Museum of Art Oct. 21, 1997 Contact Heather Brown (541) 346-0942 or John R. Crosiar 346-3135 EUGENE--One-of-a-kind works of art created and donated by 73 acclaimed artists will go to the highest bidder on Saturday, Nov. 1, during "The Artful Box Gala Auction and Dinner," a fund-raiser for the University of Oregon Museum of Art. The event, organized by museum volunteers, will be held at the Downtown Athletic Club, 999 Willamette St., Eugene. It will begin at 6 p.m. with silent-auction bidding on 50 of the boxes. Dinner and an oral auction of 26 boxes will follow at 7 p.m., with Sid Voorhies as auctioneer. Tickets are $75 a person, with all proceeds from the auction and dinner benefiting the UO Museum of Art's exhibitions and programs for 1997-98. From Oct. 29-31, the boxes to be auctioned will be on exhibit at the Museum of Art, 1430 Johnson Lane on the UO campus. A preview party for the artists is set from 5:30-7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 29, during the free weekly MusEvening! program at the art museum. Amy Fields, co-chair for the fund-raiser, believes viewers will be amazed by the outstanding creativity each of the artists has put forth in their work. "Everyone involved with this event has been overwhelmed by final creations these talented artists have donated," she says. "Each decorated box is a treasure and tells a special story. I hope if people can't attend the auction, they will at least visit the museum the three days prior to the event to view the works on preview, because they really are outstanding." The fund-raising event will feature boxes encompassing a variety of media, sizes and formats. They range from a six-foot-long coffin created by Cecilia Hallinan to a two-inch slide box of six acrylic-painted landscapes on slides by Kay French. Other artists who have donated creations to the art museum fund-raiser include Bonnie Bartell, Rick Bartow, Barbara Black, Kay Buckner, Paul Buckner, Robert Canaga, Kathleen Caprario, Sarah Chamberlain, Rowena Crest, Mark Clarke, Sally Cleveland, Margaret Coe, Bets Cole, Michael Corney, Allen Cox John Jay Cruson, Fernanda d'Agostino, Sarah Dailing, Droll Designs, Joseph Erceg, Hannah Goldrich, Tommy Griffin, Jennifer Guske, Ashley Hadley, Judith Hankin, Yuji Hiratsuka, Wendy Huhn, Laurel Izard, Edwin Shelton, Dinah Cross James, George Johanson, Leon Johnson, Barbara Kensler, Connie Kiener, Miriam Kley, George Kokis, Susan Kristoferson, Paula Krogdahl, Sana Krusoe, James Lavadour, Celeste LeBlanc, Madeleine Liepe and Sandra Lopez. Artists also contributing works for the Museum of Art benefit include Thomas Mann, Marcia McDonald, Robin Miller, Michelle Moyer, Faye Nakamura, Christopher Perry, Lynn Ihsen Peterson, Faith Rahill, Dee Reich, Wendy Rholl, Marilyn Robert, Catherine Rondthaler, Robin Russell, Susan Selig, Beverly Soasey, Brad Stangeland, Christine Sundt, Katie Swenson, James Ulrich, Libby Unthank, Mike Van and Maron Van, Margaret Via, Jane West, Jerry Williams, Betsy Wolfston, Christy Wyckoff and Vince Zettler. For more information about the Nov. 1 fund-raising event, call the museum, (541) 346-3027. A taped message about current museum exhibitions and events also is available 24 hours a day by calling GuardLine from a Touch-Tone phone at 485-2000, ext. 5665, or visit the UO Museum of Art's Internet website at <http://uoma.uoregon.edu>. -30- #P-2093/A&E