"Ice Queen Dress Tent," a 30 x 36-in. C print by Robin Lasser and Adrienne Pao, is among the photographic works to be auctioned Saturday, March 13.

The 79 Gallery in San Francisco will be buzzing in coming days with the 2^nd Annual Fine Art Photography Faculty + Alumni Auction. A preview party Thursday, March 11, at 5 p.m. will provide an advance glimpse of the works. The live auction will take place Saturday March 13 at 2 p.m.

79 Gallery is located at 79 Montgomery Street in San Francisco. Browse the entire auction catalog here, where you can also download the live auction registration form or absentee bid form.

Net proceeds from the auction benefit the Academy of Art University Student Scholarship Fund.

"Rainy Day on Market Street" was one of two paintings by Greg Gandy (MFA08 Fine Art) that fetched the highest prices in the silent and live auctions.

Strong attendance and record revenues marked the 14th annual Academy of Art University Faculty+Alumni Fine Art Auction, held Nov. 7 at the school’s 79 Gallery. The event’s silent and live auctions raised more than $190,000 to benefit both artists and students, with proceeds split evenly between the artists and the university’s Student Scholarship Fund.

Alum Greg Gandy (MFA08 Fine Art) led the bidding for his paintings “Rainy Day of Market” and “Sunset on Polk,” which topped the silent and live auctions respectively.

Photo by Bob Toy

Proceeds are still being tallied, but they exceeded expectations and all previous years. “Despite the current economy, the huge crowd that attended this year’s auction is a testament to the public’s desire to support the arts and emerging artists in particular,” observes Galleries Director Hillary Welde.

Photo by Bob Toy

In addition to awarding scholarships to the top student artists at the Academy’s annual Spring Show, the Student Scholarship Fund offers hundreds of students and teachers the opportunity to participate in learning and enrichment programs, including:

Pre-College Summer and Saturday Art Experience allow high school students to earn college credits while creating a portfolio. Participants have over 40 classes to choose from, all taught by professional artists.

Teacher Grant Program offers full-tuition, summer-semester scholarships to secondary and community college teachers nationwide.

Summer Portfolio Grant provides tuition scholarships, up to 100 percent of costs to first-time Academy students, based on the strength of the incoming student’s portfolio.

The Academy of Art University's annual Faculty+Alumni Fine Art Auction, set for Nov. 7, benefits the Student Scholarship Fund. Photo by Bob Toy.

[Janet Preloger] The Academy of Art University’s 14^th annual Faculty+Alumni Fine Art Auction takes place Saturday Nov. 7 at 79 Gallery (79 New Montgomery St., San Francisco). A reception at 2 p.m. is followed by the live auction at 3 p.m. An auction preview is offered Nov. 5 from 5–7:30 p.m.

The auction continues to grow in scale and range of items each year — in 2008, it generated more than $160,000 in sales. Fifty percent of all proceeds are donated to the Academy’s Student Scholarship Fund (this portion is tax deductible). The other half goes directly to the artist.

“The annual Fine Art Auction is a wonderful opportunity to showcase the incredible work of our talented faculty and alumni,” says Hillary Welde, director of Galleries. “This event reaches a broad art-buying audience and supports our Student Scholarship Fund.”

To see a complete list of participating artists and auction items, visit the online auction catalog. To obtain a hard-copy catalog, e-mail your postal address to alumni@academyart.edu.

Photo by Jose Marco/Gibbons Images.

This audience didn’t applaud. They stood up and “praised the Lord” at the first Annual Grace Grant Musical, held Sept. 25th at Mt. Zion Baptist Church in San Francisco. President Elisa Stephens and Vice President, Community & Government Relations, Rebecca Delgado Rottman were honored for the university’s scholarship support of the SF Baptist Ministers Conference.

In front of more than 100 guests, Stephens announced the Academy would continue to provide the conference with scholarships in the Saturday Art Program and Summer Art Experience, and also provide one 4-year undergraduate degree scholarship in 2011. All told, these scholarships are worth more than $200,000.

“We are thrilled to be able to serve an under-represented community, and to give the children an opportunity to create a better life,” said Vice President Rebecca Delgado Rottman, with Rev. Tim Dews. Photo by Jose Marco/Gibbons Images.

Speaking for the Baptist Ministers of the San Francisco Bay Area Joint Revival Committee, Rev. Tim Dews, Jr., said the Academy’s support comes at a critical moment. “With other schools and colleges cutting back, the opportunities for our children have become slimmer. The Academy of Art University has done the opposite — they’ve reached out to say, ‘We’re here, and we want to give back to the community.’ We often tell our children, ‘Do the right thing, and you’ll be blessed.’ By providing eight young people with scholarships to attend the Summer Art program, their benevolence helped us with that God-given blessing,” he said.

Describing a two-year process that culminated in gaining the scholarships, Dews sounded a stirring note of thanks. “I’m on cloud nine to be able to express the level of gratitude we feel for the Academy’s generosity. We know this is no small thing. The scholarships represent a gift of grace. We have to prepare the pathway for our children. The honey is sweeter when you can taste it, rather than just looking at it on the shelf. These efforts say, ‘It doesn’t have to be a dream — you can make the dream a reality if you apply yourselves.’

Scholarship recipients and their certificates. Photo by Jose Marco/Gibbons Images.

“This is exactly what Richard S. Stephens had in mind when he established the Academy 80 years ago,” Dews said, noting the tradition was passed on to his son Richard A. Stephens when he became president. Now it’s being carried forward by Dr. Elisa Stephens. “In this way, the Academy shows it’s willing to form a partnership with the community. These scholarships give our children real hope.”

The SF Baptist Ministers Conference held the music-filled gospel revival to raise funds to supplement youth programs eliminated from public schools due to budget cutbacks, and to assist families purchasing school supplies for their children.