A ceramic bowl painted by Richard Pryor raised $7,099 in an online auction benefiting an Ohio animal rights group.
The bowl, in which Pryor painted a self-portrait before he died, was sold to GoldenPalace.com, an Internet-based casino company known for buying items online for charity and publicity.
Pryor sent the bowl to the Geauga Humane Society weeks before his death on Dec. 10. The actor-comedian, who was 65, died of a heart attack. He had been ill for years with multiple sclerosis.
The portrait was surrounded by the painted words, “Little Black Man in Big White World.” The side of the bowl has Pryor’s signature and drawings of a martini glass, lips and a cigarette.
“Richard and I were both there in spirit and I know he did everything he could to help the auction along,” Pryor’s widow, Jennifer, said in a statement. “I couldn’t be more delighted that he’s still helping animals.”