The 11th Hour Auction by Christie’s

Leonardo DiCaprio joined forces with Christie’s on May 13 for the 11th Hour Auction, which raised $38,827,000 million for the actor’s environmental and wildlife foundation. Thirty-three works by contemporary artists including Ed Ruscha, Julian Schnabel, Banksy, Elizabeth Peyton, Takashi Murakami and Raymond Pettibon sold at record-breaking prices—nine for over one million dollars.

[highlight_text] The charity auction attracted attention from all over the world, with registrants from 32 countries. [/highlight_text]

Several celebrities including Tobey Maguire, Salma Hayek and Mark Ruffalo came out for the star-studded event, which broke 13 world auction records for several prominent artists. Philanthropist Stewart Rahr purchased an oil portrait of DiCaprio painted by Peyton for a cool $1.1 million. An anonymous collector contributed $5 million to match the prices realized for three tiger paintings created by Longo, Murakami and Zeng Fanzhi.

The charity auction attracted attention from all over the world, with registrants from 32 countries. Proceeds from the event will support innovative conservation projects that protect some of the last wild places on earth, plus the endangered species that inhabit them.