NEWS - Non-Profit Organizations

By Lou Phelps, SBJ Staff

Feb 20, 2012 –The Telfair Museums has announced that well-known Sotheby's auctioneer C. Hugh Hildesley will serve as auctioneer for this year’s 2012 Telfair Ball this Friday, Feb. 25.

As Senior Auctioneer, Hildesley has conducted some of Sotheby's most prestigious sales, including the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Sale, the sale of the Property of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, and The Barry Halper Sale of Baseball Memorabilia.

His participation has been made possible by Hildesley and Sotheby's donating his auctioneer time to the Telfair, and paying for his flight to Savannah. The Telfair has also announced that Philip A. White, president and Chief Operating Officer of Sotheby's International Realty Affiliates LLC, is also planning to attend the Telfair Ball.

"I am thrilled someone of Mr. Hildesley's caliber is leading the auction at this year's Telfair Ball," said Helen Williams Johnson, chair of the Telfair Ball. "He has handled so many of the biggest auction events in the world." Arrangements to secure Hildesley as the auctioneer was accomplished by Celia Dunn of Celia Dunn Sotheby's International Realty, Johnson’s aunt.

The museum has two evenings of events planned this year. The Telfair Silent Art Auction will take place this Thurs., Feb. 23. The 32nd Annual Telfair Ball will then follow on Friday, Feb. 25, along with The Telfair Bash which take place later that night at 9:00 p.m. This year's theme “Illume” is an interpretation of a scene by Leo Villareal, an artist who uses encoded computer programming to make illuminated display installations.

The Telfair Silent Art Auction on Thursday will begin at 6 p.m. Tickets are $50 for members and $85 for non-members. Guests can wander the halls of the Jepson Center and bid on artwork from well-known local artists at the newly popular Silent Art Auction.

Featuring over 100 pieces of phenomenal artwork, the Art Auction has been on display and available for view online this week for silent auction bidding. Guests can bid until the night of the event when winners will take home their auction prizes at the end of the night.

The Telfair Bash will take place February 25 at 9 p.m. at Telfair Academy. Bash tickets are $100 for Telfair members and $135 for non-members. Back by popular demand, the Bash will treat guests to fine food, cocktails, and a live band as well as an opportunity to participate in the silent auction. Ball participants will join the Bash after dinner to conclude the evening with dancing and celebration.

A highlight of Savannah's social scene, The Telfair Ball benefits the museums' exceptional exhibitions, educational programs, and acquisitions. The Ball is open only to Directors Circle members of the Telfair; for information about joining the Directors Circle, call 912-790-8864. The Ball has a separate auction. Hildesley will be the auctioneer for The Telfair Ball auction.

Levy Jewelers has donated a diamond and sapphire bangle bracelet. Ray Ellis has donated an original work of art for the Ball auction for the 29th consecutive year, and world-famous portrait photographer Dan Winters has donated to the Ball auction a portrait setting and portrait. Another item is a trip that includes two nights at the George V in Paris and two nights at the Goring Hotel in London. One of the many other items is a dinner for 36 at Local 1110 with wine pairings and more on the Perch (rooftop deck).

Guests will enjoy some of the best food and entertainment the Hostess City has to offer. The silent auction and cocktail reception takes place in the Telfair Academy's Sculpture Gallery, and the fast-paced live auction will take place in the Rotunda. Dinner will be in the Jepson Center.

A number of unusual items will add to the prestige of the event. For example, Bastille Metal Works, a local architectural metal design company, will be providing a custom pewter table valued at $15,000 to benefit the Telfair Museum's Illume Silent Auction. The company will utilized their unique slip-casting technique to create a table inspired by the architectural moulding atop a column in the interior of the Telfair Museum. The pewter tabletop with a handmade zinc base reflects Savannah's rich history as a flourishing arts and cultural hub while maintaining the Bastille Metal Work's signature sleek and modern style, according to the company.

The auction will feature more than 100 pieces of handcrafted artwork. The proceeds of the Bastille Metal works piece will be dedicated to benefit children's art education and outreach in the Savannah community.

Bastille Metal Works is a manufacturer of custom cast zinc and pewter countertops, range hoods, and furnishings in North America, noted for undertaking complex designs and offering the largest selection of finishes and edge profiles.

About Hugh Hildesley

Hildesley joined Sotheby's in 1961 and played an integral role in Sotheby's formative years in New York, according to the company. He is currently Executive VP of Client Development, New York; Director, Sotheby's Canada Inc.; and Chairman, Sotheby's Canada Advisory Board, and has lectured widely on the art market. He is also the author of ‘The Complete Guide to Buying and Selling at Auction.’

Hildesley was the auctioneer responsible for the sale of the Guennol Lioness, of 3000 B.C., which sold for $57 million-a record for any sculpture sold at auction at the time. He was also the auctioneer for the sale of Paul Kane's Scene in the Northwest - Portrait, which sold for $5.2 million in 2002 and remains the record for any Canadian painting.

"An experienced auctioneer like Hildesley is critical to the success of a live auction," said Lisa Grove, the director and CEO of Telfair Museums. "Great auctioneers have the ability to engage and excite the audience and encourage them to raise their paddles to benefit the museum."

The Telfair Ball is the biggest fundraiser for the Telfair Museums and helps make its exhibits and educational programs possible, Johnson explained.

"I'm always amazed to see what they're doing in educational programs," Johnson said, adding that she's hoping to be able to buy some computers for the educational areas since they currently only have four old computers. The Telfair Museums offers extensive educational programs, some free of charge, for adults and children.

"The Telfair's exhibits are amazing," Johnson said. "The Telfair brings major exhibits that Savannahians otherwise couldn't see without traveling extensively." In December, the Telfair Museums' Jepson Center for the Arts will be one of only four museums in the U.S. that will host an exhibition of Italian masterworks by artists such as Botticelli and Titian from the Uffizi Gallery in Florence. One of the world's greatest art museums, the Uffizi Gallery dates to 1560 and began its storied history as the repository of the priceless collection of Florence's famous Medici family.

"I don't think Savannah would be the same without the Telfair," Johnson said. "It's such an important part of the community and its culture. It embodies the old with the new."