Benefit Art Auction

Since its inception, the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago has provided a fertile atmosphere for vanguard ideas and bold concepts. In 1968, just one year after its founding, a savvy group of MCA volunteers inaugurated a new type of event to raise funds for the museum: an art auction. That first auction was so successful that the phenomenon grew into a highly anticipated MCA tradition. As we look forward to the 17th iteration, we note with pride that it has earned an outstanding reputation in the art world, serving as a model of support for today’s premier museums.

In the five years since our last auction, Pritzker Director Madeleine Grynsztejn and James W. Alsdorf Chief Curator Michael Darling have secured artworks from the forefront of contemporary art for this event. The artists represented have been featured in MCA exhibitions and programs, and they are invaluable partners with this institution. Unlike the works in a typical museum exhibition, however, the works assembled here go on sale for one night only—October 23!