By, Julia Weiner
1 min read
British painter Fiona Rae was a generous guest of honour at the Women in Art lunch held by the British Friends of the Art Museums of Israel at the Westbury Hotel in Mayfair.
The former Turner Prize nominee - who was interviewed about her career by Whitechapel Gallery director Iwona Blazwick - donated a painting worth £18,000 to the raffle, which helped to boost the event proceeds to £65,000. The money will go towards educational programmes operated by Israeli art museums.
Ms Rae reminisced about her peripatetic childhood in Far East locations, saying it had influenced the calligraphic forms used in her abstract paintings.
She also told the 180 guests of her involvement in Freeze, the exhibition organised by Damien Hirst which helped launch the generation who became known as the Young British Artists.
Ms Rae said afterwards that she was "really keen to support public sector arts". Ms Blazwick, the guest of honour at a previous BFAMI lunch, felt "very passionate about culture transcending geopolitics. Art is a global force for good and for bringing people together."