Works in Sotheby's Contemporary Art Day Auction to benefit the Elton John AIDS Foundation

NEW YORK, Nov. 5, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- For a third consecutive year, Sotheby's has invited the Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF) to participate in the auction house's Contemporary Art Day Auction on November 14, 2013, by providing select, donated works to be sold to benefit EJAF's grant-making initiatives.  All of the proceeds will go directly to the foundation's urgent work. 

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20131105/DC10131)

Eight renowned artists have generously donated significant works including Marina Abramović, William Eggleston, Inka Essenhigh, Theaster Gates, Wade Guyton, Louise Lawler, Raymond Pettibon, and Ai Weiwei.

For more than 20 years, EJAF has been one of the top ten nonprofit funders of HIV prevention programs in the world, focusing its efforts specifically on the most at-risk, marginalized, and vulnerable populations in the U.S., the Americas, and the Caribbean.  Through the impeccable credibility and reputation the Foundation has attained based on over 20 years of extensive work in this field, EJAF has emerged as a significant leader, advancing public dialogue on critical and controversial issues related to the HIV/AIDS epidemic, challenging misguided policies and attitudes that block progress in HIV prevention, and leveraging the power of the media, celebrity support, and cause marketing to raise more than $300 million for urgently needed programs and awareness about the continuing challenges of the worldwide AIDS epidemic.

"All of us at the Elton John AIDS Foundation are deeply grateful to Sotheby's and to all of the wonderful artists, dealers, and galleries that have partnered with us on this project for the last three years," said Founder Sir Elton John.  "The funds raised from the special charity lots at the sale will support our continuing efforts to achieve an AIDS-free generation by confronting stigma and discrimination and helping people to access the prevention, treatment and care services they need.  This sale truly is art supporting life, and I can't think of a higher purpose for art than that."

For more information and to view all lots being sold to benefit EJAF, please visit sothebys.com (sale N09038, lots 489 – 496).

About EJAF:  At the Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF) we believe that AIDS can be beaten.  We act on that belief by raising funds for effective programs and policies, and also by speaking out with honesty and compassion about the realities of people's lives.  Sir Elton John created EJAF over twenty years ago, first in the United States in 1992 and then in the United Kingdom in 1993.  Through hard work and with the help of our network of kind, amazing, creative, and generous friends and supporters, the two foundations together have raised more than $300 million over the past two decades to combat stigma, prevent infections, provide treatment and services, and motivate governments to end AIDS.  The U.S. foundation focuses its efforts on programs in the United States, the Americas, and the Caribbean, while the U.K. foundation funds HIV-related work in Europe, Asia, and Africa.  Join us in speaking out, taking action, and contributing to our efforts to achieve a world without AIDS.  For more information, please visit www.ejaf.org.

American Airlines is the official sponsoring airline of the Elton John AIDS Foundation.

About Sotheby's:  Sotheby's has been uniting collectors with world-class works of art since 1744. Sotheby's became the first international auction house when it expanded from London to New York (1955), the first to conduct sales in Hong Kong (1973) and France (2001), and the first international fine art auction house in China (2012). Today, Sotheby's presents auctions in eight different salesrooms, including New York, London, Hong Kong and Paris, and Sotheby's BidNow program allows visitors to view all auctions live online and place bids in real-time from anywhere in the world. Sotheby's offers collectors the resources of Sotheby's Financial Services, the world's only full-service art financing company, as well as private sale opportunities in more than 70 categories, including S|2, the gallery arm of Sotheby's Contemporary Art department, as well as Sotheby's Diamonds and Sotheby's Wine. Sotheby's has a global network of 90 offices in 40 countries and is the oldest company listed on the New York Stock Exchange (BID).

SOURCE Elton John AIDS Foundation