
At the start of Frieze in Los Angeles, the much-anticipated week of contemporary art fairs and events in L.A., a special auction took place at the personal home skating rink of Jimmy Iovine, cofounder of Interscope Records, and his wife, English model Liberty Ross.
The star-studded event, which raised $2.48 million for the Iovine and Young Center, a magnet school for high schoolers preparing for careers in design, technology and entrepreneurship, was co-hosted by Sotheby's, the school founders Iovine and Andre “Dr. Dre” Young, as well as gallerist David Kordansky and Josh Abraham, co-CEO of Pulse Music Group.
“When Josh approached me with the idea of teaming up with him and David Kordansky to host an auction for the Iovine and Young Center, I immediately knew we had all the right ingredients to create an unrivaled celebration of art and music,” Jacqueline Wachter, Sotheby’s vice chairman of private sales, said in a statement.
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The auction united the worlds of art, music, media and philanthropy during an already packed art week: Ed Ruscha, Benny Blanco, Katie Couric, Brian Grazer, Bob Geldof, Joel Madden, Troy Carter and Rich Paul were among the notable attendees.
Entertainer James Corden and auctioneer Kimberly Pirtle charmed the room of buyers, who sat on scattered white couches while bidding on the art and sipping cans of ‘Gin & Juice,’ Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre’s newly launched line of pre-mixed cocktails named after the hit single of Snoop Dogg’s debut album, Doggystyle. The special evening concluded with performances by R&B singers Timbaland and Andra Day.
Artworks sold, courtesy of the artists and David Kordansky Gallery, included Rashid Johnson’s Untitled Seascape Drawing (2022), which had a $300,000 high estimate (the sale price wasn’t disclosed), and Hilary Pecis’s Record Collection (2024), which sold for $700,000, seven times its low estimate, headlining the auction. Noah Davis’ Untitled (2015) sold for $42,000, a surprising 100 percent above its low estimate.

“Coming together with David Kordansky was the perfect fit—once David got involved, he brought together his community of leading artists and tapped into Sotheby’s, which shares our mission,” Josh Abraham, co-CEO of Pulse Music Group, said in a statement. “This is an instance where all the right people and ethos aligned.”
R&B singer and record producer Timbaland

Auctioneer Kimberly Pirtle

Talent manager Troy Carter

Sports agent Rich Paul with Jackie Wachter, VP of Private Sales, Contemporary Art at Sotheby’s

R&B and Soul artist Andra Day

Record producer Benny Blanco

Host James Corden

Jimmy Iovine and Bob Geldof

Katie Couric and John Molner
