Mimi Foundation Auction gets off to a remarkable start

KOLKATA: The Mimi Foundation Auction, a series of events planned for Frieze Week in London by Sotheby's, with the aim of raising funds for the cancer charity founded by influential collector Myriam Ullens, got off to a remarkable start on October 16 night. £1,291,400 was achieved for 8 star lots donated by some of the world's most influential contemporary artists, with a further £95,000 achieved on the final lot of the night - two weeks on The Red Dragon; the 52m long private yacht belonging to Mr and Mrs Ullens.

The first lot of the night, a gold jewel by Ugo Rondinone kicked off the sale, tripling its original estimate to achieve £25,000. BC (4442), a major work by Sterling Ruby, created specifically for the event, inspired an energetic bidding battle, outstripping its estimate to achieve more than £185,000. Tracey Emin's neon The Kiss was Beautiful quadrupled its estimate, to achieve £122,500.

A bespoke iris portrait donated by Marc Quinn sold for £194,500. The highest price of the evening was realised when Yan Pei-Ming's Portrait of HRH The Prince of Wales, the first ever portrait of The Prince of Wales by a Chinese artist, sold for £302,500. The price raised will be split between The Mimi Foundation and The Prince's Drawing School.

Guests at the Gala Dinner were encouraged to achieve the highest possible prices in support of the charity, after an invitation was offered by Guy and Myriam Ullens for the winning bidders on each artwork to attend a private dinner at Windsor Castle in the presence of HRH Prince of Wales.