31st Anne McKee Auction in Key West Feb. 27 Benefits Local Artists
Forty works by local artists — including William Welch, Bill Hartman and Sal Salinero — were offered at The Studios of Key West on Feb. 27; each sale split proceeds 50/50 with the Anne McKee Artists Fund.
Forty pieces by Florida Keys artists went under the hammer at the 31st Annual Anne McKee Fine Art Auction Friday at The Studios of Key West, 533 Eaton Street, with doors opening at 4:15 p.m. and bidding starting at 5:00 p.m. The Konklife event listing identified William Welch, Bill Hartman and Sal Salinero among the featured artists, and organizers presented original paintings, sculpture, mixed media, photography and jewelry.
Organizers ran a vintage Key West–themed program for the evening, with music by Bobby Nesbitt and celebrity auctioneer Phil Amsterdam handling the live bidding, KeysWeekly reported. General admission tickets were $30 and included hors d’oeuvres and champagne; VIP tickets at $65 offered up-front or preferred seating and dedicated food service, with KeysWeekly noting, "Tickets for the 31st Anne McKee Artists Fund auction are going fast, but there’s still time to buy them."
The auction followed an Art Preview that ran February 5–27 at The Studios of Key West, and KeysWeekly confirmed a Buy It Now option: "See an art piece you just love but can’t attend the auction? All auction artwork is available for purchase at The Studios of Key West at Buy It Now prices through Feb. 26." Konklife listed the total for auctioned work as 40 pieces and described the catalog as depicting "our unique culture and history."
Financial mechanics remained explicit: the Anne McKee Artists Fund and event materials state that "All artists receive 50% of the final bid price of their work - the remaining 50% of auction proceeds will be used for the annual AMAF grants awarded to the Keys arts community. Artists may choose to donate their entire auction proceeds to the AMAF." KeysWeekly similarly summarized the split, describing how the fund "provides grants to local artists in various fields to help them complete specific projects."
Submission rules for the next cycle were reiterated from the fund’s published guidelines. Submissions for the 2026 auction had opened Oct. 1, 2025 and closed Oct. 31, 2025 at midnight EST via Zoho forms, with "Entries are strictly limited to artwork created by artists living in the Florida Keys for more than six months per year" and "Only one entry per artist allowed." The Anne McKee Artists Fund retained selection authority: "The Anne McKee Artists Fund of the Florida Keys, Inc., in its sole discretion, will determine which art submissions will be accepted for the 2026 Auction. Artists will be notified by December 1, 2025, by email whether or not their artwork has been accepted."
Organizers directed artist questions to McKeeFund@gmail.com and listed ticketing through KeysTix, which provides box office support at 305-295-7676 and boxoffice@keystix.com. The 31st auction continues a three-decade tradition of channeling direct, project-based grant funding into the Keys arts community by dividing proceeds between creators and the Anne McKee Artists Fund.
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