THE Prince of Wales has donated two items for a silent auction which starts at The Station in Richmond on Monday.

The aim of the Wall to Wall auction throughout February is to raise money for the upkeep of the building.

There are more than 110 pieces of art, chiefly paintings, photographs and prints, donated by artists, celebrities and others who support The Station.

Prince Charles has given a signed copy of the children’s book he wrote, The Old Man of Lochnagar, with illustrations by Sir Hugh Casson; his other donation is a tour of the gardens at Highgrove this summer.

Michael Parkinson donated a portrait in oils of himself as Whistler’s Mother, originally commissioned for the Radio Times.

Donors from the world of acting include Sir Ben Kingsley and Maureen Lipman. Sam Taylor-Wood has given a photograph from her famous series The Falling.

Yorkshire-born artist donors include Richmond’s Mackenzie Thorpe, Simon Palmer and Piers Browne, along with local photographer Joe Cornish.

There are prints by Ian Hamilton Finlay, six limited edition lithographs by TV Changing Rooms presenter Laurence Llewelly- Bowen, and prints by the celebrated Scottish artist Ian Hamilton Finlay.

Model Kate Moss gave a picture and also features as an image – her face was anatomically dissected by Damien Hirst for a limited edition album sleeve.

The silent auction runs for a month, with secret bidding on all the works on offer.

Amounts will be updated to show the highest figure and allow bidders to increase their offer if they choose.

About 20 paintings have reserve prices to ensure they are not sold for significantly works could be snapped up for a few pounds.

“Unlike the usual silent auction, it will run for the whole month,” said the curator, Donald Cline. “Because there are so many unusual works, we thought it would be a waste of effort to try and conduct such a show over one night or even one week.”

A full colour catalogue costs £3. Visitors who buy one will receive a £5 bidding voucher they can use to increase the value of any one bid they place during the show by £5. If, at the end of the auction, their bid has been successful, they will pay the amount of their bid, less the value of the voucher.

The organisers hope to have raised £20,000 when bidding ends at 5pm on February 28.

Bids can also be made online at www.wallto- wall-art.com.

“It’s not only the donations from well-known individuals that are worth seeing,”

said Mr Cline. “There are some real gems that other donors have added to our hoard.”

For more information, call 01748-850123