Rare prints by street artist Shepard Fairey and late Cincinnati wildlife artist Charley Harper are among the items that will be auctioned Thursday at a gala called "Double Vision" benefiting Visionaries & Voices, a Northside-based arts organization supporting artists with disabilities.
The Fairey piece is a signed artist proof, or test print, of his limited-edition print of the Contemporary Arts Center.
All 450 signed and numbered prints sold out on the opening night of Fairey's Supply and Demand exhibition at the Contemporary Arts Center on Feb. 19. Fairey donated the artist proof to the auction.
The Harper piece is a signed artist proof of a 1977 print titled "Devotion in the Ocean," donated by the Country Club Gallery in Oakley and the estate of Charley Harper. Both the Fairey and Harper prints are framed and matted by Frame USA, the sponsor of the event. Bidding for each will start at $400.
Because artist proofs are considered more collectible than standard editions, collectors from as far away as California have been contacting Visionaries & Voices about the Fairey print, says board president Andrew VanSickle. But the organization will only sell the print at Thursday's live auction, and bidders must be present to win.
Also Thursday, Jonas Karp of Main Auction Galleries, Inc. will auction off 13 collaborative artworks designed by Visionaries & Voices artists and prominent Cincinnati artists. Featured collaborators include Cole Carothers and Courttney Cooper, Pam Kravetz and Michael Clayborn, David Rosenthal and Brianne Crable, and Brenda Tarbell and Ruth Burton.
Live auction items include the Cincinnati Reds' Pilot Club Suite, a Bette Davis signed photograph by artist Gary Lee Boas and original artwork by Nick Lachey and Vanessa Minnillo.
Silent auction items include dinner and opening night tickets for "Dreamgirls" at the Aronoff Center for the Arts, a Cincinnati Museum Center package of tickets and a Metropolitan Club/Playhouse in the Park package.