Rye Art Gallery’s auction raised almost £7000 at The Mermaid Inn on Wednesday 27 May, with some of the 85 lots making hundreds of pounds thanks to the hard work of auctioneer Kevin Wall from Rye Auction Galleries.
For many it was a chance to bid successfully for some high quality art at a bargain piece, with a range of art and artists in the catalogue – many with a local connection.
“Everything auctioned was donated by the artists, their families and local people,” said Julian Day, director and curator at Rye Art Gallery. “It means we can work on restoring parts of the building which is old and leaks keep appearing. It’s been difficult making repairs whilst still looking after our large permanent collection of over 2000 pieces.”
He said some of the older lots sold very well. “A piece by Kitty French, a famous Rye artist and teacher, saw a lot of bidding as did work by Jacqueline Stanley and Karl Terry.”
The event at The Mermaid continues a collaboration between the hotel and gallery that goes back decades. In the fifties Geoffrey Bagley, who was the Chairman of the Rye Art Gallery Trust (and also Rye mayor), was responsible for some of the hotel’s graphic design on menus, plates and pictures.
Money was also raised through a raffle and a chance to bid for a visit to see the art collection at Fairlight Hall.
So will an auction be an annual event? Julian Day is hopeful. “I’d like to, but perhaps in the winter. Holding the auction on the hottest day of the year was good for bar sales, but a different time of year might be better!”
Rye Art Gallery’s latest exhibition A Confluence of Elements continues until 21 June. After that it’s the Rye Print Biennial which celebrates British printmaking.
Image Credits: Rye Art Gallery .