North Shore Arts Association Announces Auction Fundraiser

Note: The following is a press release from the North Shore Arts Association.

Artwork from the region’s finest artists will be available to all bidders at the North Shore Arts Association (NSAA) 2011 Live Art Auction. To kick-off the annual event, a special Gala Preview Party open to the public will be held Friday evening, July 29.

The live auction, which this year features a new online option for bidding, is Saturday evening, August 6. Both events take place at the NSAA waterfront gallery at 11 Pirates Lane in East Gloucester. Gala tickets are $20; Auction tickets are $15, tickets for both events are $30. Proceeds benefit NSAA, a non-profit cultural organization that has been connecting art and the North Shore community for nearly 90 years.

Selected through a juried process to ensure quality, over 100 distinctive works of art representing a wide range of artists, genres, and mediums will be available for auction.

Art lovers and potential auction bidders will have an opportunity to meet many of the artists and review their artwork at a Gala Preview Party, with live jazz music, hors d’oeuvres from Passports Restaurant, and open wine bar, on Friday, July 29, from 5:30-8pm. The Gala Preview Party will allow guests to learn about the artists and, in some cases, the stories behind the pieces up for auction. Auction artwork will also be available for previewing daily July 29 through August 6 during regular NSAA hours (Monday-Saturday 10am to 5pm; and Sunday 12pm to 5pm), or online at www.nsarts.org.

The live NSAA Art Auction will be held on Saturday, August 6, from 7-9pm with Beverly, MA-based Kaminski Auctioneers (doors open at 6pm). New this year, and perhaps for the first time at a regional art auction, live online bidding will be available. Those who cannot attend the auction in person may watch the proceedings on their home computers or personal electronic devices and make bids in real time while the auction is happening. To create an account and register for the NSAA Art Auction in order to participate in online bidding, go to www.LiveAuctioneers.com/browse/seller/NSAA.

“The new elements of this year’s NSAA Art Auction are designed to enhance the bidding experience for art lovers as well as broaden the audience to help raise important funds to support NSAA programs,” says Art Auction Chair Monica Lawton. “We have stepped into the 21st century with online bidding, but maintain the opportunity to make real, personal connections with the artists and increase appreciation of their work at the Gala Preview Party.”

Several well-known North Shore artists whose works are found in many private art collections will provide artwork for the 2011 NSAA Art Auction, including Bruce Braithwaite, Paul George, Ken Knowles, Don Mosher, Charles Movalli, Dale Radcliffe, Jeff Weaver and many others.

The NSAA 2011 Art Auction is sponsored by Cape Ann Savings Trust & Financial Services and supported by Cape Pond Ice, Kaminski Auctions, and Passports Restaurant.

About North Shore Arts Association (NSAA)
With its origins inspired by the great landscape and harbor painters of the mid-1800s through the 20th century, NSAA was formed by a group of prominent artists and Cape Ann residents. Its purpose was to bring together comprehensive and representative exhibitions of painting and sculpture, and to persuade other artists to come to the North Shore in an effort to further American art. Incorporated as a non-profit institution in 1922, the NSAA opened its doors to the public on July 14, 1923, with the largest collection of art ever shown at one time in Gloucester.

Today, NSAA plays a vital role in supporting and promulgating the work of more than 500 members, while promoting arts education and appreciation in the community. Open daily May through October, NSAA presents juried and non-juried gallery exhibitions of paintings and sculpture as well as classes and workshops for children, youth and adults, lectures, concerts, and other special events. For more information, please visit www.nsarts.org or call 978.283.1857.