Bidders at Sotheby’s next month will be raising their paddles for over £250 000 of artwork donations to help Kettle’s Yard towards its £5 million fundraising target.

The lots include a painted plastic skeleton sculpture by the controversial artist, Damien Hirst, is expected to attract between £60 000 and £80 000 with its connotations of disease-ridden corpses.

But the auction has been motivated by visitor figures at Kettle’s Yard that are anything but unhealthy.

The Heritage Lottery Fund last month committed £2.32 million to help the Cambridge institution to expand its capacity and meet the demand of 70 000 annual visitors alongside a thriving educational and community programme.

The most valuable work to be donated to the auction, priced at £150,000 – 250,000, is a lifesize figure crafted in cast-iron by Antony Gormley – a reputable artist who was given an early career boost by participating in exhibitions at the famous Cambridge gallery.

Profits from the auction and a selling exhibition will build an extended art library, improved storage, and a new education wing.

Sir Nicholas Serota, Cantab and Tate Modern curator, will open the proceedings – a fitting candidate, given that his discovery of Kettle’s Yard during his Cambridge days inspired a switch from studying Economics to History of Art.

Michael Harrison, the Director of Kettle’s Yard, spoke to Varsity about the priority to maintain the relationship with Cambridge students:

“[The founder’s] idea was to introduce students, no matter what their subject, to the idea that art might connect with everyday life.

“[Kettle’s Yard] will be somewhere you can come and make work and somewhere to have a coffee and meet friends. And you’ll still be able to borrow a picture at the beginning of the year.”

Kettle’s Yard is well-known for recording a unique story of British modern art, allowing for a distinctive yet subtle influence than more trend-focused institutions.

The exhibition space was once the home of its founder, Jim Ede, who donated his residence and its contents to Cambridge University whilst still living there.