As the 2024 U.S. presidential election approaches on November 5th, more than 160 artists have donated works to “Artists for Kamala” an online-only art fundraiser with proceeds going directly to the Harris Victory Fund and Democrats across the country. Running from September 30 to October 8, 2024, the benefit sale will feature works ranging in price from $250 for prints to major works with estimates in the six figure–range by leading artists including Jeff Koons and Jenny Holzer.
Works from over 50 renowned artists will be featured in an online auction and sale on Artsy, including pieces by Koons and Holzer, as well as Amy Sherald, Betye Saar, Catherine Opie, George Condo, Hank Willis Thomas, Rashid Johnson, Reggie Burrows Hodges, Simone Leigh, Kay WalkingStick, and Shepard Fairey, among others. The Artsy portion alone is expected to raise over $1 million.
“Art has always been a powerful way to express one’s vision and ideals and to mobilize people into action,” said Harris for President campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez in a statement. “The artworks in the ‘Artists for Kamala’ collection do so brilliantly. We are so grateful to the art community for using their creativity, trusted voices, and powerful work to support Vice President Harris’s campaign to turn the page on hate and division, and move our country forward.”
Highlights from “Artists for Kamala” include:
- Holzer’s Selection from Truisms: There are too few… (2023), a granite bench engraved with one of the artist’s signature, bitingly candid proclamations. The blue stone is engraved with the phrase “There are too few immutable truths today,” one of Holzer’s iconic “Truisms.” The piece has an estimate of $200,000.
- Sherald’s As soft as she is…, (2023), a striking 70-color screenprint featuring a woman in a striking ensemble gazing directly at the viewer. The spare, elegant portrayal, with shocks of color and skin portrayed in shades of gray, is evocative of Sherald’s best known work, a portrayal of former first lady Michelle Obama. This piece, from a limited edition of 35, has an estimate of $50,000.
- Koons’s American Flagpole (Gazing Balls) (2024), a huge 25-foot American flag with three of his typical 12-inch gazing balls at its base, in red, white, and blue. An edition of one plus one artist’s proof, the new work has an estimate of $300,000.
- Thomas’s Fragile, Democracy, Handle with Care (2024), a limited-edition silkscreen from an edition of 50 unique variations which riffs on familiar “handle with care” stickers to urge for the protection of democratic rights. The bold, cobalt blue piece has an estimate of $10,000.
Since Vice President Harris was announced as the Democratic nominee in late July, numerous artists, including Carrie Mae Weems and Shepard Fairey, have shown public support, alongside major art patrons like Agnes Gund.
Gund is also part of the Artists for Kamala advisory board, alongside fellow philanthropists, artists, collectors, and art world professionals, including Stephanie Robinson, Sarah Arison, Jeanne Greenberg Rohatyn, and Komal Shah, among others.
The Artists for Kamala sale and auction on Artsy will launch at 4 p.m. EDT on September 30th, ahead of a Harris Victory Fund event in New York that evening. Lots will begin to close on October 8th at 3 p.m. EDT.
