NETJETS EU VOLUME 15 2021

GOODWILL
Fulfilling Dreams
From seeing the Loch Ness Monster to a day as a
firefighter, Rays of Sunshine brings joy to the lives
of seriously ill children // By Claire Wrathall
KEITH MEATHERINGHAM
SCAN THE CALENDAR OF auctions due to be
held at Christie’s in London during the week
of Frieze Art Fair, and among the big-ticket
post-war and contemporary art sales, there’s
an unexpected addition: a fundraiser featuring
works donated by many of the same blue-chip
artists, but – unlike most lots – never previously
offered for sale. They will be sold in aid of Rays
of Sunshine, a UK nonprofit whose remit is
to “grant wishes” to 3- to 18-year-olds with
serious, degenerative or life-limiting illnesses.
The last time the charity organised an
auction, it persuaded artists of the calibre of
Rana Begum, Sir Peter Blake, Ian Davenport,
Tracey Emin, Barry Flanagan, Howard
Hodgkin, Kate MccGwire, Grayson Perry (a
glazed ceramic sculpture of a cat, cheekily
entitled I Love You Super Rich Person),
Richard Long, Julian Opie and Marc Quinn
to consign works, 68 lots in total that raised
almost £750,000 in what the art trade calls a
white-glove sale – a rare event when everything
offered is sold. This year’s edition promises to do
better still.
“The work we’ve been getting is really top
quality,” says Richard Burston, chair of the
charity’s executive committee and the driving
force behind the auction, reeling off a list of
international figures who have donated works,
among them Marina Abramović, Hurvin Anderson,
Helaine Blumenfeld, Tony Cragg, Antony Gormley,
Sheila Hicks, Damien Hirst, George Shaw, Bernar
Venet and Edmund de Waal, many of whom are
artists whose work he collects.
“I love to support great living artists, some of
whom I’ve got to know. There’s no better way
to support the arts,” he explains, continuing to
spill names. “Barnaby Barford has given us a
really fantastic sculpture,” he says of the artist
best known for his towering installation in the
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