Christie’s auction house aims to raise $1m for Ukraine heritage and humanitarian relief
Christie’s has launched a three-part series of benefit sales starting on April 25, 2022, expected to raise $1m for Ukraine heritage and humanitarian relief to be distributed via the World Monuments Fund (WMF) and its Ukraine Heritage Response Fund, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and CORE, actor Sean Penn’s aid organization.
“The tri-part sale includes 86 paintings and drawings from the Peremen Collection of Ukrainian Avant-Garde Artists, including Theophil Fraerman and Amshei Nurenberg, which will be presented as a single group,” Sonya Bekkerman, Christie’s deputy chairman of business development tells The Art Newspaper.
The initiative aims “to help heritage professionals in Ukraine lay the groundwork for future rehabilitation” as cultural losses mount.
“According to UNESCO, since the invasion, around 53 historical sites have sustained some kind of damage, including museums, monasteries, monuments, and historic centers,” Bekkerman says. “So we’re taking a multi-pronged approach. We’re supporting humanitarian aid, but we’re also supporting cultural preservation. As an auction house, we are using our platform as a positive force.
