of Mary-Kate Olsen—fetched the highest bid at the silent auction at $9,500. However, Alyssa Monk’s Soft went to live auction after fierce bidding during the silent auction, fetching a final $12,000, and the evening’s overall highest piece was Joseph Kosuth‘s ‘Texts (Waiting for-) for Nothing’, Samuel Beckett, in play, 2011 at $37,500.
More text and images after the jump…
Nan Goldin, Valerie Floating in the Sea, Mayreaux (2001). Sold for $10,000.
Raising over $750,000 this year, proceeds from Take Home a Nude help to provide student scholarships, artist funds, and financial support for the public programs of the New York Academy of Art. The broad range of emerging and established artists featured at the event allows both new and seasoned collectors of art to participate in and contribute to the Academy’s cause.
Alyssa Monk, Soft (2010). Sold for $12,000.
John Alexander, Holy Mackerel (2011). Sold for $12,000.
Jeff Koons, Monkey Train (Dots) (2007). Sold for $26,000.
Peter Marino (right) and friend
A happy buyer outside the auction.
-S. Sveen
Related Links:
The New York Academy of Art [Official Website]
Padma Lakshmi and a Prim Mary-Kate Olsen Turned Out For the Classy “Take Home a Nude” Benefit at Sotheby’s [Artinfo]
Private Parts on the Block: Stars and Socialites Shell Out at Take Home a Nude [NY Observer]
