Year of the Bus sculptures to be auctioned for charity
More than 50 Year of the Bus sculptures, which surprised and delighted Londoners and visitors to the city when they went on public display last year, will be auctioned for charity by Transport for London (TfL) - with the support of Christie’s - in a few days time.
Painted
and adorned by well-known and aspiring artists, the sculptures first
went on display in October 2014 on four walking trails
across the Capital. All 60 were then brought together at Queen
Elizabeth Olympic Park in east London for a final show before the search
for their new owners begins.
The
sculptures feature a wide variety of designs including ones based
around iconic London landmarks such as Tower Bridge and Buckingham
Palace, artwork featuring the designs of Cath Kidston and Orla Kiely,
and even one of the Queen’s Guard complete with faux bearskin hat.
Leon
Daniels, Managing Director of Surface Transport at TfL, said: “The
search has begun to find new homes for the Year of the Bus
sculptures, which have captured the imaginations of so many in our
city. The auction gives individuals and organisations the opportunity
to own a unique miniature version of one of the Capital’s most
recognisable icons while raising money for three admirable
charities at the same time.”
Bidding is now underway at
www.i-bidder.com/yearofthebus
for the sculptures, which are 2.5m long, 1m high and 0.5m wide. A live
auction event will be held in central London on Tuesday 24th March. Members of the public wanting to attend should register their interest at
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/campaign/sculpture-trails
The live auction concludes TfL’s celebrations to mark 2014’s Year of the Bus, in partnership with London Transport
Museum and the Capital’s bus operators.
The
Year of the Bus was supported by and delivered in partnership with
Exterion Media, Abellio, Arriva London,
Clear Channel UK, Go-Ahead London, Metroline, RATP Dev UK, Stagecoach,
Wrightbus, Optare and Telent Technology Services. The Year of the Bus
sculptures were also supported by other sponsors, most notably Cubic
Transportation System Ltd, who sponsored 10.
