Prince William's portrait raises big money
A unique art work combining photographs which Prince William and an ex-homeless man took of each other sold for £24,000 at auction on April 15. The double portrait, known as a diptych, of William with hair controversially darkened by studio lighting and editing, and former rough sleeper-turned photographer Jeff Hubbard, was sold at Christie’s in London to raise money for homeless charity Crisis.
The sale attracted wealthy bidders, including Sir Elton John, represented by his partner David Furnish, and Hong Kong billionaire Sir David Tang but the auction house refused to say who had bought the Prince’s picture.
William, who spent an hour at a reception inside the auction house before going on to host a Clarence House dinner for wealthy donors to the Royal Marsden Hospital, added to the value of the diptych by signing his photograph of Hubbard, 54. In a speech, he contrasted the opulence of his surroundings at Christie’s with the plight of the 400,000 homeless people in Britain.
“The problem is all around us; just a few yards from this magnificent auction house, there will be people preparing for a night on the streets. People not so dissimilar from you and me tonight, just with their dreams and aspirations, for reasons often beyond their control, now eclipsed by fear and anxiety, robbing them of hope. It is organisations like Crisis that pick up the pieces of broken lives, giving homeless people the confidence to start over by restoring hope.”
The auction helped raise a total of £305,600 for Crisis. William’s portrait was the highest selling bid.
Articles: The Express | Daily Mail
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