Yoder’s Kaufman painting brings $10,000 at auction
Artist and Kaufman Realty & Auction agent Elmer Yoder, right, helps KRA owner and founder Dave Kaufman hold the artwork Yoder painted of Kaufman for the KRA 50th anniversary. The painting fetched $10,000 and was donated back to Kaufman, who auctioned off the piece of art.
As an artist, Elmer Yoder has dabbled in the hobby for quite some time.
However, he has never seen one of his creations bring such an impressive amount of money as when his most recent art sold at auction for a $10,000 price tag.
The piece of art on the auction block was being auctioned off by local auctioneer Dave Kaufman, and it was a painting of Kaufman that Yoder created for Kaufman Auction & Realty’s 50th anniversary celebration that took place Thursday, July 10 at their auction house property in Sugarcreek.
Kaufman auctioned off several baskets of wine prior to the painting, with all the funds being donated to the company’s care fund, which is poured back into local needs.
Each of those baskets brought in around $1,200 apiece, but when the painting hit the auction block, it took off.
Bidding nearly stalled out at $9,000 before jumping to five figures, a number that caught Yoder, Kaufman and others by surprise.
When the painting was finally sold to an anonymous bidder or group of bidders, it was lovingly given to Kaufman, who was humbled by the gift.
“I used to do a lot more than I do now. I used to paint and set up and sell them years ago, but since I had kids, it’s kind of taken a back seat,” Yoder said.
As for the amount the painting sold for, Yoder was blown away by how much it brought, noting with a laugh that perhaps it was due to the professionalism of the man doing the auctioneering.
“Yeah, I’ve never sold a painting for anywhere near that much,” Yoder said. “It’s pretty cool, and it’s for a great cause.”
Yoder has been in the real estate business portion of the Kaufman Auction & Realty family for the past several years, and as part of the team, he felt honored to be asked to paint the large portrait of the company’s founder and patriarch for half a century.
Yoder was approached about the possibility of producing the painting a couple weeks prior to the event and gladly accepted the challenge, despite the fact he hadn’t done anything nearly as detailed for more than five years.
Yoder said he has so much respect for Kaufman that doing this was a huge honor.
“I think Dave’s greatest asset is that he truly cares about people,” Yoder said. “That’s his biggest concern. No matter how big or small an auction is, he is always concerned about the people and their successes.”