“Elephants Forever” Contemporary Art Sale at Sotheby’s

Most people think the biggest threat to Asian elephants is poaching, when in fact the real issue is habitat loss. With nowhere to go, these animals become distressed, and they can damage villages or farms. The elephants, traditionally worshipped for spiritual reasons, end up becoming a nuisance, killed over an issue of space.

Gallerist Philippe Hoerle-Guggenheim became involved in the cause a few years ago, donating several works to the “Elephants Forever” sale by artists Abdullah Qandeel, Ronnie Wood, Stuart McAlpine Miller, Carl McCrow. “I was introduced to the Elephant Family two years ago when they were just about to prepare for the Fabergé Egg Hunt in New York,” said Hoerle-Guggenheim. “We are excited to have work from our artists in the auction with all proceeds going to charity.”

An exhibition of the works in the auction goes on view tonight, and will be up through Tuesday evening sale.

“By protecting the elephants, we are helping to protect everything else,” said Ruth Powys, CEO of Elephant Family. “Family can be interpreted in two ways. One is the human dimension. We spend an awful amount of money on poor subsistence families that are living very close to elephants. The other way is the ecosystem family, the orangutans, the rhinos, the tigers, and all the uncharismatic animals that are also so important.”