Great Dixter to hold online art auction to raise funds after lockdown

Great Dixter, the historic garden and house created and lived in by gardener and garden writer Christopher Lloyd in East Sussex, is holding an online auction to raise funds for the garden and house.

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Following the coronavirus lockdown, the number of visitors to the beautiful site is down by 30,000 on last year. This means significant funds for the maintenance and upkeep of the house and garden are missing.

The money raised at the auction will go toward the Lockdown Fund, a fund set up to try to compensate Great Dixter for the reduction in income.

The Art of Great Dixter celebrates the association between the house and garden and artists and makers. Artists have donated their work to the fund, and the pieces can be bought through auction from Friday 4 September, 8am UK time.

Different lots will be announced over the next three weeks, with the first five revealed as The Night Watch, by Anny Evason, Fergus and the Refugee, by Louis Turpin, Concert, by Howard Hodgkin, Just after Dawn, by Richard Adams and Daffodil and Rose Bowl, by Ursula Waechter.

Since initially launching, several other very high profile artists have pledged their work in the sale, including Cindy Sherman, Howard Sooley and Fred Cuming RA.

Bidding for the lots will begin on Friday 4 September 2020, 8am UK time and will end Sunday 13th September 2020, 8pm UK time. The auction takes place here.