Buying art
for a good cause

Charity art auction

Buy art and help families affected by dementia: This is the motto of the charity art auction on October 5, 2023, organized by the three Rotary Clubs Wien-West, Wien-Belvedere and Köln Ville at Sotheby's in Palais Oppenheim in Cologne, Germany. For this purpose, 200 artists from 53 nations, from Australia and Morocco to Puerto Rico and Zimbabwe, have donated 208 works of art. The revenues of the auction will go to Desideria Care, a non-profit association founded by Désirée von Bohlen und Halbach that provides innovative support for families affected by dementia.

Auction: Thursday, October 5, 2023, at 5:00 PM (CET)

Auctioneers: Philipp Demeter, Andrea Jungmann and Gallus Pesendorfer from Sotheby's

Curator: Michael Schmidt-Ott

Venue: Palais Oppenheim, Gustav-Heinemann-Ufer 136-138, 50968 Cologne, Germany

Exhibition: The works to be auctioned will be exhibited in advance at Palais Oppenheim from September 28 to October 4. The exhibition is open on weekdays from 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM, Saturday and Sunday from 12:00 PM - 4:00 PM, but closed on October 3. Admission is free.

Auction catalogue

In the auction catalogue you will find all 208 works with detailed information:

View the auction catalogue

We will gladly send you the printed catalogue by post. If you are interested, please send us an e-mail  to info@desideria.org

Participation live on site

The live auction at Sotheby's in the Palais Oppenheim, Gustav-Heinemann-Ufer 136-138, 50968 Cologne, Germany, starts at 5:00 PM (CET) on 05.10.2023. Admission is from 3:30 PM.

For on-site participation, registration is required by September 28 at the latest. Please note that the number of seats is limited. Seats will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. Early registration is therefore recommended.

Register for the auction

 

Participation and bidding during the live stream

The auction will be broadcast via live stream. So you can also bid without being on site, by written bid, over the phone or via WhatsApp. You will find the link to the live stream here on the website on October 5. Please note, there may be transmission time delays during the live stream.

  • Phone Bids: Send us a completed purchase order. Please state the lot numbers of the works you wish to bid on. The lot number can be found in the catalog under the work and before the name of the artist. We will call you shortly before your lots are called in the auction. You can then bid live via telephone as if you were on site.
  • WhatsApp bids: Send us the completed purchase order. Please include your cell phone number in the purchase order. You can then bid live via WhatsApp chat as if you were on site. Before the auction, we will contact you with exact details. 
  • Written bids: You are unfortunately unable to attend on October 5? No problem. You can submit a written bid in advance. To do so, please send us a completed purchase order. Your maximum bid/purchase limit is the highest amount you are willing to pay for a lot. The maximum bid you submit must be at least the amount of the starting bid (see catalogue). It will be used only to the extent necessary, if any, to outbid all other bidders.  

We kindly ask you to send the completed purchase order to michael@fund-art.com at least 48h before the auction.

To the purchase order

For questions to written and telephone bids or bidding via WhatsApp, please contact:

Mr. Michael Schmidt-Ott, Landstraßer Hauptstraße 88/25, 1030 Vienna, Austria
E-Mail: michael@fund-art.com
Tel.: +43 676 42 17 320

Guided tours of the exhibition with curator Michael Schmidt-Ott are available by appointment.

Art podcast

In the german art podcastst die Leichtigkeit der Kunst (the lightness of art) host Claudia Linzel empathically gives a behind-the-scenes view at the charity art auction and introduces selected artists of the charity art auction. Feel invited to listen to the conversations (in german) and learn more about stories and motivation behind the works up for auction. Also get insights into the driving forces of the different actors from art and culture that support the work and projects of Desideria Care. 

We are glad about any support

If you would like to support us with a donation, we would be very pleased. You will receive a tax-effective donation receipt for your donation.

Donations account: 
Desideria Care e.V.
IBAN: DE18 7015 0000 1004 7700 77, BIC: SSKMDEMMXXX
Stadtsparkasse München