Judi Dench and Ed Sheeran draw funds for breast cancer charity

Updated

Dame Judi Dench, Dominic West and Ed Sheeran are among the stars to auction off personal drawings to raise money for breast cancer.

While Dame Judi has gone wild with the watercolours, most celebrities stuck with simpler doodles for Art For Cure's Make Your Mark online auction, which will raise funds for Breast Cancer Now, the UK's largest breast cancer charity.

Brothers Andy and Jamie Murray gave rudimentary takes on a tennis court, Elizabeth Hurley and Joanna Lumley offered lipstick-covered masterpieces, and Jim Broadbent penned a striking self-portrait as famous faces from Imelda Staunton to Nick Clegg got involved.

Wolf Hall actor Mark Rylance used his blank canvas to direct people to a website called "Truth About Cancer" which hosts a documentary series by Ty Bollinger that claims to reveal secrets to beating cancer that pharmaceutical companies are "hiding". He wrote at the bottom of his canvas: "Who do we support?"

The auction is part of Art For Cure, one of the UK's best contemporary art and sculpture shows which this year features more than 80 artists and sculptors who will be donating a percentage of their sales to the charity, including the renowned Vanessa Gardiner, Henrietta Dubrey, Maggi Hambling, Michael Speller, Carol Peace and Paul Vanstone.

Founded in 2014 by friends Belinda Gray and Sally Ball, who have both been treated for breast cancer in the last four years, the exhibition will take place at Suffolk's Glemham Hall from April 30 to May 2 with the hopes of beating the £100,000 they raised at their first event.

Gray said: "Having experienced breast cancer myself, and seeing my dear friend Sally go through it, I can't stress how important it is that we help to fund research into this disease and make sure that future generations don't have to experience what we have."

Visit the online auction at www.the-saleroom.com/makeyourmark. More details are available on www.artforcure.org.uk.

Advertisement