Famous names donate hand drawn artworks to secret auction for The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity
The postcard art auction was first run in 2018, in memory of budding artist and pupil, Sophie Maria Taylor and has since raised an incredible £46,000.
This July, Sophies postcard, an online art auction run by St Richards Catholic College in Bexhill-on-Sea returns for its third year, having previously run in 2018 and 2020. The auction opens this Thursday 30th of June, and will feature over 1,500 original, postcard-sized artworks with a reserve bid of just £1.
#sophiespostcard is organised by devoted art teacher Miranda Pennington in memory of her former student, Sophie Maria Taylor, who was treated at The Royal Marsden. Sophie sadly passed away from cancer in 2017 at age 12.
Teacher Miranda Pennington said: “We are so thankful to all the artists who have donated incredible art to the auction. Art was Sophie’s favourite subject, so it is inspiring and uplifting to see her remembered in this way.”
“We are thrilled with the number and quality of postcards that have been sent to us this year. The breadth of artistic styles is quite astounding, with contributions by professional artists and leading figures in the art world, as well as children at the school. We are very excited to see what happens in the auction and how much we can raise.”
Hand-drawn artwork donated by a host of famous names
Artwork for the auction is donated each year by professional artists, designers and illustrators, as well as children from St Richard’s Catholic College and the general public. Sir Quentin Blake, illustrator Axel Scheffler, Dame Jacqueline Wilson and author and illustrator Thomas Taylor are just some of the famous names who have donated their hand-drawn artwork in the past.
Contributors to this summer’s auction include TV presenter Lorraine Kelly, Turner Prize winners Gilbert & George, winner of the BP Portrait Prize Susanne du Toit, Private Eye cartoonist Jonesy and TV presenter Victoria Coren Mitchell.
Bidders do not know whose work they are bidding on, so part of the fun is trying to recognise the signature style of the hand who drew the artwork. All the postcards have a starting bid of £1 and are auctioned on eBay, and only when the auction closes will the winning bidders find out who the postcards have been created by.
Raising funds for world-leading cancer research at The Royal Marsden
Since 2018, the school in Bexhill-on-Sea has raised over £46,000 for The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity through the creative charity auction.
Antonia Dalmahoy, Managing Director at The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity, said: “We are incredibly grateful to St Richard’s Catholic College for their generous support of The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity in memory of Sophie. Our work wouldn’t be possible without the amazing support of fundraisers like Sophie’s Postcard."
“The money raised through the auction will make a real difference, helping to fund world-leading research to improve the lives of young cancer patients like Sophie. It’s always so inspiring to see the original and creative artwork that is up for auction, and so I also want to thank the talented artists who take the time to give their work, and those who kindly bid on it.”
Find more information visit sophiespostcard.com.
This year's auction
The year's auction opened on Thursday 30th June and runs for 10 days. The last day to place a bid is Saturday 9 July. All postcards have a starting bid of just £1 and are auctioned on eBay, making it accessible to buyers around the globe.
Discover the stunning artworks included in this year's auction.
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