In the years following the end of World War II, several major art movements emerged in the United States. Abstract Expressionism began in the 1940s and was the first specifically American movement to achieve international influence and put New York at the centre of the Western art world, a role formerly filled by Paris. Developing… Read more »
Posts By: Cowley Abbott
In the Presence of Royalty
As the head of the International Art department, I first saw the set of four Queen Elizabeth II’s by Andy Warhol unwrapped and hung side by side in Montreal as we set up for our preview in April. They commanded the room. They were all framed similarly, each featuring the same image of Queen Elizabeth… Read more »
Over $16 Million Dollars of Art Sold at Cowley Abbott’s Spring Live Auction
Record Breaking Auction of Rare Canadian Art Masterpieces
Cowley Abbott’s live auction on June 8th marked the second of three landmark live auctions dedicated to a prestigious private collection of Canadian art. A selection of exceptional historical artworks offered in the evening auction saw a bidding frenzy, with most artworks in the sale exceeding – and often doubling, tripling or more – presale… Read more »
Two-Session Spring Live Auction Tonight!!!
Tonight! It is finally time for our two-session Live Auction of Important Canadian and International Art! The Cowley Abbott team could not be more excited to present these artworks for sale this evening @globeandmailcentre. It has been a privilege to handle these works of art and share them with collectors, clients and art lovers. Join… Read more »
Rita Letendre “Rencontre enflammée” – Spring Live Auction of Important Canadian & International Art (June 8th)
Beginning as an Automatiste painter in the 1950s, Rita Letendre was influenced by Paul-Émile Borduas’ revolutionary gestural abstract paintings of the period. Although the Automatistes were instrumental in the evolution of her style, Letendre developed a singular vision in her body of work that resulted in a unique style that pushed boundaries of colour, light… Read more »
Rob Cowley Visits CP24 Breakfast to Discuss the Cowley Abbott Spring Live Auction
Rob Cowley chats with CP24 Breakfast’s Nick Dixon and Jennifer Hsiung ahead of the June 8th Cowley Abbott Spring Live Auction. They discuss masterpiece work by Lawren Harris, Emily Carr, Andy Warhol, Tom Thomson and David Bowie, each on offer during the upcoming sale.
Cornelius Krieghoff “The Royal Mail Crossing the St. Lawrence” – Spring Live Auction of An Important Private Collection of Canadian Art (June 8th)
Cornelius Krieghoff moved to Quebec City in 1853, encountering a vibrant and growing city. As Dennis Reid remarked: “Almost as large as Montreal at a population of some 58,000, close to 40 per cent anglophone (as opposed to the then slightly more than 50 percent anglophone component of the Montreal population) it was the military… Read more »
Andy Warhol “Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom” from “Reigning Queens”, 1985 – Spring Live Auction of Important Canadian & International Art (June 8th)
American artist Andy Warhol once declared “I want to be as famous as the Queen of England”. A leading figure of the Pop Art movement of the 1950s and 60s, Warhol was famous for appropriating familiar images from consumer culture and mass media, including many silkscreen prints of public figures. Determined to become a celebrity… Read more »
Joan Mitchell “Untitled” – Spring Live Auction of Important Canadian & International Art (June 8th)
Joan Mitchell was a prominent American artist closely associated with the Abstract Expressionist movement, the New York School, and international abstract painting of a gestural sort. She spent most of her professional life in France, first in Paris in the 1950s, and from 1967 in Vétheuil, Claude Monet’s home from 1878-1881. While in France she… Read more »
