Sunday, November 27, 2011

Publicity this morning

Plenty of good publicity this morning for the sale.

We will start with a piece in the telegraph here and repeated below.

Having camped outside in the bitter cold since Monday, yesterday morning Stefan Bader and Ian Zanardelli were at the front of a queue of hundreds of people snaking 600 yards around the streets of London outside the Royal College of Art (RCA).
At 7am, the RCA opened its doors for the annual Secret Sale, a shopping spree of guess work where avid collectors and first-time buyers pay for postcard-sized works of art before discovering the identity of the artist.
For £45, those who queued could walk away with original works by Tracey Emin, Grayson Perry, Anish Kapoor,Yoko Ono - or by an artist nobody has ever heard of. it is something of a combination of art detective work and lottery.
"It has been pretty cold, but we Brits like a queue," said Mr Zanardelli, a first-time buyer at the sale. "I don't really care what I get - I'll be very happy with something that looks nice and I am looking forward to the surprise."
Mr Bader, 31, a project manager from Germany, has been travelling to London from Dusseldorf for the last six years, and has previously got lucky with works by Tracey Emin.
Yesterday, after paying for four postcards, the maximum for each buyer, he got exactly what he wanted.
Among his haul were a picture of a Red Indian chief by Candra Cassini, one of his favourite artists, and works by the Japanese artist Tomoko Nishimura, Dhruva Mistry, an eminent Indian artist and Royal Academician and the lesser-known Gales Sofer.

"I had my eye on these so I'm thrilled they hadn't sold yet," he said.

Mr Zanardelli, 31, a student from London, was also delighted with his buys, including a portrait of the Duke of Edinburgh by Cassini entitled His Royal Highness, the Duke of Edinburgh, extremely dashing at ninety years of age and a racier nude painting by the leading Welsh artist Roger Cecil.

"It was a bit of a punt and I had no idea what I was getting, but I'm really pleased," he said. "Prince Philip is pretty colourful - I think I might put him in my kitchen or bathroom."

Second through the doors was David Moore, 31, a solicitor from London, who had been despatched on behalf of his wife.

It was Mr Moore's fifth, and most successful visit to the sale to date.

After studying the unnamed postcards on the walls of the RCA earlier in the week, Mr Moore thought he recognised the signature style of some big names, and bought a £1 "lucky 50" raffle ticket in the hope of being one of the prospective buyers drawn from a hat on Friday night to be among the first 50 through the doors.
His gamble paid off, and Mr Moore selected two nude drawings by Emin and a sketch of an elaborately decorated motorbike by Perry.

The real Kenilworth AM1 motorbike, designed by Perry, is currently on display at the British Museum.
Mr Moore's beaming smile said it all. "My wife will be delighted, I'm so happy," he said. At £45 each, his Emin postcards are likely to prove a sound investment.

"Three years ago, a postcard donated by Emin for the RCA sale sold at auction for £16,000.

Also among the "lucky 50" ticket holders and quick through the doors were Elodie and Carys Hill, who came with their parents in search of pictures to brighten up their bedrooms in Camberwell, south London.
Elodie, nine, appeared delighted with her two postcards - a beaver driving a tractor by Nick Park, the filmmaker behind Wallace and Gromit and a smiling tiger by Perry.

"I wanted them because they are very interesting and colourful," she said, before confessing she had not heard of the artists. Carys declared herself "very happy" with a postcard of a pig against a gold background by the artist and choreographer, Katia Lom.

Sam Lane, 27, an English teacher from Bromley, south east London could not contain his disappointment when he finally made it through the doors at 8.30am, only to find that the works he wanted had been sold.
"This is my fourth year here and I queued since lunch time on Friday, sleeping in a tent last night," he said.
"I had my eye on a couple of Grayson Perrys, but there was a horrible moment earlier when I asked if they were still available and was told they were all gone."

Mr Lane still managed to pick up a "name" - discovering his postcard was by the designer Sir James Dyson.
For Lucy Mitchell, the cold queue outside from 6am had been worth it.

Mrs Mitchell, 39, a marketing director from Northwood, Middx and avid collector, bought two works by Anthony Frost, a leading abstract artist, and a postcard by Graham Crowley, the former head of painting at the RCA.

She said: "It was pot luck but I couldn't be happier."

It is hoped the sale will raise more than £130,000 to support art students with grants and bursaries.

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