With a legacy of artistic ability and fame in his immediate family, there was no question that Mark Ghiglieri would have a life filled with the pursuit of both furthering his own and others artistic abilities, and making life easier through philanthropic pursuits involving the art community whenever possible.
From a young age Mark was involved deeply in the artistic community. Exposure to the medium of sculpture, through his father Lorenzo Ghiglieri's stunning and revered artistry, opened a unique dimension of creativity to Mark. Throughout the years of his childhood, Mark was given the opportunity to explore his world and allow his mind to thrive creatively. This broad spectrum of involvement allowed him to develop a strong talent for recognizing and assessing marketable artwork.
In the early stages of Mark Ghiglieri's lifelong plan to give back financially to the artistic community, he started a small company called Millennium Fine Arts. Mark's goal was to reproduce a selection of his father's paintings and purchase some of the molds from his bronze sculptures. Phillip Morse agreed to invest in the project with him, and together they bought the mold collection and the rights to nearly 20 of the elder Ghiglieri's original paintings. The company successfully employed over 30 workers at it's peak. Although he made a priority of gifting to charities, in 1996 Mark decided to sell his interest to his partner Phillip Morse, so that he could pursue an idea that was forming for a more direct 'charity-related' business model.
Mark made himself available within the artistic community by attending charity auctions; where he also watched as the bidding on some pieces rose quite high. His earlier ideas for a unique business model continued to take shape and form as he attended auctions and analyzed the results of the pieces that were sold and for how much. In 1998 Mark attended an auction where the price for an item that had been bought from him by a doctor and donated to raise money for the charity, reached over $60,000.
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