Flurry of last-minute bids boosts charity Christmas Appeal for St Michael & All Angels

A flurry of last-minute bidding for pictures from the St Michael & All Angels Advent Calendar has boosted the church's Christmas Charity Appeal by more than £ 1,250.

The 24 pictures, created by local artists, were auctioned on Sunday morning and sold for over £3,400. The artists are donating at least a third of the sale price to the charities.

The highest bid - £ 420 - was for a watercolour of the interior of St Michael & All Angels by Francis Bowyer, past president of the Royal Watercolour Society, who currently has an exhibition at the Royal Academy. It followed a three-way bidding battle that saw the price rise from £ 250 to £ 300, then £ 375, £ 376, £ 400 and finally £ 420.

The purchaser was Jennifer Haigh, who was married at St Michael's and now lives in Hong Kong. She said she and her husband were delighted to have such a beautiful reminder of their wedding.

St. Michael And All Angels by Francis Bowyer

"It was great to see people bidding so hard for paintings that they really wanted", said Father Kevin Morris, the vicar of St Michael & All Angels. "We're very grateful to them and, of course, to the artists, who created a particularly fine collection of pictures this year and so generously donate a third of the proceeds to the Appeal."

The second highest successful bid - £ 350 - was for Christmas Birthday by the award-winning painter Alfred Daniels, who has been called 'the Lowry of the East End'. His 1950s murals at Hammersmith Town Hall depict life on the Thames and are regarded as a modern classic.

Christmas Birthday by Alfred Daniels

The third highest bid - £ 320 - was for A Star in the East by Oliver West, the former organist and church architect at St Michael's. His painting depicts the star over St Michael's church and prompted a flurry of last-minute bids.

Star in the East

A painting by Liz Butler RWS, called St Michael's Angel, which featured in publicity for the Christmas Charity Appeal, was sold for £ 300. She is one of several artists who have already received commissions from some of the unsuccessful bidders!

St Michael’s Angel by Liz Butler

You can see the winning bids, and link to the pictures, here: http://smaaa.org.uk/advent/bids.php - and read about the 24 artists here: http://smaaa.org.uk/advent/artists.php

The money raised will go support St Michael's three charities for 2013 - The Upper Room, feeding the community in need in West London; Hamlin Fistula UK, a medical charity helping women in Ethiopia, and The Mulberry Centre in Isleworth, offering support to anyone affected by cancer.

Chiswick Churches by Deirdre Greenwood.

January 10, 2014