BRATTLEBORO — With its Spring Gala and other major fundraisers cancelled this year due to COVID-19, the Brattleboro Museum & Art Center (BMAC) says it is counting on an online auction to provide essential support for its year-round youth and education programs.
Hosted by Duane Merrill and Company Auctioneers and Appraisers, the auction will take place on Friday, Sept. 4, starting at 9:45 a.m. - in person at the firm's showroom in Williston and online via LiveAuctioneers.com.
BMAC has also lost revenue this year due to the three-month-long closure of its galleries and the cancellation of all in-person events since mid-March. The museum is now open on a pay-as-you-wish basis, with masks and social distancing in place.
When BMAC was forced to cancel its annual Spring Gala, Director Danny Lichtenfeld contacted Merrill & Co. owner Ethan Merrill, who agreed to help BMAC try to make up some of its lost revenue.
Lichtenfeld expects “to reach many more bidders, worldwide, than we do with our usual in-person auction,” he said in a news release.
All items to be auctioned, approximately 100, have been donated to BMAC specifically to help the museum make up revenue lost due to COVID-19.
Works include a painting by Maurice Utrillo, a pastel painting of a lake shore and a rare limited-edition print of a Martha's Vineyard harbor scene by Wolf Kahn, an oil-on-paper painting by Emily Mason, and a watercolor by Eric Aho.
Other items include paintings, prints, sculpture, and functional ceramics by Michael Abrams, Bruce Campbell, Jim Giddings, Carolyn Enz Hack, Christie Herbert, Charlie Hunter, Julia Jensen, Gordon Jones, Ed Koren, Mallory Lake, Stephen Lloyd, Petria Mitchell, Fiona Morehouse, Meridel Rubenstein, and James Urbaska.
Also up for auction: a large dining room table handcrafted by master Vermont furniture maker Garrett Hack, a set of six mid-century modern chairs by Danish designer Jens Risom, two room-size Persian rugs, an assortment of rare wines from Napa Valley, vacation getaways, and a pair of “art sneakers” by sculptor Andy Yoder.
“The generosity of our supporters has been humbling,” said Lichtenfeld.