Hunt Slonem, a New York artist, lives with a collection of 70 to 100 exotic birds. They were the inspiration for his painting “Amazon,” which will be available for purchase during the McKamey Animal Care and Adoption Center’s fundraising event, First Look.

“Mr. Slonem hasn’t forgotten his Chattanooga roots that go back to his great-grandparents and his cousin, Sonia Young, the famous Purple Lady,” said Barby Wilson, chairman of the Animal Care Trust Board. “The McKamey Animal Center is greatly appreciative to be the recipient of Mr. Slonem’s generosity in donating one of his highly prized oil paintings for our First Look event.”

“Amazon,” a 30- by 40-foot original oil, is valued at $12,500. Many of Mr. Slonem’s paintings sell for more than $100,000. His works are in many private and public collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York. Classified as a neo-expressionist painter, Mr. Slonem creates lush, expressive works with surfaces that reveal many layers of imagery and intense color. He scores his work by scratching gridlike patterns into the final application of paint, creating a visual screen through which depictions of faces, birds and butterflies can be viewed.

First Look will begin at 6 p.m. Saturday. In addition to the silent auction featuring “Amazon,” those attending will have the opportunity to bid on a 2008 Toyota Prius, enjoy heavy hors d’oeuvres by Lee Towery, wine and beer, music by Dan Landrum and the Chattanooga Quartet, and participate in a behind-the-scenes tour of the McKamey center, which is scheduled to open July 1 at 4500 N. Access Road.

Tickets are $100 per person or $1,500 for a “corporate kennel,” a private dining room that accommodates eight attendees.

To purchase tickets to First Look, visit www.mckameyanimal center.org.