Art auction raises more than $70,000 to establish Lockyer Ward Fund

Carlyn Moulton, owner of the OENO Gallery, looked on as Steven Ward presented the funds to establish the Jack and Ruby Lockyer Ward Fund to Joan Pennefather, president of the County Community Foundation. The donor advised fund will be administered by the County Community Foundation.

Proceeds from an art auction of original works will benefit the community today and over the next decade.

Live and silent auctions of about 150 pieces of art collected over several decades by Jack and Ruby Lockyer Ward, raised $70,731.34 last Saturday night in the event overseen by the OENO Gallery.

The collection included works by well-known artists including Doris McCarthy, Luc Deschamps, Doug Forsythe, Hilton Hassell, Chantal Poulin, Arthur Schilling and James Woods. There were also County landscapes and scenes painted by local artists such as Linda Barber, Marcel Blanchette, Donna Cameron, Susan Chambers, Michael Fischer, Mia Lane, Dayna Law, Tom Mathews and Susan Straiton. Abstract works by Richard Brzozowski were also in the auction.

“Come to the Fair” by Mathews was one of the hotly contested items. Its new owner already owned the sister painting and “was not going to let it get away from her,” said Moulton. “They are now safely back together on Sheba’s Island.”

Life-long County residents, the Ruby and Jack were well-known for their involvement in the community and their support for a wide range of charitable organizations.

In 2014, the Ward family established the Jack and Ruby Lockyer Ward Fund with the County Community Foundation. In creating the fund, the family stipulated proceeds from the sale support the Prince Edward County Memorial Hospital Fund and the Hospice Prince Edward. Half of the amount raised is to be split between the two organizations, while the remaining funds are to be distributed over the next 10 years to various charities.