Leonardo DiCaprio is teaming up with the auction house Christie’s for an art auction that will benefit the Great Gatsby actor’s favorite cause, saving the environment.
Reuters reports that Christie’s has donated 33 works for the 11th Hour Auction, which will start Monday night. DiCaprio and his foundation hope to raise as much as $18 million for the cause.
According to E! News, the event is the biggest of its kind for the cause and has been in the works for a year. “Nature is abundant and it is resilient, but we have to take action now to protect our planet before it is too late,” DiCaprio said in a statement.
The actor donated Andreas Gursky’s Oceans V for the auction, while the most sought-after pieces are expected to be Zeng Fanzhi's The Tiger, Bharti Kher's The Skin Speaks a Language Not Its Own and Mark Grotjahn's Untitled (Standard Lotus No. II, Bird of Paradise, Tiger Mouth Face 44.01).
DiCaprio’s Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation plans to have a panel talk with several environmental experts on where the proceeds from the auction will go.
In 2007, DiCaprio narrated and produced the documentary The 11th Hour, which centers on the dangers to the environment.