LIMITED edition Harry Benson photographs of The Beatles with Muhammad Ali, the opportunity to have your portrait painted by Gerard Burns and an original artwork by film director Julian Schnabel were up for auction in New York last night, in a bid to raise funds for the Glasgow School of Art’s campus appeal.
Schnabel, the Oscar-nominated director of The Diving Bell and Butterfly, has created Glasgow School of Art Needs You, a collage which layers a handpainted message over printed images and articles, for the auction.
It’s been two years since fire devastated the school’s Charles Rennie Mackintosh-designed building, destroying his art nouveau library in the process.
Although fire crews were able to save 90 per cent of the structure and 70 per cent of the contents, predicted restoration costs are currently around £35 million.
The school’s choir say they’ll be launching a charity single to help with the appeal. Composer Jamie Sansbury has created a new piece about the building, which will be recorded in the library.
Sansbury said his piece Light Through Tall Windows, with lyrics by Muriel Gray, was an attempt to set down “the joy the building instils in students and staff, the enduring enlightenment it represents, and the impact that has upon them for the rest of their lives.”
GSA director Prof Tom Inns, said: “We are hugely grateful to all the people who have so generously donated works to help us in our efforts to bring the Mackintosh Building back as the heart of our expanded Garnethill campus.”
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