More than 150 works of art will be available at an art auction this weekend to benefit Ayla’s Acres No-Kill Animal Rescue.
To be held Saturday, Feb. 4 at the Doubletree by Hilton in St. Augustine’s Historic District, the event will begin at 6 p.m. with a preview of the available artworks followed by the auction at 7 p.m. Arin Ross Auctions will conduct the auction, which will feature more than 150 custom framed and matted works of art, including lithographs, etchings, serigraphs, animation cels, watercolors, original oils signed by the artists, and documented sports and entertainment memorabilia.
Featured artists include Kinkade, Wooster Scott, Picasso, Chagall, Dali, Renoir, Boulanger, Neiman, Rockwell and Shaviko. The majority of the art will have opening bids ranging from $45 to $300. Opening bids are generally 50 percent less than traditional framed gallery prices.
Tickets are $10 and include hors d’oeuvres; a cash bar will be available.
Proceeds from the auction will support the mission of Ayla’s Acres No-Kill Animal Rescue, a nonprofit that supports animal adoption, spaying and neutering services while also maintaining a 45-acre sanctuary for “unadoptable” animals.
The organization receives no government funding, relying on private donations and funds raised through items sold at Ayla’s Acres Thrift Shop, which was severely damaged by Hurricane Matthew and had to be completely gutted. In addition, 95 percent of the shop’s inventory and merchandising fixtures were lost in the flooding. Community outreach and donations enabled the thrift shop to reopen last week.
“We missed the whole Christmas season, which was a shame,” Executive Director Fran Charlson said. “Fortunately, local food drives, events and fundraisers like this auction have kept the more than 250 animals in our care well-fed and healthy.”