Tusk Modern

At a glittering reception hosted by Mark Owen from Take That at BAFTA on Monday 5th December, celebrities and guests bid for artworks including pieces by Dali, Peter Blake, Miro, Picasso, Matisse and Ronnie Wood of The Rolling Stones, to help raise funds for Tusk. Donating an original watercolour to the auction, Ronnie was the charity's first celebrity Patron.

In a lighthearted end to the frenetic bidding, the final lots of the night were works by Mark himself, who was inspired to put brush to canvas in support of the charity. With paint still wet, actor Mat Horne joined Mark on stage and both Mark's pieces managed to fetch decent prices for the work of a debut artist better known for being in the most successful boy band in the world!

Art sales on the night hit £100,000 and guests at the reception and auction sponsored by Deutsche Bank included Dragons’ Den star Deborah Meaden, who travelled to Africa as an ambassador to see the work being done by Tusk, actor Mat Horne, BBC presenter Evan Davis, star of Strictly Come Dancing Brendan Cole and his model wife Zoe Hobbs, John Illsley of Dire Straits and African wildlife expert Simon King, who donated two stunning black and white photographs to the auction. The impressive collection of artworks available at 'Tusk Modern' was secured by Chris Westbrook of the Westbrook Gallery.

Charlie Mayhew MBE, CEO, TUSK said afterwards: “The event had a real pre-Christmas buzz! We are really grateful to Mark Owen for all of his efforts during the auction as there is no doubt that his sense of fun encouraged the bidders to dig deeper for the Charity.”

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