A print of a painting by The Prince of Wales was sold for £32,500 with the profits used to construct a school in Darfur.
The lithograph which illustrates the terrace at his Highgrove home was originally given to the charity Kids For Kids.
Begun in 2001 by Patricia Parker MBE, Kids For Kids aids by “supporting projects which are long-lasting, self-sustaining and community led.”
The artwork was originally sold at a celebrity auction in 2012 and purchased by businessman Andrew Mead for £7,500. During an auction in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the piece was purchased by an anonymous sheikh who donated the money back to Kids For Kids.
The funds raised from the auction helped to fund the construction of a new kindergarten in the western Sudan.
“It is incredible to think that this new school has come from the proceeds of a single work by the Prince,” Patricia Parker MBE, chief executive of Kids For Kids, commented.
Lithographs of his paintings are sold and all profits go to The Prince of Wales’s Charitable Foundation.
The Prince of Wales is a keen painter and lover of art. In 2013, he appeared in the documentary, The Royal Paintbox which allowed viewers to witness some rarely seen and incredible artwork by the Royal Family past and present.
The programme used the brilliant backdrops of Highgrove, Windsor Castle, Balmoral, Birkhall, Frogmore and Osborne House to showcase artwork by members of the Royal Family throughout history including some of Charles’s own watercolours.
“I think, you know, drawing from nature, observing from nature, is absolutely crucial. I’ve obviously been inspired by just looking,” The Prince mentioned during the programme.
From June 2013 until January 2014, Windsor Castle curated the exhibition: Royal Paintbox: Royal Artists Past and Present, showcased examples of the Royal Families work from the past 350 years ranging from architectural drawings to portraits of family members.
The exhibition included works by King George III, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert along with pieces from their children. Also included were works from The Duke of Edinburgh and The Queen.
Charles a keen watercolour painter also had a series of his work on display. It is well know the Prince fancies taking to the countryside during holidays or when time allows with his easel, brushes and paints in hand to relax and paint landscapes.
Featured photo credit: Victoria Johnson via photopin cc
That Kindergarten is now over a year old. Can you begin to imagine how parents feel in the village? It has encouraged other villagers to really work at their projects and we are already working on three more Kindergartens because the Prince’s school is so successful. The State Director of Education in Darfur said they had nothing else like it! We need to build many more – not least because it is so moving thinking of children playing with toys for the first time in their lives. I do hope Prince Charles approves the musical instruments – but yes, of course they have painting materials too! I know his love of trees, and there are trees planted in the playground which will provide not just shade, but fruit in the ‘hungry months’. It is so hard knowing how deprived their lives are. Thanks to the Prince’s picture we have also provide donkey drawn school ‘buses’ to help the smallest children who live almost 5 miles away in distant huts. It is pretty much a miracle what that one picture has enabled us to do. I cannot thank Prince Charles enough for his generosity, or indeed, Andrew Mead who made it possible. Patricia Parker MBE