Sale of Masterworks to Benefit YoungArts Provides $39 Million Endowment for New Nationwide Education Program in the Arts

On Eve of Its 30th Anniversary, YoungArts Launches New Initiatives for Education Through the Arts in Communities Throughout the Nation

MIAMI, Nov. 3, 2010 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- At an auction held on Tuesday evening, November 2, at Sotheby's in New York, two paintings donated for the benefit of YoungArts, the core program of the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts (NFAA), were sold for a total of $39 million, with all of the net proceeds going to the acclaimed non-profit program that encourages artistic excellence among American high-school students. NFAA Board Chairman James Dubin announced that in accordance with the donor's wishes, the funds have been set aside exclusively as an endowment to help fund a new series of initiatives in education through the arts, which will reach an even broader base of high-school students and their teachers at all grade levels in communities throughout the United States. These programs will allow the Foundation to strategically expand its mission to identify young, emerging artists and assist them at critical junctures in their lives.  

The painting Le Bassin aux Nympheas (The Water Lily Pond) (1917-19) by Claude Monet was sold for $22 million. The painting Jeanne Hebuterne (Au Chapeau) (Jeanne Hebuterne with a Hat) (1917) by Amedeo Modigliani was sold for $17 million.

"We are thrilled to receive this transformational gift, which moves our program forward by thirty years in a single leap and provides an exciting occasion for others to join in support," stated Christina DePaul, YoungArts President and CEO. "With this extraordinary donation, and with the partnership of outstanding foundations, corporations and individuals around the nation, we can move forward dramatically in fulfilling the original vision of our founders, Ted and Lin Arison, who always wanted YoungArts to touch and influence young people and their communities throughout the country."

Currently, YoungArts identifies extremely talented young people bound for professional careers and provides them with financial support and high-level mentorships. The highly selective program

concentrates on high-school seniors and other 17- and 18-year-olds. Alumni of this top-level, career-oriented program include painter John Currin, multimedia artist Doug Aitken, actors Adrian Grenier, Vanessa Williams and Raul Esparza, musicians Josh Groban, Jennifer Koh and Terrence Blanchard, writer Allegra Goodman and choreographer Desmond Richardson.

The endowment created through the sale will allow YoungArts to maintain a focus on artistic excellence while broadening its reach significantly beyond its national recognition program. New initiatives funded with the help of the endowment will serve the general population of students in grades 9-12, their educators and the YoungArts network of more than 16,000 alumni. It will include the development of a broad-based curriculum of programs that teach valuable core skills, provide meaningful experiences and feedback as well as offer support to teachers who want to facilitate a broader appreciation for the arts in students.

YoungArts is now launching a national fundraising campaign in support of its new initiative. Further details of the arts education program will be announced in 2011 during the 30^th anniversary celebration of YoungArts and its umbrella organization, the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts.

About YoungArts

YoungArts, the core program of the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts (NFAA), is the signature national program that recognizes and supports America's most talented 17-18 year-olds in the visual, literary and performing arts. The mission of YoungArts is to identify emerging artists and assist them at critical junctures in their educational and professional development, and to raise the appreciation for, and support of, the arts in American society. YoungArts provides financial awards, master classes with world-renowned artists and a rich network of professional contacts and career development opportunities; all applicants are eligible for some $3 million in scholarships from prestigious college and universities around the world. YoungArts partners with the Presidential Scholars Foundation, the arm of the U.S. Department of Education honoring the nation's most deserving high school seniors. YoungArts is the sole nominating agency for the Presidential Scholars in the Arts, an honor given to just 20 seniors, who receive their award at the White House.

YoungArts regional programs in New York City and Miami are hands-on, laboratory programs designed to provide additional resources and enrichment. Participants have access to informative workshops, information about scholarships in the arts, career guidance and portfolio development resources. YoungArts' 16,000 alumni include Broadway actors, award-winning playwrights, published authors and numerous well-known visual artists and arts advocates.

For more information about YoungArts, visit www.youngarts.org.

SOURCE YoungArts