Kim Muller-Thym, 'Cloudy Creek,' oil, 9 x 12 in., estimate $1,200. Image courtesy of Salmagundi Club.

NEW YORK – New York City’s revered Salmagundi Club – an artists’ organization founded in 1871 – is planning a major fundraiser during the month of October that comprises three auctions of juried artworks submitted by its artist-members. The auctions will be held at the Salmagundi Club on Friday, Oct. 14 at 8 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 23 at 2 p.m. (following a brunch in the dining room), and Friday Oct. 28 at 8 p.m. As a special incentive, no buyer’s premium will be payable on any artwork purchased, and to accommodate those who cannot attend in person, there will be Internet live bidding through LiveAuctioneers.com.

“Over the years, collectors have flocked to our semiannual auction fundraisers to buy top-quality artworks from some of America’s finest artists, often at very attractive prices,” said Salmagundi Club President Claudia Seymour. “When we included Internet live bidding at our March auction, it opened a new bidding avenue for art lovers around the world and resulted in some lively battles over premier artworks. We expect to see exciting competition in the October auctions, as well.”

All painting media will be represented in the October auctions, including oils on canvas, acrylics on canvas, etchings, watercolors, sculptures, pastels under glass and lithographs, some of them hand colored. Additionally, there will be original drawings, pen-and-ink works and photographs. Most of the two-dimensional works are framed, while a few are gallery-wrapped with canvas.

Anne Kullaf, 'Daydreams on 14th Street, oil, 20 x 20 in., estimate $1,500. Image courtesy of Salmagundi Club.

“We have many outstanding, well-known artists on our membership roster, and the quality of what is offered in our

upcoming auctions is quite exceptional. Our board is committed to maintaining a high level with our auctions, and that includes introducing bidders to the work of talented emerging artists, as well,” said Seymour.

In the past, Salmagundi Club auctions have operated under a fixed, flat-rate structure whereby nearly all artworks opened at $300, sculptures at $300-$400, and photos or multiple impressions at $150.

“We have done away with that method, now. We don’t want low opening prices to discourage better-known and more-accomplished artists, who get good prices in galleries, from putting their work in our sales,” said Seymour. “Our new policy is to ask the artist for a reasonable, typical price on an artwork they wish to submit, and we’ll open it at 30% of that price.”

Seymour explained how the artworks are selected for inclusion in the auctions. “Each artist-member may submit up to three pieces for consideration. Our art committee juries the art and selects those pieces that we believe have both the highest artistic merit and the greatest likelihood of selling. If three artworks from a particular artist are chosen, each will go into a different sale so they aren’t competing against each other,” Seymour said.

John Traynor, 'Jeffersonville, Vermont,' oil, 9 x 12 in. Image courtesy of Salmagundi Club.

Proceeds from the auctioned artworks are divided evenly between the artists and the club. “Normally, if an artist sells a work through one of our exhibitions, they receive 70% and the club receives 30%, but because the fall auction series is our principal fundraiser, our artist-members have graciously agreed to a 50/50 split,” Seymour said.

Beginning on Monday, Oct. 3, all artworks entered in the fall auction series will be displayed in a public exhibition at the Salmagundi Club. On Thursday, Oct. 6, the club will host a reception from 6-8 p.m. that includes the presentation of awards to the exhibition’s prizewinners.

Exhibition hours are Monday through Friday from 1-6 p.m., and weekends from 1-5 p.m. Auction dates and times are Friday, Oct. 14 commencing at 8 p.m.; Sunday, Oct. 23 at 2 p.m. (following a brunch from 11 a.m. till 3 p.m. in the club’s dining room); and Friday Oct. 28 starting at 8 p.m. All events, including the brunch and reception, are open to the public. The Salmagundi Club is located at 47 Fifth Avenue between 11th and 12th Streets in Manhattan.

For additional information about the auction, call 212-255-7740 or e-mail info@salmagundi.org. Visit the club’s website at www.salmagundi.org.

Online catalogs for the three October auctions may be viewed online at www.LiveAuctioneers.com, where prospective bidders may also sign up to bid absentee or live via the Internet. Absentee bidding will also be available via written bidding forms at the preview.

About the Salmagundi Club:

Steeped in history, the Salmagundi Club is one of the oldest art associations in the United States. Since 1917, it has been headquartered in what is now the only remaining brownstone on Fifth Avenue, directly across from the First Presbyterian Church. Its roster of past members includes such fine-art luminaries as Thomas Moran, William Merritt Chase, Louis Comfort Tiffany, N.C. Wyeth and Childe Hassam. Of its 850 currently active members, more than 600 are artists.

The club’s activities include art classes, exhibitions, painting demonstrations and both fundraising and social events. The nonprofit Salmagundi Club owns a collection of more than 1,500 works of art spanning its 140-year history.