Jackson’s is delighted to support the TLC Deck of Cards Fundraising Art Auction for Transplant Links Charity (TLC). Find out how you can bid on artworks by Grayson Perry, Richard E. Grant and Dame Floella Benjamin in aid of this exceptional cause.
Above: Queen of Diamonds, 2022, George Underwood, Oil on linen, 50.4 x 65.5 cm
Transplant Links Charity Deck of Cards Auction
Words by Jennie Jewitt-Harris
The TLC Deck of Cards is a collaboration between upcoming and well-known artists, as well as public figures who have been commissioned by TLC’s Patron Dame Floella Benjamin, to each design a playing card from a deck of cards. The sale of the original artworks, decks of cards and posters help to fund the life saving work of TLC in Africa and the Caribbean.
Jack of Diamonds, 2022
Susie Perring
Aquatint Etching on paper, 25 x 25 cm
Dame Floella Benjamin, invites you all to join her for the auction online or in person at Ewbanks Auction House, Surrey.
You can leave a bid for your favourite artwork now, or join the auction live on Friday 2nd December to bid online. You can also bid in person at Ewbanks Auction House for one of the original artworks.
Having been a Patron of TLC for many years, Dame Floella has created the Ace of Hearts for the auction. With a passion for children and healthcare and with her origins in the Caribbean, she has proudly supported the Deck of Cards project, inviting artists and well-known figures to participate.
Ace of Hearts – Heart of Gold, 2022
Dame Floella Benjamin
Mixed media (paint and 3D sculpture), 29 x 34 cm
Place a bid for Heart of Gold by Dame Floella Benjamin here.
“I am so proud to be Patron of Transplant Links Charity because their work actually saves lives and through their teaching and transferring skills they will help many more patients in the future. I had the privilege of travelling with the Transplant Links team to the Caribbean and watched a kidney transplant operation take place. It was one of the most miraculous experiences of my life! I saw how it immediately transformed the life of the patient who had kidney failure.
This is why I was delighted to create my Heart of Gold artwork for the Deck of Cards charity auction. It is a tribute to the work of the Transplant Links’ medical volunteers and supporters whose hearts of gold have generosity help to save and transform lives, especially children’s, throughout the world.”
Dame Floella Benjamin with Heart of Gold
“I’d like to encourage everyone to show their love too, and go online and start bidding so that we can all help more children and their families to have their lives back again through the precious gift of a kidney transplant. What better Christmas present could there be!”
Contributing Artists to the TLC Deck of Cards
The amazing artwork of the King of Hearts has been donated to the auction by Grayson Perry CBE RA, winner of the Turner Prize and presenter of a variety of TV programmes including Grayson’s Art Club. The CEO of TLC, Aimee Jewitt-Harris, tells us “Grayson has very kindly supported the TLC Deck of Cards project since it started, so his artworks appear in all three volumes. We are delighted to include his latest very topical artwork of the King of Hearts”
King of Hearts, 2022
Grayson Perry CBE RA
Digital art print on premium fine art paper, 42 x 59.4 cm
Place a bid for this signed Grayson Perry artwork, King of Hearts here.
Grayson Perry with his King of Hearts
Richard E. Grant, star of stage and screen, created the Two of Hearts.
Two of Hearts, 2022
Richard E. Grant
Sharpie on postcard, 10 x 15 cm
Place a bid for the Two of Hearts by Richard E. Grant here
Michael Foreman OBE, children’s book author and illustrator, has painted the Queen of Hearts for the auction. Michael is well known for his tender and expressive illustrations of children’s books, and for receiving the Hans Christian Andersen Award for his work. We know that many people will recognise the well known Corgi dog in his design for the Queen of Hearts, a fitting tribute given the recent passing of Queen Elizabeth II.
Queen of Hearts, 2022
Michael Foreman OBE
Watercolour on paper, 16.5 x 24.5 cm
Place a bid for the Queen of Hearts by Michael Foreman OBE here
So, Why a Deck of Cards?
In 2007 TLC founder Jennie Jewitt-Harris heard a lecture by Professor Randy Pausch, who was invited to speak at Carnegie Mellon University, and treat it as if it were to be his last lecture. He revealed that he had pancreatic cancer, so the lecture really would be his last. He was inspirational when talking about enabling the dreams of others, saying, “We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand”.
Three of Hearts, 2022
Lizzie Riches
Oil on canvas, 18 x 24 cm
Patients with kidney failure have been dealt a tough hand, but the Deck of Cards gives them the chance to re-shuffle and deal them again in hope of a better chance through a transplantation. This is the inspiration for our Deck of Cards auction. Artists are helping us to enable the dreams of others and deal them a better hand, by literally designing a new deck.
Jack of Hearts, 2022
Jackie Berridge
Oil on panel, 10.1 x 15.2 x 2 cm
This year the ambassador for the Deck of Cards is artist Anthony Frost, who has supported the project from its inception. He always chooses the Ten of Diamonds for his vibrant colourful artwork for a very special reason. Back in 1979 he created the Ten of Diamonds alongside his Dad, Sir Terry Frost RA, who chose the Nine of Spades for a privately commissioned deck. Anthony is well known for his strong abstract artworks, rich in thick colour, and often incorporating sailcloth, hessian or rope, sourced from around him at his home in Cornwall. His work is widely collected and exhibited, including exhibitions at the Tate in St Ives and with the Newlyn group.
Ten of Diamonds, 2022
Anthony Frost
Acrylic on aluminium, 30 x 42 cm
Place a bid for the Ten of Diamonds by Anthony Frost here
Anthony Frost with his artwork, Ten of Diamonds
The designer of this years nativity images in the Royal Mail Christmas Stamps, Katie Ponder, has designed the Three of Spades for the deck.
Queen of Spades, 2022
Katie Ponder
Digial art print on fine art paper, 30 x 40 cm
Place a bid for the Three of Spades by Katie Ponder here
The Development of the TLC Deck of Cards Fundraising Project
The Deck of Cards is organised by mother and daughter team, Jennie and Aimee Jewitt-Harris, who have run TLC since it first started back in 2007. As well as travelling the world to help patients with kidney failure, they are both keen artists and include an artwork of their own each year. Aimee’s idea for the Deck of Cards really started something exciting with artists from all backgrounds and stages in their careers contributing. Aimee says “It’s great to have a forum that includes artists who are well known, amongst less well-known artists whose work we love. The final collection each year has blown us away with its colour, diversity and sense of fun. We’re amazed with how each artist interprets their cards differently. The end result is not only a mini art exhibition but also a deck of playing cards!”
Jennie Jewitt-Harris with Jack of Clubs – Vesta Tilley
Aimee commented on how exciting this phase of the Decks of Cards is as the artworks pour in. “It’s so exciting to see the post arrive with an artwork, and open it up to see the time, effort, creativity and above-all kindness that has gone into creating these artworks for the TLC Deck of Cards. The collections for Volumes 1 and 2 were amazing, and we can already see that Volume 3 is just as exciting.
Two of Clubs: Home for Runaway Girls -Clubs are the Desire of Knowledge, 2022
Nana Shiomi
Woodcut on paper, water-based colours, printed by hand with baren, 60 x 84 cm
Click here to find out more about the Deck of Cards auction, view the artworks and place a bid.
Or join us in person on Friday 2nd December at 6.00 pm for the reception before the auction starts at 7.00 pm. The invitation is open to all and free to attend.
The TLC Deck of Cards will be available soon on jacksonsart.com. All the proceeds will go to Transplant Links Charity.