One of the year’s most buzzed-about art auctions is set to kick off this weekend, but it isn’t hosted by Sotheby’s, Christies, or any other house. It’s the annual benefit auction for the Leonardo Dicaprio Foundation, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year.
The event, on September 15, has been scaled back from its four lavish previous iterations in St. Tropez, yet it’s nonetheless expected to be a star-studded affair. Hosted on a sustainable vineyard in California’s Sonoma County, the zero-waste evening will feature an art auction, celeb attendees like Edward Norton, Tobey Maquire, and a special performance by Coldplay singer Chris Martin. Oh, there will also be a live hawk flying around.
The event expects to host around 300 guests (down from 1,000) and an auction with 20 lots (down from about 50). But the reduction in quantity doesn’t mean a sacrifice in quality. The auction will offer a mix of big-name and emerging artists, including paintings by Jack Goldstein, Matthew Wong, and Jonas Burgert; sculptures by Ai Weiwei, Fred Wilson, and the Haas Brothers; a Richard Prince C-print, a David Hockney iPad drawing on paper, and a mixed-media work by Cory Arcangel. Read more