Product RED Art Auction Raises $42.6 Million for Global Fund Programs in Africa

Irish musician and advocate Bono and British artist Damien Hirst on Thursday raised about $42.6 million at the Product RED art auction in New York City to benefit HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria programs in Africa, Reuters reports. The RED Auction included 83 red-themed works of contemporary art donated by several artists (Michaud, Reuters, 2/15). The proceeds will go to the United Nations Foundation to support Global Fund To Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria programs.

The auction raised significantly more than the upper pre-sale estimate of $29 million, AFP/Google.com reports. Artists who contributed their work included Georg Baselitz, Howard Hodgkin, Jasper Johns, Anish Kapoor and Jeff Koons. Hirst sold seven pieces for more than $19 million (AFP/Google.com, 2/15).

"Tonight we got serious about love, and not just the love of art, but the love of our brothers and sisters suffering from AIDS in the poorest places on the planet," Bono said in a release from Sotheby's auction house in New York. Sotheby's organized the auction (AP/Google.com, 2/15). The auction brought the total amount raised by RED to more than $100 million since it was launched (AFP/Google.com, 2/15).

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