The 17th Annual Richard Schmid Fine Art Auction to benefit the Rist Canyon Fire Department

by Sarah Judson August 20, 2012

Despite the High Park Fire, the Richard Schmid Fine Art Auction will be held as usual in Rist Canyon on Labor Day Sunday, September 2nd. You can preview the more than 100 paintings and view live video streaming of the auction here. The painting above is by Dave Santillanes, entitled Beauty and the Beast. For three weeks in June, the High Park Fire raged through the entire 100+ square miles served by the Rist Canyon Volunteer Fire Department. The wildfire destroyed hundreds of homes, including several of the volunteer fire fighters' own homes. But it couldn't destroy the extraordinary spirit of the community. Original works from over 100 nationally acclaimed artists will be auctioned Sunday, September 2 to support the Rist Canyon Volunteer Fire Department and firefighters who battled Colorado’s devastating High Park Fire. Art lovers from all over the West will gather Labor Day Sunday in a mountain valley miraculously untouched by the fire that destroyed 135 square miles all around it. They’re coming to buy the most impressive selection of art ever presented in the Richard Schmid Fine Art Auction. And they’re coming to show their support for the fire department and firefighters whose valiant and heroic efforts to defend homes and homelands made the nation and the world stop and take notice. Proceeds from the auction support both the artists and the Rist Canyon Volunteer Fire Department. This year that support means more than ever. During three weeks in June the High Park Fire destroyed 259 homes and burned over 87,000 acres. Thanks to round-the-clock efforts by fire-fighters week after week, homes and lives that might have been lost were saved. Five firefighters lost their own homes while protecting others. The department lost one station, and an untold amount of equipment, supplies and gear. Founding artist Richard Schmid (see painting below, Begonia Melange) has announced that he will generously donate 100% of the proceeds of the sale of his paintings at the auction to the fire department, and other artists have followed suit. This year’s auction drew hundreds of entries from all over the U.S. and abroad. Richard Schmid personally juried the art featured in the live auction. The juried silent auction features an additional 70 works, with a “Buy Now” option that gives patrons an opportunity to scoop up their favorite piece without having to wait and anxiously watch the bid sheet until the close of the auction. The need has never been greater. The art has never been better.