Volvo S60 Painting by Blind Artist Sets eBay Record

The painting made by the blind Turkish artist Esref Armagan depicting the new Volvo S60 was recently put up for grabs on eBay Canada. The unique painting finally sold for 3,050 dollars, the highest price an art piece is sold for on eBay for the benefit of a charity, with the proceeds going to a Canadian charity, the World Blind Union.

"We were really surprised that a dealership from our own Volvo Network bought the painting", says Lukas Dohle, head of Live Communication and Social Media at Volvo Cars in Sweden.

"I'm really impressed with the artist, and with the video, which we couldn't stop watching. I figured it would be good for a dealer to have it, and as long as it was a dealer, I thought it might as well be me," says Rachel Léonard, General Director of Volvo de Quebec.

The bidding started on December 7 and the first offer was a modest 20 dollars. 17 people participated, overall. According to Volvo, there were 11,300 people who visited the site to watch the auction. 5800 of them found their way to the auction via other websites.

 A few minutes before the auction closed, the final bid came from Volvo De Quebec, namely 3,050 dollars (about 23,000 Swedish kronor or 2135 euros).

"We were thrilled that the Volvo Blind Preview art piece sold as well as it did. This is the highest price we have ever sold an art piece for on eBay for the benefit of a charity. We believe its success was due to the uniqueness of the piece and also the fact that the bidders knew the World Blind Union stood to benefit," says Eric Gazin, President of Auction Cause, the company organising the auction on behalf of the Volvo Car Corporation.