Funds will support the museum’s mission-driven exhibitions and programming
ATLANTA, June 4, 2025 — In its 33rd year, the High Museum Atlanta Wine Auction (March 20-22, 2025) raised nearly $2 million to support the museum’s special exhibitions and educational programs.
“The funds raised through the Wine Auction continually allow us to elevate our impact-focused exhibitions and programming for Atlantans,” said Rand Suffolk, director of the High. “To the cochairs, benefactors, vintners, restauranters, volunteers and staff, thank you all for your support to create another year of memorable experiences for the High.”
The 2025 Wine Auction cochairs, Dio Jensen and Lauren Reeves, helped create exclusive events that celebrated world-class art, wine and friends, including Friday Uncorked!, Winemaker Dinners, silent and live auctions, and the Vintners’ Reception. This year’s Special Guest of Honor was Scott Morrison, winemaker at Jarvis Estate.
The live and silent auction lots included dinners with star-studded chefs, exclusive access to ticketed events, a variety of premium wines and luxurious trips to world-class locations across the globe. Funds from these lots, and from the Dick Denny Paddle Raise, will support the museum’s arts education programming, Art Access program and special exhibitions.
The top live auction lot, “An Artful Evening at Elise,” raised $76,000. This buy-in dinner welcomes multiple couples to an evening of wine — from LANDO Wines, Reynolds Family Winery and Venge Vineyards — and delicious food from Michelin-star chef Craig Richards of Lyla Lila and Elise. The latter will be the newest restaurant to open this fall on the Woodruff Arts Center’s campus, which is home to the High. Following this lot was “The Magnum Opus: A Night of Legends and Large Formats,” which raised $52,500. This experience invites winners to a private gathering in the Arbitrage room at Warhorse Investments, the new private dining space created by Chef Chris Hall and his partners at Unsukay Restaurant Group, with a tasting of exquisite magnums paired with delectable hors d’oeuvres. Rounding out the top lots was “Pinot, Provence and Perfection,” an exclusive evening for 12 couples at the home of Katie and West Johnson, for $50,000. Jasmine Hirsch, winemaker and daughter of Hirsch Vineyards founder David Hirsch, will guide guests through a seated tasting of the winery’s celebrated Pinot noir alongside burgundies from the Johnsons’ phenomenal cellar.
The 2025 Wine Auction was made possible with support from Presenting Sponsor Delta Air Lines, Inc., and Grand Cru Sponsor Merrill-Westmoreland Group Private Wealth Management. All other sponsors and benefactors are listed on the Wine Auction page at www.high.org.
High Museum Atlanta Wine Auction
Founded in 1993, the High Museum Atlanta Wine Auction is the largest fundraising event for the High Museum of Art and the number one charity wine auction benefiting the arts. Proceeds generated by the Auction, which have amounted to nearly $42 million over the last 32 years, provide a significant source of funding for the museum’s exhibitions and educational programs. Proceeds help to make special exhibitions and partnerships possible. The Auction also provides funds for dynamic youth education programs, which draw more than 34,000 schoolchildren to the High each year. For more information, visit www.high.org.
About the High Museum of Art
Located in the heart of Atlanta, the High Museum of Art connects with audiences from across the Southeast and around the world through its distinguished collection, dynamic schedule of special exhibitions and engaging community-focused programs. Housed within facilities designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architects Richard Meier and Renzo Piano, the High features a collection of more than 20,000 works of art, including an extensive anthology of 19th- and 20th-century American fine and decorative arts; major holdings of photography and folk and self-taught work, especially that of artists from the American South; burgeoning collections of modern and contemporary art, including paintings, sculpture, new media and design; a growing collection of African art, with work dating from prehistory through the present; and significant holdings of European paintings and works on paper. The High is dedicated to reflecting the diversity of its communities and offering a variety of exhibitions and educational programs that engage visitors with the world of art, the lives of artists and the creative process. For more information about the High, visit www.high.org.
# # #
Media contacts:
Marci Tate Davis
Manager, Public Relations
marci.davis@high.org
404-733-4585
Brittany Mizell
Senior Coordinator, Public Relations
brittany.mizell@high.org
404-733-4423