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NEW YORK, Nov. 7, 2006

We receive invitations to charity auctions just about every week at this time of year, but one in particular recently caught our eye.

Artists Talk on Art was established in 1975 and continues to thrive today. Its mission, as their name suggests, is to provide artists with a platform to talk about their art and the world in which it is made.

Not surprisingly, given its long history, the organization has amassed a remarkable archive. Artists such as Judy Pfaff, Robert Longo and Elizabeth Murray took part in ATOA forums before anyone had heard of them, and Artists Talk on Art dialogue evenings" have featured such artists as Larry Rivers, Wolf Kahn and Christo; and art writers Arthur Danto, Donald Kuspit and Calvin Tomkins.

From the outset, these panels have been tape recorded (and later video recorded), and the organization also has hung on to still photographs, flyers and all kinds of other historical documents about their events.

It is this remarkable archive that the auction is to benefit. All proceeds will go to match a challenge grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to preserve 750 audio and video tapes.

The auction, which has already begun online, includes artwork by Christo & Jeanne-Claude, Will Barnet, Mark Kostabi, Al Loving, George McNeil, Marilyn Minter, James Rosenquist, Nancy Spero and Andy Warhol. It will conclude on the evening of Nov. 13 at the Chelsea Art Museum, where there will be both silent and live auctions.