Artists’ association to auction 162 works to recoup fraud losses

The Estonian Artists’ Association will auction 162 artworks from October 8 to 10, aiming to partly cover losses from a financial fraud, ERR reports. The three days of bidding at the ARS art campus will be streamed live on ERR’s culture portal.

The sale includes 103 works from the association’s art collection and 59 recently donated works by Estonian artists. The works span painting, graphic art, photography, drawing, sculpture and textiles.

The first day will focus on graphic art and photography. The second will feature paintings, sculptures, drawings and textiles. On the final day, 50 paintings, sculptures, drawings and textiles will go under the hammer.

The auction starts at 18:00 on October 8 and 9, and at 15:00 on October 10. Bids can be made in person, online or by phone. Online bidding has been open since mid-September.

Purchase agreements will allow the works sold to be shown in exhibitions in the future. Artists whose works come from the association’s collection will receive 5 percent of the sale proceeds, while artists who made new donations will receive 15 percent.

The association said it is holding the auction to partly cover losses caused by financial fraud. It discovered on May 15, 2026, that nearly 700,000 euros had been transferred out of its bank accounts through a criminal scheme.