Eric Fischl's "Study for Corrida in Ronda #4" 2008, sold for $145,000. Photo: America: Now and Here

By Mackie Healy, Art Market Views contributor

Painter Eric Fischl’s peripatetic U.S. art tour got a $1.2 million boost last week. The June 23 charity sale at Sotheby’s in New York raised funds for Fischl’s ambitious not-for-profit project, America: Now and Here,  a cross-country tour of art, poetry, film, plays and music to promote creativity and innovation across America. The auction was the project’s official launch.

The auction included works of art by well-known artists, as well as “luxury experiences,” including a Soho dinner for five with Chuck Close, a private tennis lesson with John McEnroe and a one-week stay at a Jamaican villa. Eric Fischl’s Study for Corrida in Ronda #4 was the top lot at the live auction conducted by Sotheby’s chairman and marquee charity auctioneer, Jamie Niven. The work fetched $145,000.

America: Now and Here is a nationwide tour which will stop in eight regions a year. The itinerant exhibition will be open to the public for six weeks in each location. Events will be held in custom-designed mobile truck galleries, civic centers and local schools, and include public programs, performances, lectures and an “artist corps” to promote young talent. The group, led by Fischl, includes 150 artists, poets, playwrights and filmmakers. Organizers are currently securing locations for the first two years.

Other top lots at auction included Dana Shutz’s Pilgrim, which sold for $60,000 and Julian Schnabel’s Point Conception to Point Sur, earning $55,000.  Works by artists such as Alex Katz, Robert Longo, Kiki Smith, Ed Ruscha were also included in the auction.

For more information visit www.americanowandhere.org.

Ed Ruscha 2010 "Won Now" sold for $45,000. Photo: America: Here and Now

Dana Schutz 2008 "Pilgrim" oil on canvas sold for $60,000. Photo: America: Now and Here

Julian Schanbel 2007 "Point Conception to Point Sur" sold for $55,000. Photo: America: Here and Now