TORONTO (Victoria Ahearn, The Canadian Press – November 20th, 2014) A wintry William Kurelek painting the artist gave to a late Toronto woman as thanks for her delicious homemade apple strudel and jam could result in a windfall for her daughter at an online auction. Consignor Canadian Fine Art’s fall sale that opened for bidding on its website Wednesday and runs through Nov. 28 has a pre-sale estimate of $15,000-$20,000 on the work entitled Ukrainian Proverb.
WORKS OF ART BY RENOWNED CANADIAN HISTORICAL AND POST-WAR ARTISTS OPEN FOR BIDDING BETWEEN NOVEMBER 19th AND 28th
Hepaticas in a Cup, a rare 1935 still life by renowned Canadian painter David Milne is being offered for the first time at auction, featured in the Consignor Fall Auction of Important Canadian Art, one of more than 130 works of art which will be open for bidding between November 19 and 28, 2014. The 22 X 24 inch canvas, being offered with an auction estimate of $125,000 to 175,000, was once praised by the artist himself as being a fine achievement and among one of his best works. Milne praised the painting to his patrons (the Rt. Honourable Vincent and Alice Massey) through a series of letters during the execution of the artwork and regarded it as his “Spring Fever” painting of 1935. The striking canvas was painted during Milne’s time living at Six Mile Lake and features his charismatic large blank space with curious “out of focus” close-up objects (flowers in bowls). Hepaticas captures the artist’s excitement for the season.
Carol Sutton, Pompano (1980)
Furious bidding led to outstanding results in the Consignor June Auction of Canadian & International Contemporary Art on Wednesday afternoon. The thirty-one lot auction included remarking examples for artists around the globe, attracting interest from bidders and buyers across Canada, the United States and internationally. At the close of the auction, eight new artist auction records had been established. Light Above, a radiant 1979 canvas by acclaimed Canadian artist Otto Rogers sold for $13,915 (all prices include 15% Buyer’s Premium), nearly doubling the pre-sale auction estimate. Pompano, a magnificent (and massive) acrylic by Toronto-based artist Carol Sutton fetched $3,680, comfortably exceeding expectation. Further artist records achieved during the auction included new high-points for the work of David Craven, Douglas Haynes, Tony Calzetta, William Frampton, Jean-Jacques Besner and Diana Wollman. The June auction featured a rich array artwork from the corporate collection of Rothman’s, Benson and Hedges Inc. with the majority of the selections fresh to the auction market.
Edward Ruscha, Mocha Standard
Consignor Canadian Fine Art’s June Auction of Canadian and International Contemporary Art includes signature work from renowned artists with auction and gallery markets across Canada, the United States and globally. The focused auction includes thirty-one paintings, prints and sculptures, consigned from private and corporate collections, including Rothman’s, Benson and Hedges Inc.
Jack Bush, Summer Lake (1973) – Price Realized $310,500
(Toronto – May 29, 2014) – Two magnificent canvases by renowned Canadian painter Jack Bush highlighted the record-breaking Consignor Spring Auction of Important Canadian Art, the online sale closing for bidding on Thursday afternoon. Summer Lake (1973), a radiant fifty-by-seventy inch acrylic fetched $310,500 (all prices include 15% Buyer’s Premium), doubling its pre-sale auction estimate of $100,000-150,000, while Pink on Red (Thrust), a spectacular 1961 canvas, sold for $299,000, soaring past its estimate of $175,000-225,000. The pair of paintings not only became two of the three highest priced works by Jack Bush to sell at auction in Canada, they are now also the two most expensive Canadian works of art to ever sell in a Canadian online auction.
