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"Leaf-Burning, Autumn in Ontario"
A.J. Casson, "Leaf-Burning, Autumn in Ontario," 1947, oil on board, 21” x 17.5” — $141,600 at Waddington’s.
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"A Pompeian Lady"
John William Godward, "A Pompeian Lady," 1904, oil on canvas, 24” in diameter — $240,000 at Hodgins.
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"The Crazy Stair (The Crooked Staircase)"
Emily Carr, "The Crazy Stair (The Crooked Staircase)," circa 1928- 1930, oil on canvas, 43.4” x 26” — $3.4 million at Heffel. Prices include buyers’ premiums.
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Consignor Spring 2014
"Mexican Pilgrimage, San Miguel De Allende, Mexico"
W.J. Newcombe, "Mexican Pilgrimage, San Miguel De Allende, Mexico," 1946, oil oncanvas, 17” x 23.5” — $1,725 at Consignor.
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Image courtesy Hodgins Auction.
"Mountain Landscape, Autumn"
Roland Gissing, Canadian ASA [1895-1967], "Mountain Landscape, Autumn," 1965 oil on board 12" x 16". Price Realized : $2,200.00.
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Image courtesy Hodgins Auction.
"Elbow River, El Rancho"
Roland Gissing, Canadian ASA [1895-1967], "Elbow River, El Rancho," 1946, oil on canvas, 22" x 30". Price Realized : $2,900.00.
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Image courtesy Hodgins Auction.
"Sugar Snow, Morin Heights"
Edwin Headley Holgate, Canadian BHG, CGP, CSGA, G7, RCA [1892-1977], "Sugar Snow, Morin Heights," 1947, oil on panel, 8.5" x 10.5". Price Realized : $27,500.00.
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"Windy Hill in Spring"
William Goodridge Roberts, Canadian CGP, CSGA, CSPWC, RCA [1904-1974], "Windy Hill in Spring," 1950, oil on masonite, 24" x 36". Price Realized : $4,000.00.
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Image courtesy of Consignor.ca
A.C. Leighton "Columbia Ice Fields"
A.C. Leighton "Columbia Ice Fields" oil on canvas signed lower left 24 ins x 30 ins Artwork did not find a buyer during the auction
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Image courtesy Hodgins Auction.
"Couple"
Herbert Johannes Joseph Siebner, Canadian BCSA, CPE, CSGA, RCA [1925-2003], "Couple," 1975, mixed media on panel, 13.25" x 10.25". Price Realized : $1,500.00
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Joane Cardinal-Schubert, "The Beginning of Life - The White Buffalo Dream," nd
mixed media on paper, 35.5" x 12" Image courtesy Hodgins Auction
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Image courtesy Hodgins Auction.
"Watering the Horses"
Allen Sapp, Canadian RCA [b. 1929], "Watering the Horses," 1972, acrylic on canvas, 24" x 36". Price Realized : $4,500.00
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Image courtesy Hodgins Auction.
"Two Men Talking Together"
Allen Sapp, Canadian RCA [b. 1929], "Two Men Talking Together," 1973, acrylic on canvas, 12" x 16". Price Realized : $2,200.00.
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Image courtesy of Heffel Auctions
Arthur Lismer "Canadian Rockies"
Arthur Lismer AAM CGP CSGA CSPWC G7 OSA RCA 1885 - 1969 Canadian "Canadian Rockies" oil on board, circa 1928 signed and on verso titled on the Roberts and Laing gallery labels 12 7/8 x 16 in, Sold for: $99,450 CAD (including Buyer's Premium)
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Image courtesy Heffel Auctions.
"Untitled"
Jean-Paul Riopelle, AUTO CAS OC QMG RCA SCA [1923 - 2002], Canadian, "Untitled," oil on canvas, 1954, signed and on verso signed and inscribed "No. 11" and "78", 28 5/8" x 39 5/8". Sold for: $789,750 CAD (including Buyer's Premium).
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Image courtesy of Heffel Auctions
Jack Leonard Shadboldt "Two Musicians"
Jack Leonard Shadboldt BCSFA CGP CSPWC OC RCA 1909 - 1998 Canadian Two Musicians oil on board, signed and dated 1948 and on verso signed, titled, dated and inscribed "J.L. Shadbolt, 128 Monroe St., NY 2" and "$75." 28 3/4 x 19 3/4 in, Sold for: $49,725 CAD (including Buyer's Premium)
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Image courtesy Heffel Auctions.
"November #20 (Oscar's Death)"
Jack Hamilton Bush, ARCA CGP CSGA CSPWC OSA P11, 1909 - 1977, Canadian, "November #20 (Oscar's Death)," gouache and watercolour on paper on artist board, signed and dated Nov. 27/1956 and on verso titled and dated, 9 1/2" x 12 1/2". Sold for: $12,870 CAD (including Buyer's Premium).
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Image courtesy of Waddington's Canadian Fine Art
Kazuo Nakamura: "Inner Expansion"
Kazuo Nakamura "Inner Expansion", oil on canvas; 24" x 32" Price realized: $76,700
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Image courtesy of Waddington's Canadian Fine Art
Jean Albert McEwen R.C.A. "The Unknown Flag, Third Theme, #5, 1964"
Jean Albert McEwen R.C.A. "The Unknown Flag, Third Theme, #5, 1964", oil on canvas; 72" x 54" Price realized: $106,200
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Image courtesy of Consignor.ca
Kim Dorland "Untitled (Pink and Green Sunset)"
Kim Dorland "Untitled (Pink and Green Sunset)" oil on linen on board signed and dated 2011 on the reverse 24 ins x 18 ins Price Realized: $4,600
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Image courtesy of Consignor.ca
Doris McCarthy "Packing for the Canoe Trip, 1981"
Doris McCarthy "Packing for the Canoe Trip, 1981" watercolour signed lower left 15 ins x 22 ins Artwork did not find a buyer during the auction
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Image courtesy of Consignor.ca
W.J. Newcombe "Mexican Pilgrimage, San Miguel De Allende, Mexico"
W.J. Newcombe "Mexican Pilgrimage, San Miguel De Allende, Mexico," oil on canvas signed, dated 1946 and inscribed “Mexico” lower left, unframed 17 ins x 23.5 ins Price Realized: $1,725
AUCTIONS: Sales Still Too Soft In Canadian Art Market's Fall Auctions
By Doug MacLean
Last fall’s sales brought some extreme bargains in the Canadian art market, even as larger auctions in New York – Sotheby’s, Christie’s and even Phillips – saw records break. This action makes the few available Canadian masterworks seem inexpensive. Of course, naysayers will claim Canadian art has no value in the larger world. My response is that we are still a young country and our art is original so, sooner or later, values will increase.
Waddington’s
Waddington’s was one of three Toronto sales in late November, with a selection of historical and contemporary art. Linda Rodeck, the new vice-president, had just six weeks to pull things together, but secured some excellent work. One surprise was a rare oil painting by Graham Norwell, Gatineau Village, Winter, 1924. Rodeck, who has a good eye and a long history in art sales, also presented abstract works by Jack Reppen, Charles Daudelin, Lise Gervais, William Perehudoff, Tony Urquhart, Kazuo Nakamura, Walter Yarwood, William Ronald and Jean McEwen. The selection was off the well-trodden path, a risk, but one that needed to be pursued. It was also wonderful to see pieces from Oscar Peterson’s collection. It turns out the jazz great liked abstract art.
On the historical front, the sale featured a Canadian classic by A.J. Casson, Leaf-Burning, Autumn in Ontario, a small and delicate illustration done for Maclean’s magazine. Published on the cover in 1947, the painting features Casson’s mother, along with other people, doing outdoor chores. Also interesting were works by A.Y. Jackson, Cornelius Krieghoff, Frank Johnston and Marc-Aurèle Fortin, all from the East, and two prominent artists from the West, W.J. Phillips and H.G. Glyde.
The night of the sale, the room filled to capacity with what seemed to be an interested audience. Auctioneer Stephen Ranger moved through the first sales with great results, finding buyers for Nakamura ($76,700) and Yarwood ($64,900), both members of Painters Eleven. The Casson sold easily to a phone bidder at $141,600. But there were some bumps and bidding fell below low estimates on many lots. Some prominent pieces did not sell. The total hammer value, including after-sales, was $1.8 million, a step in the right direction. Waddington’s should remain a contender.
Hodgins
In Calgary, two varied consignments of 380 pieces at Hodgins included some gems. British artist John William Godward (1861-1922) was represented by an exquisite and rare painting from 1904, A Pompeian Lady. The quality and condition were impeccable, as was Godward’s incredible technique. It sold for $240,000. Other highlights included Roland Gissing’s early landscapes; Allen Sapp paintings from the 1970s depicting reserve life; and a 1987 Stan Perrott watercolour, Nocturne, that shows his mastery. Joane
Cardinal Schubert’s The Beginning of Life – The White Buffalo Dream, from 1994, sold at $8,500, a hefty value for one of six works offered. Also noteworthy were Herbert Siebner’s Couple, 1975, and Joe Fafard’s Egon II, 2006, admittedly a tough subject, but one of his best bronze portraits. A fabulous 1950 landscape by Goodridge Roberts, Windy Hill in Spring, also caught my eye. He was brilliant and his work is undervalued.
Heffel
Heffel’s preview was at the University of Toronto Art Centre, a welcome change from previous years. Over all, the art looked wonderful. The contemporary work featured a huge Jean-Paul Riopelle, Iceberg IV. It was good to see this lively black-and-white painting from 1977 sell for $491,400.
Heffel’s post-war sale featured great work by Quebec artists Rita Letendre, Jean McEwen and Leon Bellefleur. Westerners Jack Shadbolt, Gordon Smith, B.C. Binning and William Kurelek were also featured. Some rare finds included Alexandra Luke, of Painters Eleven; Jack Bush with November #20 (Oscar’s Death), painted to honour his great friend, Oscar Cahen; and Jacques Hurtubise’s Odette.
The historical art in the next gallery looked elegant but subdued. Emily Carr’s The Crazy Stair was featured on the catalogue cover. The eccentricity of the painting, in my view, is its appeal. Carr purposely positioned different elements – including a boat, a leaning totem pole and an oversized raven – in an abstract plane, and the painting dances with energy. I hope the unknown buyer, who paid a record $3.4 million, will enjoy it.
Other historical works also stood out, including a rare Arthur Lismer painting of Lake O’Hara, Canadian Rockies. Lismer disliked painting in the mountains and few works of this quality exist. The sale price of $99,450 reflected that rarity. Edwin Holgate’s Circus Tent, 1921, is alive with colour and life, yet failed to sell. I suspect it was the nuns depicted at an open-air market. For some reason, works with religious figures or contexts often give buyers the jitters. A rare and wonderful work by Frederick Alexcee, Pole Raising at Fort Simpson, BC, sold for $128,700, double the estimate.
In all, Heffel garnered $13.5 million in one night.
Consignor
The last sale was at Consignor. Of course, online closings are exciting only for bidders, who must wait several minutes to see if they were successful. Consignor doesn’t publish sale results, but the preview on Dundas Street, across from the Art Gallery of Ontario, looked professional. My picks were Doris McCarthy’s Packing for the Canoe Trip, a fine watercolour done in the Arctic; A.C. Leighton’s Columbia Ice Fields; Peter Sheppard’s Union Station, Toronto, 1914; Tom Hopkins’ Rampant Sea, 1999; William Ronald’s Maya, 1957; and Ivan Eyre’s Green Ledge, 1972. There was also an odd, but truly wonderful work by William Newcombe, Mexican Pilgrimage … San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.
The Year in Summary
Although some spring sales were positive, there were gaps, and the market seemed soft. My biggest concern at that time was competition after the loss of Sotheby’s Canadian art auction. But the re-entry of Waddington’s under Rodeck’s leadership, and new online sales with Consignor, has created change.
At the fall sales, the leading houses were still out front. But both new and old players gathered energy, and people are watching. My final view of the season? Although auction rooms filled up, the energy was still too soft. The Canadian art market could use some noise. Help make it happen by getting out to previews and finding quality art to support.
SPRING 2014 AUCTIONS Dates unavailable at press time but usually near the end of May
Lando Art Auctions, Edmonton – landoauctions.com
Levis Fine Art Auctions, Calgary – levisauctions.com
Maynards Fine Art & Antiques, Vancouver – maynardsfineart.com
Waddington’s Canadian Fine Art, Toronto – waddingtons.ca
Hodgins Art Auctions, Calgary – hodginsauctions.com
Heffel Fine Art, Vancouver – heffel.com
Consignor Canadian Fine Art (online only) – consignor.ca