Suffolk charity puts unique art works and rare collectables up for fund-raising auction

A Suffolk charity that supports families in crisis has put together a unique auction of East Anglian art and collectables to raise funds for the coming year. Here’s how you can gain access to the online gallery and bidding site

Fancy owning a rare autographed picture of your favourite star or sports hero? Would you like to invest in a wonderful piece of art for your home while at the same time helping a families’ charity based in the heart of Suffolk? Then the Home-Start in Suffolk online art auction is offering some tempting treats which are on offer until July 23.

Some notable pieces include the stunning ‘Relaxing with Poppies’ by Theronda Hoffman, ‘Blue Wreck’ by Allan Williams, the stunning original portrait of Johnny Depp by Tim Brown, a signed, framed portrait of Ian Botham and a striking new piece from the elusive artist known as “The Hat” entitled ‘Contagious.’

The ever mysterious “The Hat” has a reputation for creating pieces of artwork and leaving them across East Suffolk for people to find and auction off for charity. With the help of several local artists and friends, the team at Home-Start in Suffolk have launched the very first Home-Start in Suffolk “Art Auction” featuring nearly 50 amazing pieces – including a signed, limited edition, leather-bound copy of Moriarty, the latest novel by charity patron Anthony Horowitz.

Alison Watson, fundraising and marketing manager at Home-Start in Suffolk said: ”The idea of launching an art auction came when we had to move our main fundraising event, The Moonlight Ball to next year leaving us with two amazing pieces of art that had been kindly donated for the event.

“With all our events being cancelled this year we have a huge fundraising deficit of £75,000,” Alison explained, “We have had to come up with new innovative ways to try to raise these funds and so we set about hosting our own online art auction to sell, initially, these two original pieces. Then with the help of our network of ambassadors, we set to work, calling for more support in sourcing new artwork for the auction.

“We’ve had an incredible response and have now collected an additional 48 pieces in the auction – some original paintings and drawings, some limited-edition prints and some fabulous original photography. “

Home-Start in Suffolk have created an online gallery with the help of Kesgrave artist Theronda Hoffman and professional photographer Cherry Beesley of Simply C Commercial photography who have stored and photographed the items for the auction.

Home-Start in Suffolk has been supporting Suffolk families for more than 20 years and is instrumental in early intervention to prevent families reaching crisis point. They provide help for families as they navigate through challenges such as bereavement, long term illness, domestic abuse, isolation, poor mental health, disabilities and much more. Home-Start in Suffolk work alongside the statutory services and complementary support to those who may be starting to struggle.

For those wanting to support the charity and enhance their home with a unique piece of art or collectable then bidders can view the pieces online and place bids using the bidding forms for each item. There is a wide variety of different pieces and something for everyone. The auction will be live until July 23, 2020.

To view the auction visit the Home-Start in Suffolk website www.homestartinsuffolk/art-auction