Bidding for BAM

The Brooklyn Academy of Music's annual online auction of fine art accounts for only a small part of the $24 million the performing arts center raises annually. But it's still very important, says BAMart curator and sales manager David Harper.

“It's a fun way to bring people together, and a way we canconnect to the visual arts community in New York,” he adds.

Because BAM only auctions off artwork — works by artists such as David Bates, Jasper Johns and Sol LeWitt are donated by galleries, art dealers, artists and private collectors — it hasn't taken advantage of cMarket's analysis to help determine the types of items that work best in an auction. It promotes the spring event with e-mails, post cards and print and online advertising.

This year's 10-day auction generated 308 bids and raised just over $201,000. It was the fourth time BAM ran the fundraiser. The 2007 event pulled in a little more money than this year's, but the current auction surpassed the first two, which generated about $160,000 to $170,000 apiece.

Most of BAM's funding comes from individual memberships, large corporate gifts, sponsorships and grants, Harper says.