Tag: Bill Reid

  • Collecting Opportunity: March Online Auction of Indigenous and Inuit Artworks

    Kenojuak Ashevak, Owls in Evening Light

    Our March 2021 Online Auction of Indigenous and Inuit Artwork offers a fantastic opportunity for collectors to diversify their collections with important works from renowned artists.

    Indigenous Art encompasses a variety of styles, practices and techniques from living cultures based outside of European, or Eurocentric traditions. Indigenous Art is the longest living art form in Canada, a highly dynamic form of art grown out of cultural continuity and expression, drawing upon themultilayered voices of people who have inhabited these lands for generations. Art is an integral part of the preservation and expression of culture, and Indigenous Art celebrates the heritage and traditions of the First Nations, Metis and Inuit.

    Cowley Abbott is pleased to present a unique selection of commanding artworks by Indigenous artists, which reflect the customs and culture of the Indigenous in an array of art forms from sculpture, to textiles, to print works.

    Bill Reid, “Eagle”

    Bill Reid, Eagle

    The fusion of Haida traditions with a modernist technique is quintessential to Bill Reid’s artwork, resulting in the creation of exquisite works ranging from the diminutive to the monumental. Reid mastered several media, including carving in silver, gold, wood and argillite, referring to himself as “a maker of things” rather than an artist. He crafted objects of adornment that were variations on traditional crest designs or identity symbols, such as this delicately carved pendant. “Eagle” exemplifies Reid’s mission to express the visual traditions of his ancestors in a contemporary form, mastering his complexity of three-dimensional forms. Reid had studied the culture and myths of the Haida in the course of his research, adapting carving designs and works illustrated in anthropological literature, seeking to reference the fundamental techniques of historical Haida art. The figure of the Eagle is an important being in the oral history of the Haida, respected for its intelligence and power as a hunter.

    “Eagle” is an elegantly executed Haida-inspired design, related to a 1969 fossil ivory work, “Eagle Pendant” (Collection of Sherrard Grauer). As noted by Karen Duffek, “A pendant of fossil ivory made in 1969 presents the Eagle in a manner still related to past imagery but already hinting at Reid’s forthcoming carving, ‘The Raven Discovering Mankind in a Clamshell’ (1970, Museum of Anthropology, UBC). It is primarily in the finely carved feathers, the arched wings, and the configuration of two-dimensional elements that a continuity of image can be seen.

    ”Norval Morrisseau, “Thunderbird Young”

    Norval Morrisseau, Thunderbird Young

    Ground-breaking artist Norval Morrisseau, born in 1931 in Sandy Point Reserve, Ontario, worked beyond European- based conventions and drew from Anishinaabe cultural traditions to develop his powerful and unique artistic vision.Morrisseau was a member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts since 1970 and is celebrated founder of the Woodland School, which revitalized Anishinaabe iconography, traditionally incised on rocks and Midewiwin birchbark scrolls. A self-taught painter, printmaker, and illustrator,Morrisseau created an innovative vocabulary which was initially criticized in the Native community for its disclosure of traditional spiritual knowledge. Hiscolourful, figurative images delineated with heavy black form lines and x-ray articulations, were characteristically signed with the syllabic spelling of Copper Thunderbird, the name Morrisseau’s grandfather gave him.

    “Thunderbird Young” is an excellent example of the artist’s signature kraft card artworks with emphasis on strong line, bold colour, and articulation of his cultural heritage through visual arts.

    Kenojuak Ashevak “Owls in Evening Light” and “Timiatjuak”

    Kenojuak Ashevak, Timiatjuak

    Kenojuak Ashevak has created some of the most recognizable images in Canadian art. Images of bold graphic owls in fiery reds and ink blacks are some of the artist’s most popular works. Kenojuak embraced printmaking in the 1960s and 1970s after first beginning her drawing practice in the late 1950s in Kinngait (Cape Dorset). In 1961, she was the subject of a film produced by the National Film Board of Canada on her life and work, which was key to introducing the artist more globally. Kenojuak travelled around the world as an ambassador for Inuit art and won numerous awards and honours, including the Order of Canada, a Lifetime Achievement Award at the National Aboriginal Achievement Awards, the Governor General’s Award for Excellence in the Visual Arts, and was the first Inuit artist to be inducted into Canada’s Walk of Fame.

    Winnie Tatya, “Figures and Animals”

    Winnie Tatya, Figures and Animals

    Born in 1931, Winnie Tatya is a widely exhibited and celebrated multi-disciplinary artist who is recognized for her tapestry works of figures and animals. Often using brightly coloured felt to create the figures and animals, Tatya uses complementary embroidery floss to add pattern, design and texture to the works. Graphic in nature, the wall hangings make for beautiful storytelling pieces in “classically organized compositions…all tightly embroidered with great and rewarding care.” The artist has exhibited her works with the Vancouver Art Gallery, the Art Gallery of the Canadian Embassy organized by Arctic Inuit Art, the Winnipeg Art Gallery, Bayly Art Museum at the University of Virginia, among many others. Her work resides in the collections of the National Gallery of Art, the Canadian Museum of Civilization, the Edmonton Art Gallery, the Winnipeg Art Gallery, the University of Alberta, and the Inuit Cultural Institute, amongst many other prominent private collections.

    A variety of stone sculptures by artists such as Sheokjuk Oqutaq, Kumukuluk Saggiak, Napachie Ashoona, Thomassie Tukai and Johnny Tunnillie are featured in the current online auction and make for wonderful three-dimensional additions to create a dynamic, varied and powerful collection of artwork.

    For more information on this auction, our consignment process and details regarding our upcoming September Online Auction of Indigenous and Inuit Artwork, please contact us at info@cowleyabbott.ca and one of our specialists would be delighted to assist you.

    Literature Sources:

    Robert Kardosh, “Works on Cloth, Imagery by artists of Baker Lake, Nunavut,” Marion Scott Gallery, 2002, page 10

    Martine J. Reid, “Bill Reid Collected”, Douglas & McIntyre/ The Bill Reid Foundation, Toronto, 2016, page 83 for related work, “Eagle Pendant” (1969)

    Karen Duffek, “Beyond the Essential Form”, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, 1986, page 43

    Peter L. Macnair, Alan L. Hoover and Kevin Neary, “The Legacy: Tradition andInnovation in Northwest Coast Indian Art”, Toronto/Vancouver, 1984, pages 85-86

  • Museum-Quality Canvas by Quebec Master Jean Paul Lemieux Debuts at Cowley Abbott Fall Auction

    Jean Paul Lemieux, Basse messe, dimanche

    Basse messe, dimanche by Quebec Master, Lemieux is among historical and post-war auction highlights from Consignor Canadian Fine Art, now Cowley Abbott

    October 23, 2019 (Toronto, ON) – An exceptional opportunity to own a major canvas by one of Canada’s most celebrated painters is up for auction from Cowley Abbott (formerly Consignor Canadian Fine Art) as part of its semi-annual Fall Live Auction of Important Canadian Art, taking place Tuesday, November 19 at Toronto’s Gardiner Museum. Presenting key work by Canada’s preeminent historical and post-war artists, many of which will be going under the hammer for the first time, the newly minted Cowley Abbott will also be celebrating the rebrand of the auction house under the monikers of its principals, Canadian auction industry veterans Rob Cowley and Lydia Abbott.

    Jean Paul Lemieux’s Basse messe, dimanche (Low Mass, Sunday), painted in the classic style for which the artist is most celebrated, will make its auction debut with an estimate of $300,000 – $500,000. Basse messe, dimanche is a stunning canvas that depicts a group of parishioners exiting a church in the early morning, exposed to the winter cold under the harsh light of a white moon. Measuring nearly eight feet wide, the painting is one of the largest of the period by a key figure in Canadian modernity. Imbued with themes of Nordic sensibility and melancholy, Lemieux drew inspiration from memories of a bygone era in which Quebec traditions, customs, and popular religious beliefs gave life and structure to the artist’s community.

    “It is our privilege to introduce Basse messe, dimanche to the public for the first time at auction,” said Rob Cowley, President, Cowley Abbott. “This commanding, stunning canvas provides Jean Paul Lemieux’s classic view of Quebec and Canadian culture, effectively capturing themes of community, faith and isolation across an expansive winter landscape. The rich colour and larger-than-life characters that occupy the spectacular composition have stopped collectors in their tracks during early previews of this important painting by one of our country’s most renowned painters.”

    The fall auction also provides a chance to own a piece of Canadian history, with a rare work on offer by Canadian scientist, physician, painter and Nobel Prize recipient Sir Frederick Banting. European Landscape (1925) was painted during his trip to Europe where he accepted the prestigious Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his involvement in the discovery of insulin; and the work provides a rare glimpse from Banting at the point of receiving the highest honour in his field. As the then youngest laureate and first Canadian to receive the prestigious prize, Banting was also named Time Magazine’s “Man of the Year” on the cover of its August 1923 issue, making him a renowned figure of scientific progress around the world. The painting has a distinguished provenance that includes being privately owned by members of the Banting family, and is accompanied by a letter from Banting’s son detailing the piece’s history and the trip during which the painting was created. European Landscape has a pre-auction estimate of $20,000 – $30,000, which Cowley Abbott anticipates could exceed expectations.

    Multiple key works by William Kurelek will be featured in Cowley Abbott’s fall live auction including Pioneer Homestead on a Winter’s Evening (1971). Housed in a custom frame made by Kurelek, the painting depicts a Ukrainian woman drawing water from a well on the Canadian prairie in winter, and is an exemplary showcase of the artist’s characteristic themes and subject matter related to immigration, farming on the Prairies, Ukrainian heritage, and the harsh beauty of the Western Canadian landscape. The painting comes from the private collection of a Ukrainian-Canadian family in Toronto with an auction estimate of $50,000 – $70,000.

    From the same collection comes Brothers, a larger winter farming painting by William Kurelek that has an auction estimate of $100,000 – $150,000. Commissioned by the family following their purchase of Pioneer Homestead on a Winter’s Evening, the composition presents two brothers walking together on a vast Prairie landscape, distantly following their father upon a horse-drawn sleigh.

    “Our Fall Auction of Important Canadian Art features striking and rare examples by our country’s illustrious painters, sculptors and print-makers. Entrusted to our firm from Canadian and International private and corporate collections, it is a pleasure for our team to present these fantastic works to the collecting public, in many cases for the first time.” – Lydia Abbott, Vice-President, Cowley Abbott

    Other notable artworks featured in Cowley Abbott’s Fall Live Auction include:

    • A 1936 painting by Emily Carr depicting the Strait of Juan de Fuca, is a richly coloured work alive with the movement of the ruggedly beautiful British Columbia landscape. The painting comes from a United States private collection, available at auction for the first time with an estimate of $125,000 – $175,000
    • Two rare canvasses by 19th century master Cornelius Krieghoff, bothfrom a private collection: Indian Encampment by a River Autumn (1849) is being offered with a pre-sale estimate of $60,000 -$80,000 and Hudson Bay Trader (1845-47) at $40,000 – $60,000
    • La Mare, Baie St. Paul, a 1920 oil on panel by Quebec painter Clarence Gagnon. This panel, a sketch for The Pond in October housed in the National Gallery of Canada’s permanent collection, is being offered with an estimate of $15,000 – $20,000
    • A trailblazer for women in the arts in Canada, Molly Lamb Bobak’s Highland Games, Fredericton is expected to excite collectors with its colourful and heavily populated setting during the city’s Highland Games Festival. This large 40” x 48” canvas is likely to exceed its pre-sale estimate of $30,000 – $50,000
    • One of Canada’s earliest and most renowned champions of abstraction, Bertram Brooker’s Autumn Bouquet makes its first appearance at auction, subject to a $20,000-30,000 estimate. Cowley Abbott set an auction record for a work by Brooker in the fall of 2018, Delta Ice House more than tripling its opening bid to fetch $82,600

    Historical offerings in the auction also include the workof the Group of Seven, Sybil Andrews, J.W. Beatty, André Biéler, J.W. Morrice, P.C. Sheppard, M.A. Suzor-Coté, Robert Pilot and Frederick Verner.

    Post-War Contemporary and Abstraction artists are also strongly represented in the sale with works by David Blackwood, Jack Bush, Greg Curnoe, Sorel Etrog, Paterson Ewen, Joe Fafard, Betty Goodwin, Ted Harrison, Gershon Iskowitz, Maud Lewis, John Little, Jean McEwen, Norval Morrisseau, Kazuo Nakamura, William Perehudoff, Bill Reid, Goodridge Roberts, Otto Rogers, Gordon Smith and Takao Tanabe.

    Live previews will take place at the Cowley Abbott Gallery located at 326 Dundas Street West (located across the street from the Art Gallery of Ontario) beginning the weekend of Art Toronto – Friday, October 25. Cowley Abbott’s Fall Live Auction of Important Canadian Art will take place on Tuesday, November 19 at 7 p.m. EST at the Gardiner Museum located at 111 Queen’s Park, Toronto, ON.

    Since its inception in 2013, Cowley Abbott’s live and online auctions have included headline-grabbing works such as a rare 100-year-old Tom Thomson portrait (Daydreaming, sold for $172,500), a celebrated depiction of Kensington Market by William Kurelek (Hot Day in Kensingon Market, sold for $472,000), and Jack Bush’s Summer Lake, which broke online auction records in May 2014 for the most expensive painting by a Canadian artist to be sold in an online auction ($310,500). Their inaugural live auction event in May 2016 set the record for the highest-selling Algoma sketch by Lawren Harris, fetching $977,500, tripling the previous auction record.

    Cowley Abbott is currently accepting consignments for its upcoming auctions. Cowley Abbott offers all-inclusive selling commissions and the lowest buyer’s premium in the industry. Those interested in consignment can arrange a complimentary and confidential consultation by contacting Cowley Abbott’s specialists at 1-866-931-8415 or mail@cowleyabbott.ca.

  • Spring Season Sees Strong Results for Canadian Historical & Post-War Artwork

    Claude Tousignant, Absurdo (1964) – Price Realized $188,800

    May 28, 2019 (Toronto, ON) – An energetic and hypnotizing canvas by Claude Tousignant had bidders spellbound during the Tuesday evening Consignor Canadian Fine Art Spring Live Auction of Important Canadian Art, when it fetched $188,800 (all prices include the 18% Buyer’s Premium), more than tripling the opening bid. Absurdo (1964) drew feverish bidding attention from participants in the room and on the telephone before being hammered down well beyond expectation.

    David Milne’s Soft Hills (Misty Hills) (Boston Corners, N.Y.), a masterful 1917 watercolour also attracted strong attention in the packed auction gallery at Toronto’s Gardiner Museum, finally selling for $112,100, more than doubling the painting’s pre-sale estimate of $40,000-60,000. The stunning watercolour appeared for its first time at auction with Consignor and the rarity drew praise and attention from collectors across Canada.

    Algoma Sketch XCII (Algoma Autumn), a 1920 oil sketch portraying the region where the Group of Seven embarked on their earliest sketching trips as an official association sold for $125,000 during the week, while a small graphite sketch by the artist (Algoma) fetched $25,960, exceeding its pre-sale auction estimate.

    A close friend of Harris and Group of Seven, Tom Thomson’s Road Near Leith (1908) sold for $100,300, the early canvas, depicting the region where the painter was born and his family lived, exceeding the high-end of expectation.

    Prairie-born Colour-Field painter William Perehduoff also turned heads during the May auction with AC-69-29 (1969) commanding strong competition in the auction gallery before finally selling for $51,920, more than doubling the opening bid volleyed by the auctioneer.

    Other notable results during Consignor’s spring auction include:

    • Bill Reid, Bear Cub Pendant (1990), the 22k gold jewellery work by the internationally renowned Haida artist, fetched $47,200 (exceeding the high-end of pre-auction expectation).
    • Jack Bush, Ochre Blue Square, the small canvas by the celebrated post-war painter selling for $30,680, while an earlier, 1951 work by the artist, Lovers, sold for $28,320 (within expectation).
    • William Kurelek, Tale of a Dog, a gift from the painter to the consignor, a fellow framer and friend, achieved $10,620 (exceeding the high-end of pre-auction expectation).
    • Frederick Varley, Spring Meadow, Don Valley, a vivid canvas painted during the period in which the Group of Seven were associated, sold for $28,320 (within expectation).

    The season continues with a second online session of Canadian artwork on offer until June 5th and a further session of Canadian and International artwork included in the Consignor June Online Auction between June 9th and 16th.

  • Kurelek Artwork Commissioned for $250 Fetches $82,600 During Fall Live Auction

    William Kurelek, Threshing Outfit Being Brought Lunch (1972)
    William Kurelek, Threshing Outfit Being Brought Lunch (1972)

    November Auction of Important Canadian Art Includes Record-Breaking Sales of Work by Bertram Brooker, Ken Lochhead and Robert Gray Murray

    Toronto, ON (November 20, 2018) – A never before seen painting by renowned Ukrainian-Canadian artist William Kurelek, Threshing Outfit Being Brought Lunch (1972), sold for $82,600 (including buyer’s premium), tens of thousands of dollars of above its original purchase price of $250. The painting made its auction debut this evening at Consignor Canadian Fine Art’s live auction event at the Gardiner Museum in Toronto, ON.

    The painting was purchased directly from the artist in 1972, and remained within the owner’s family until its offering on Tuesday evening. Kurelek met the original owner, a Ukrainian-Canadian student who had just moved to Toronto, at an exhibition of his work at Isaacs Gallery. She indicated to the painter that she couldn’t afford to purchase any of the pieces on exhibit, so Kurelek offered to create a painting that she could afford. At her request, Kurelek painted a panoramic farm scene as a reminder of her family’s farm on the prairies; a connection that he shared with the owner, having a similar upbringing in rural Manitoba.

    The auction highlights also included record-breaking sales of works by Ken Lochhead, Bertram Richard Brooker and Robert Gray Murray.  Lochhead’s Colour Rotation (1964), a rare and monumental canvas by the celebrated modernist painter, sold for $54,280, doubling the previous auction record for the artist. Bertram Brooker’s, Delta Ice Housesold for $82,600, three times above its auction estimate ($25,000 – $35,000) and nearly doubling the artist’s previous auction record. Robert Gray Murray’s Burwash, a striking painted aluminum sculpture, fetched $28,320, more than doubling the previous auction record for the artist’s work.

    Solid auction results were also achieved for:

    • A.Y. JacksonSt. Irenée, Quebeca classic and compelling Quebec winter village scene by the Group of Seven painter, sold for $94,000, more than double its opening bid
    • A.J. CassonStorm in the Cloche Hills, an exemplary 1951 dramatic landscape which was featured on the cover of the fall auction catalogue, sold for $118,000, almost doubling its opening bid
    • Marc-Aurèle Fortin, Ste. Rose Paysage, the 1939 vivid Quebec landscape selling for $70,800
    • William Perehudoff, AC-85-81, fetching $33,040, exceeding pre-sale expectation
    • Bill Reid, Haida Medallion Brooch, fetching $29,500
    • Jean Paul Riopelle, Sans titre, the 1965 work on paper by the Quebec abstract master fetching $23,600, exceeding the high-end of pre-sale expectation
    • Maud Lewis, Red Sleigh on a Country Road, the early work by the Nova Scotia folk artist selling for $20,060, exceeding the high-end of expectation (one of three works by Lewis to perform strongly during the evening)

    View full auction results by following this link.

  • Kurelek Masterwork Fetches $472,000 During Record-Breaking Spring Auction

    William Kurelek, Hot Day in Kensington MarketToronto, ON (May 29, 2018) – Consignor Canadian Fine Art’s Spring Live Auction of Important Canadian Art, held Tuesday evening at Toronto’s Gardiner Museum, concluded with stellar results for a wide range of rare and quality artworks which celebrate Canada’s diverse history and culture.

    Among the exemplary works up for bid was the auction debut of William Kurelek’s Toronto series masterpiece, Hot Day in Kensington Market, which more than tripled its opening bid, selling for $472,000 – the second highest auction price on record for the artist (all prices include an 18 percent buyer’s premium, the lowest in the Canadian auction industry).

    A second painting by Kurelek entitled Hauling Hay also easily surpassed its pre-auction estimate, fetching $94,400.

    The most surprising result of the evening was a record set for renowned Canadian war artist, Charles Comfort, whose oil on board titled, Smokestacks, Copper Cliffsold for $33,040; six-times its auction estimate of $3,000- $5,000. The painting is one of several preparatory sketches to the final canvas, Smelter StacksCopper Cliff, which is housed in the National Gallery of Canada’s permanent collection.  The previous record for a Charles Comfort work of art was $20,700 (for Hope Island Light, Lake Huron, sold in 2005).

    Solid auction results were also achieved for:

    • Emily CarrLogged Land, a 1930s oil on paper on canvas support, sold for a strong price of $377,600
    • A.Y. JacksonRuisseau Jureux, 1931 oil on canvas painting sold for $88,500
    • Marcelle FerronSans titre, an important canvas selling for $49,560, by the artist who was a major figure in the Quebec contemporary arts scene
    • Jean McEwenLes Fiançailles No. 5, large-scale 75” X 75” oil on canvas by Montreal abstract master (auction estimate of $25,000 – $35,000) tripled its estimate at $88,500
    • A striking and rare 22-karat miniature gold sculpture by Haida artist and sculptor Bill ReidChief of the Undersea World sold for a strong $129,800
    • Daphne Odjig’s Family Ties, a 36” X 34” acrylic on canvas painted in 1981, which made its auction debut sold for $37,760

    View full auction results by following this link.

    About Consignor Canadian Fine Art

    Since its inception in 2013, Consignor’s live and online auctions have included headline-grabbing works such as a rare 100-year-old Tom Thomson portrait (Daydreaming, sold for $172,500), an undiscovered William Kurelek (Ukrainian Proverb, sold for $41,400), and Jack Bush’s Summer Lake broke online auction records in May 2014 for the most expensive painting by a Canadian artist to be sold at an online auction ($310,500). Consignor’s inaugural live auction event in May 2016 set the record for the highest-selling Algoma sketch by Lawren Harris, fetching $977,500, tripling the previous auction record.

    Consignor Canadian Fine Art is currently accepting consignments for its upcoming auctions, including the June Online Auction of Canadian and International Artwork, with bidding open at consignor.ca from June 6-13, 2018.