True to the alternative gallery White Columns' egalitarian roots, the artist list for its 2007 Benefit Auction reads like a Who's Who, Who's Still Who, and a Who Will be Who in the contemporary art world.

"I think it's a really good mixture of young, unknown artists, very strong emerging artists, and more established figures," says the gallery's director, Matthew Higgs, of the donated works, including pieces by Peter Doig, John Currin, Jasper Johns, Jeremy Deller, James Rosenquist, Aaron Young, John Baldessari, Richard Prince, and Paulina Olowska.

"It reveals the strength of support from the artistic community for the continued existence of these kinds of spaces," says Higgs.

And for some, like Currin and Jack Pierson, both of whom enjoyed their first exhibits at White Columns, it's a chance to give back in the most direct sense.

While the silent auction--which runs from May 4 through May 19th--culminates in a swanky benefit on the evening of the 19th, this one's not about the cocktails, or the hors d'oeuvres. From Kelley Walker's latest work (above), which Higgs enthusiastically describes as an "expressionistic Jackson Pollack, de Kooning-esque abstraction," to Anne Collier's serene and personal seascape photograph (left), the focus here remains where it belongs: on the art.

All of the artwork up for bid can be viewed beginning May 4 at whitecolumns.org.

--LIZ McDANIEL