Image Courtesy of Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division

By Richard H. Levey

At age 99 former President Jimmy Carter continues to have a positive impact on social good, even at age 99 and from his hospice care. A recent auction of items from Carter and others raised more than $2.8 million for The Carter Center, a 501(c)(3) devoted to preventing and resolving global conflicts, enhancing freedom and democracy and improving health.

“We are incredibly grateful for the continued generosity and commitment of our loyal supporters,” Carter Center Chief Executive Officer Paige Alexander said via a statement announcing the auction’s results. “These contributions will advance The Carter Center’s ongoing work to promote peace and health around the world.”

Carter inspired the package that generated the highest winning bid of the 50 lots offered. Lot 50 included Carter painting memorabilia, including a water pitcher with 16 paint brushes the former president used during the 1980s; a metal bucket with 37 tubes of paint; and a giclée print of a painting Carter did in 2005, among other items. That collection, which had a pre-auction value of $2,000, pulled in a winning bid of $1 million.

The auction has concluded, but the catalog — including the winning bids — is available here: https://online.pubhtml5.com/qpno/uoqh/

Items relating to Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, who died last year at age 96, made up more than one-third of all lots. Other Carter-related high-bid packages included:

• A set of handmade tools Carter purchased during a trip through West Africa — final bid, $101,000; 
• A signed photo of Carter throwing out a ceremonial first pitch on behalf of the San Diego Padres in 2004 — $100,000; 
• An autographed photograph of Rosalynn Carter — $100,000; 
• Fly-fishing memorabilia (Carter was a dedicated angler) — $50,000; and,
• A three-item lot commemorating Why Not The Best, a book Carter co-penned with Rosalynn (the experience of writing together, he once wryly observed, almost ended their marriage) — $18,000.

Other lots featured luminaries from a wide spectrum of history and culture. A photo signed by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. commemorating his address to a crowd during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom (the “I Have a Dream” speech) garnered a winning bid of $210,000. An acoustic guitar signed by Fleetwood Mac singer/songwriter Stevie Nicks generated the highest non-Carter-related final bid of $250,000. Aix silkscreen prints from artist Ralph Steadman, who frequently collaborated with Gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson, pulled in $50,000.

Thompson might seem an unlikely individual to be in Carter’s orbit, but he had admired the then-governor of Georgia since Carter’s 1974 “Law Day” speech at the University of Georgia School of Law. In that speech, Carter railed against iniquities in the criminal justice system. The two maintained correspondence thereafter. The description of the silkscreen prints likely marks the first time the words “this print depicts Thompson leaning into a penguin enclosure, demanding ‘C’mon Albert — how much for your old lady?!’” — ever appeared in a charity auction catalog.

The Carter Center reported $1.34 billion in net assets for 2023.

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