What do Grahamstown artist Bruce Little and Hollywood megastar Leo DiCaprio have in common?

That would be the bronze sculpture of an African lion, which just raised more than R14 million at Leo’s fundraiser in St. Tropez, France.

In total the event raised R643 million, a decent effort I think we can agree, but it’s certainly one night that Bruce won’t forget in a hurry.

Below from TimesLive:

Little [above left] and his wife, Cate, rubbed shoulders with Hollywood’s big names such as Cate Blanchett, Penélope Cruz, Robert de Niro, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Kevin Spacey, Charlize Theron and DiCaprio at a star-studded event…

A passionate environmentalist, Little donated his colossal African lion sculpture, titled Dawn Patrol, to the auction and was delighted it collected more than R14-million for conservation projects.

He said: “Part of the legacy I’d like to leave is as an artist who made a difference to conservation through the medium of art.”

The foundation footed the bill for the casting of the bronze and the transport of the sculpture by ship to France.

Dawn Patrol is a limited edition piece and just three versions of the…bronze sculpture will be produced.

Although Little didn’t personally benefit from the sale, the publicity his brand is getting is likely to prove invaluable.

It sure will – when your work is sold alongside those of Picasso and Andy Warhol you’ve got pretty decent bragging rights for years to come.

If you’re thinking that’s an awfully large amount of money for a little sculpture then think again – Dawn Patrol is eight metres long and 4,3 metres high, and has to be transported by lorry:

Little will now head back to Grahamstown and commence work on a massive leopard – hey, if it ain’t broke don’t fix it.

[source:timeslive]