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Manhattan Snaps: SoHo art auction attracts big names in ‘71

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Ginsberg was at the Soho auction in December 1971. (File photo by Brian Manning)
Ginsberg was at the Soho auction in December 1971. (File photo by Brian Manning)

BY GABE HERMAN | The Dec. 23, 1971 issue of The Villager featured an article with the headline, “Art Groupies Invade SoHo For Benefit Auction.”

The auction at the LoGiudice Gallery was to raise money for Sundance, a new magazine for news, art and poetry. The event brought out some big names, including Allen Ginsberg, Jerry Rubin and Rip Torn.

Rip Torn, left, and Jerry Rubin at the microphone lending a hand at the auction. (File photo by Brian Manning)

A total of 78 works of art and nine sets of manuscripts were on the block.

Among the sold items was a medicine chest that belonged to John Lennon, which went for $120. The biggest seller was an untitled small, galvanized iron box by the artist Donald Judd, which went for $1,000.

— Gabe Herman