Sotheby's Auction to Fund Yale MFA Scholarships

On May 15, 2026, Sotheby’s will partner with the Yale School of Art for a charity auction during the Contemporary Day Auction in New York. The event will feature 13 artworks, including pieces by Richard Prince and Josef Albers, who led Yale's Department of Design from 1950 to 1958. Alumni artists like Mickalene Thomas, Do Ho Suh, and Barkley L. Hendricks will also be represented. The artworks are expected to sell for between $5,000 and $700,000. Proceeds will support scholarships for the MFA program, which costs nearly $80,000 in the academic year 2026–2027. Dean Kymberly Pinder, who has been in her position since 2021, has raised $13 million for facilitating debt-free graduation. In fall 2024, the admission rate was only 6%. Student Amy Chasse, 29, called Yale her "only free option." Inkpa Mani, a 28-year-old artist from rural Minnesota, criticized the financial aid as inadequate for living costs, leading him to take on loans and jobs. He praised the auction as a step towards making education more affordable.