THE unveiling of an Antony Gormley drawing marked the start of an online auction of 200 artworks going live.

Gormley’s picture of a shadowy figure was put on display in Cheltenham on Monday.

It’s among more than 200 pieces of art being sold on eBay for Minchinhampton charity Longfield.

Bidding has started on artworks by celebrities including Lionel Richie, Boy George, Phill Jupitus, PJ Crook, Jilly Cooper and former Prime Minister David Cameron.

Pictures by Olympic gold medallist Peter Reed, Grammy award-winning singer John Legend, and newspaper cartoonist Anthony Smith are also up for grabs with the proceeds being used to fund the Gloucestershire hospice’s community art therapy sessions.

The charity supports more than 800 people across the county who have life-limiting illnesses.

It’s chief executive, Andrew Fletcher, said he was delighted to put the Gormley up for sale with a reserve price of just £2,500.

“Having an original piece of work by Antony Gormley which we can sell is an incredible privilege,” he said.

Many of the pieces are A5 and don’t have any minimum reserve price. As well as drawings and paintings there are photographs and sculptures by Hannah Mathison and Cleo Mussi.

The subject matters include beach huts, female nudes, animals, scarecrows, typography, abstracts, portraits, sea scenes and landscapes from Italy, Cornwall and Gloucestershire.

Two artworks by the late Sir Paul Hogarth, who illustrated the covers of Graham Greene’s novels and was a member of the Royal Academy of Arts, and a large painting by Boy George, entitled Old Punks Never Die, are also for sale.

They will displayed alongside the Gormley at The Wilson, Cheltenham, until Sunday November 27.

A late night event will be held at the gallery from 5pm to 7.45pm on Thursday to coincide with Christmas shopping night.

Longfield’s Big Heart eBay auction runs until Thursday December 1. All the art will be on display at Longfield on December 1 from 10am.

Visit www.longfield.org.uk and click on Big Heart to find the eBay link. A downloadable catalogue of all the artworks is also available.