MONTCLAIR, NJ.- A special exhibition of fine art available for bids opens Wednesday, May 11 at the Montclair Art Museum (MAM) and continues through Sunday, May 15. It will include more than 40 paintings, sculptures and photographs that have been donated by nationally exhibiting artists from New Jersey, New York and beyond. This special exhibition and fine art auction are among the events in MAM’s spring fundraising event, Art in Bloom.

The artworks will be available for purchase through silent auction bidding throughout the week. The bidding closes on Saturday, May 14 at 11 p.m. Proceeds from the auction will benefit the educational programs and outreach efforts of the Museum. The fine art auction is chaired by two professional artists from Montclair, Virginia Schaffer Block and Andrew Foster. The works were selected through studio and gallery visits.

Most of the participating artists have established reputations with local, national, and international recognition and gallery representation. Among the generous donations of artwork to the silent auction in Art in Bloom are works by Robert Anderson of Cedar Grove, Siona Benjamin, Robert G. Bertone, Virginia Schaffer Block, Mona Brody, Lori Field, Andrew Foster, Karen Nielsen-Fried, Alyce Gottesman, Julie Healy, Peter Jacobs, Catherine Kinkade, Eric Levin, Tom Nussbaum, Janet Taylor Pickett, Richard Piloco, Sharon Pitts, Jim Price, Assunta Sera, Ela Shah, and Paul Weingarten, all of Montclair. Also, Beth Alyse Kantor and Bill Westheimer of West Orange, Roy Kinzer of Hoboken, Tony Lordi of Lafayette, Bud McNichol of Chatham, Rosalin Nzinga Nichol of Orange, Ruijun Shen of Brooklyn, NY and Audrey Fox of Narberth, PA.