Members of the Getty family of oil billionaires together with South African artist Beezy Bailey have been persuading artists to donate their works to auction for the benefit of causes relating to poverty and education.

Bailey co-founded Art for Africa, which is behind the project.

The British Artists Gavin Turk (one of the Young British Artists), Antony Gormley (sculptor) and Jonathan Yeo (portrait artist) are amongst those donating work.

South Africa's contributions include works by the increasingly famous Pieter Hugo, Deborah Bell and David Goldblatt.

One example of the good causes which will benefit is a school in KwaZulu-Natal, a south-eastern region of South Africa, where one sixth of the students under the age of 13 has been orphaned by HIV/AIDS.

Photographer Bob Gasani, who was one of few people able to practice his craft during apartheid, has contributed a picture taken in Johannesburg of a young man boxing on a rooftop:  Nelson Mandela.

 

The auction is to be held in London, as some of the previous Art for Africa auctions have sold works at disappointing prices, and it is hoped that using a large auction house in London will stoke up more competition for the works.

It will take place on September 21 and, given the names involved, a number of art collectors will be interested in taking a look.