Paintings valued at more than $150,000 will fund home for rescued wildlife
August 28, 2007
( Newtown, Penn.) – For 30 years now, area families and local workers have made the turn up the gravel drive of the Aark Wildlife Rehabilitation and Education Center, a nonprofit organization in rural Newtown, Penn. They have come bearing boxes containing orphaned baby birds, wounded fawns wrapped in blankets and other creatures, large and small. They know that the volunteers and staff of the Aark will take in woodland animals no one else will care for, rehabilitating and releasing those that can return to nature and caring for those that cannot.
But now, the Aark has lost its lease. Without a new home of fields and shelters with a house for the resident caregiver, there will be nowhere to bring these injured creatures. Few will survive.
That’s why Aark supporters Susan and Fran John, founders of Flip Dog Yoga and Pilates, have chosen to sell two magnificent Bucks County Impressionist paintings. They will devote 100 percent of proceeds to help fund a new home for the Aark and the wild creatures it saves.
The Johns have taken the two spectacular paintings by Edward Redfield and Fern Coppedge from the walls of their New Hope home. Both will be sold in the Rago Arts and Auction Center's 19th and 20th century American and European Art auction on September 15, an important auction for serious collectors of the art of the Delaware River Valley. The sale will also be available to eBay's hundreds of millions of bidders, thanks to online bidding services provided by LiveAuctioneers.com. Julian Ellison, CEO of LiveAuctioneers.com, is proud to lend his company's support in publicizing the very special sale of these artworks through eBay's highly visible auctions. By maximizing the number of potential bidders through live online bidding, the final sale price will also reach its full potential, generating the much-needed funds for the Aark.
The landscape by Redfield, entitled B"rook near Weldon," is estimated at $70,000-90,000. "Fishing Boats, Gloucester" by Coppedge is estimated at $45,000-55,000. One hundred percent of the proceeds the Johns receive from both of these sales will help fund a new home for the Aark and the wild creatures it saves.
“Working with Mary Jane and Leah and helping care for the animals at the Aark has taught me so much about the power of love and commitment and compassion, says Susan John, “It’s allowed both Fran and me to be part of giving life to the tiny percentage of wounded wild creatures that can be saved. It’s much harder to get care for a red-tailed hawk than for a dog. There are so few places for people to go. We have the Aark. And now that the Aark is facing this crisis in funding, we really do see it as a privilege to be among the people who can contribute to its continued existence.”
The magnitude of the donation overwhelms Mary Jane Stretch, founder of the Aark. “Our English language does not possess a word to describe the generosity and kindness of Susan and Fran in our time of need.”
“Redfield and Coppedge are important American artists who lived in Bucks County, says Meredith Hilferty, Director of Fine Art at Rago’s. “Our local landscape provided inspiration for much of their art. It's so wonderfully fitting that the sale of these first-rate works will benefit the wildlife that makes its home on this same land.”
For a complete auction catalog and to bid live online, visit www.LiveAuctioneers.com.
