Art Auction At Laguna Beach Art Museum Raises Nearly $500K

LAGUNA BEACH, CA - From Laguna Art Museum: On Saturday, February 16, Laguna Art Museum’s California Cool Art Auction, its 37th annual benefit auction, raised over $435,000. More than 250 guests enjoyed the evening, with proceeds from the event benefit the museum’s exhibitions and education programs.

The highlight of the evening was the much anticipated live auction led by Aaron Bastian, the senior specialist in California and American paintings at Bonhams. The museum also partnered with Artsy, the leading resource for learning about and collecting art, with live, international bidding adding a further element of excitement.

The live auction featured 18 works and achieved sales of over $181,000. Among them, Tony DeLap’s Card Trick sold for $24,000; the late John Mason’s Ember Vessel sold for $25,000; Scot Heywood’s Centric—Grey, Black, White sold for $14,000; Laddie John Dill’s 5am sold for $23,000 above an estimate of $18,000; John Baldessari’s Hands & Feet: Hands & Fish sold for $4,600 above an estimate of $3,500; and Don Suggs’s Oasis sold for $4,200 above an estimate of $3,500. The silent auction featured an additional 97 works of art and was highly successful with sales of over $179,000.

The evening also included a Fund-A-Need campaign, presented by Laguna Art Museum Curator of Educator Marinta Skupin, which raised $41,000 to support the museum’s K-12 education programs.

Major event support was provided by Piaget, McKenna BMW and South Bay BMW, Daniel and Jeri McKenna, Barbara and Tad Danz, and Al Roberts. Coast Magazine was the official media partner.

The California Cool Art Auction 2018 team was led by co-chairs Sara Heeschen and Vanessa Helin; and committee members Jeannie Denholm, Ruben Flores, Michael Fullen, Lauren MacLaughlin-Brinker, Karen Morally, and Eden Phair.

LAM’s California Cool Art Auction is the longest running benefit art auction in California and is one of Orange County’s most exciting art and social experiences. Proceeds from the event support the museum’s dedication to collecting and preserving California art, presenting critically acclaimed exhibitions, and enhancing art education.

Featured Artists

Tristan Abel
Cathy Akers
Peter Alexander
Ceasar Alzate
Daniel Angeles
Florence Arnold
Natalie Arnoldi
Charles Arnoldi
Don Bachardy
John Baldessari
Marlo Bartels
Sherri Belassen
Billy Al Bengston
Kelly Berg
Maria Bertran
John Botz
Andrea Brown
Mark Chamberlain
Jean Charlot
Mindy Cherri
Michael Childers
Stacy D'Aguiar
Deborah Davidson
Paul Davies
Tony DeLap
Brittney Diamond
Laddie John Dill
Jorg R. Dubin
Julie Easton
Ned Evans
Shepard Fairey
Baldemar Fierro
Colin Fleck
Kaori Fukuyama
Jacques Garnier
Eric Gerdau
Jimi Gleason
Joe Goode
Kristina Grace
James Griffith
Bradley Hankey
Michael Harnish
Danny Heller
Scot Heywood
Chris Hite
Nicholas Hunt
Kelsey Irvin
Kathy Jones
Jeff Juhlin
Catherine Kaleel
Sherry Karver
John Kelly
G. Ray Kerciu
Jeremy Kidd
Mary-Austin Klein

Jason Kowalski
Peter Krasnow
Tom Lamb
Robert Larson
Kristin Leachman
Dave Lefner
David Ligare
Shana Mabari
Victoria MacMillan
John Mason
Danny McCaw
Dan McCleary
Shawn McCracken
Elizabeth McGhee
Scott McMillin
Pierce Meehan
Yevgeniya Mikhailik
David Milton
Andy Moses
Ed Moses
Joseph A. Mugnaini
Gwynn Murrill
Kenton Nelson
Michael Obermeyer
Kenton Parker
Jeff Peters
Astrid Preston
Gregory Price
Noel Quinn
Richard Reiner
Chris Richter
Brian Robertson
Matthew Rolston
David Ruddell
Bradford J. Salamon
John Schroeder
Daniela Schweitzer
Jeff Sewell
Doug Shoemaker
Caleb Siemon and Carmen Salazar
Anna Silver
Adam Silverman
Vladimir Sokolov
John Sonsini
Don Suggs
Paul Tilley
Cecil Touchon
Robert Treloar
Elizabeth Turk
Márton Váró
Lindsey Warren
Stephanie Weber
Matt Wedel
Alex Weinstein
Kristen Whalen
Scott Yeskel