FALMOUTH, – The seventh annual Maine Artists at Maine Audubon art auction will run from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, Oct. 1 at Gilsland Farm Audubon Center.

A silent auction and reception will be held from 6 to 7:30 p.m. with guest host Kim Block of WGME News, followed at 7:30 p.m. by a live auction led by well-known Maine auctioneer Kaja Veilleux. Maine landscape painter Marguerite Robichaux is the signature artist for this year’s auction.

“What Audubon does is so important,” said Robichaux, who has painted a 36-inch square oil-on-canvas landscape for the event. “This is a great way for me make a contribution.”

More than 75 leading artists with ties to Maine have contributed paintings, photography, sculpture, ceramics and jewelry to the auction. Many of these works portray or are inspired by Maine’s natural world.

Other well-known artists participating in the auction include Mary Bourke (signature artist 2003), John Bowdren, Carolyn Caldwell, Jane Dahmen, Heidi Daub, Suzanne deLesseps, Kate Fitzgerald, Kathleen Galligan, Marc Gup, Bruce Habowski, Julie Hahn Cunningham, Marsha Donahue, Connie Hayes (signature artist 2000), Janet Laird-Lagassee, Marguerite Lawler, Mark Lazzari, Jack Montgomery, Robert Eric Moore, Thomas Paquette (signature artist 2002), Jane Ryan and Mike Stiler.

The artwork can be previewed from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Friday, Sept. 24, through Friday, Oct. 1, at Gilsland Farm Audubon Center. Select pieces and a list of participating artists may also be viewed online at www.maineaudubon.org.

Proceeds from the auction benefit Maine Audubon’s work to conserve wildlife and wildlife habitat.

Tickets are $30 each or two for $50 and include hot hors d’oeuvres, cool drinks and live music. For reservations and information, people can call (207) 781-2330.