19 Sept 2011 - An original Salvador Dali Sculpture of Don Quixote’s Dulcinea will next month be among the fine art going under the hammer in an auction at an event benefitting genocide prevention charity the Aegis Trust, hosted on 10 October at the Royal Windsor Race Course by Heloise Agelou – a 24-year-old Parisian Socialite and founder of racehorse management company, Hagelou Ltd.
The sensational solid bronze sculpture by Dali has been provided by a guest of the event, Spanish Count Juan Quiros Conde de La Carrera, and is said to be worth £125,000. 40% of its sale will be donated to Aegis. It will be joined in the auction by other remarkable pieces including an egg designed by the brilliant Sarah Fabergé, granddaughter of the great Carl Fabergé. In Fabergé tradition, there will be a surprise in the egg – a horse and jockey which can be enamelled in colours specified by the winning bidder.
Special guests at the event will include Carl Wilkens, the only American aid worker to stay in Rwanda during the 1994 genocide, and the actor Clive Owen, an Aegis Trust Ambassador. Clive Owen last year visited the Kigali Genocide Memorial, established by The Aegis Trust, paying tribute to some 250,000 Rwandan genocide victims buried at the site; around a quarter of those who lost their lives in 1994.
“It’s a real privilege to be associated with Aegis,” says Clive. “I’ve witnessed its hugely positive impact on the lives of widows and orphans in Rwanda, but massive challenges remain to be addressed by a new generation in that country. Particularly through its education programmes, Aegis is uniquely placed to help Rwanda’s young people rebuild the trust that was destroyed in their parents’ generation – so we should give it all the support we can.”
Dr James Smith, CEO of The Aegis Trust, says, “We are thrilled to have received these fantastic pieces of art to help us raise critical funds for the Aegis Trust. Dali was famous for his graphic depictions of the Spanish Civil War and held a strong contempt for violence and human suffering.”
To complete the Spanish theme, The Broad Gallery has donated signed Dali, Picasso and Miro prints. Other signed prints by Renoir, Matisse and Chagall will be sold in a silent auction on the day.
