Artists often make charitable donations, but it’s rare that one gives the shirt off his back. In February, however, Julian Schnabel signed a pair of his pajamas and gave them to Brooklyn’s Dumbo Arts Center for its annual benefit. The nonprofit placed the pj’s on eBay a few weeks before the event — even adding Annie Leibovitz’s 1995 shot of Schnabel in the very same duds, a photo valued at $7,500. In the end, the items brought only $4,000. This apparent Schnabel antipremium must make the center happy he didn’t throw in the stocking cap.

"Earning His Stripes?" originally appeared in the April 2009 issue of Art+Auction. For a complete list of articles from this issue available on ARTINFO, see Art+Auction's April 2009 Table of Contents.