Tag: folk art

  • Cowley Abbott Closes Out 2021 with Three Exciting Online Auctions of Eclectic Works

    The final auctions of 2021 have come to a close. Cowley Abbott rounded out a successful year with three concurrent Online Auctions: Coast to Coast, Holiday Charm and Works on Paper, Books & Tapestries. Each of these auctions featured an impressive array of genres, styles and mediums of artwork, from across Canada and beyond. 

    Celebrated Canadian artists Doris McCarthy, Alan Collier, John Little, Maud Lewis and many, many more were included in our most recent Online Auctions. Works of art ranging from historical to modern to contemporary were presented for discerning collectors and spontaneous buyers alike.

    Shuvinai Ashoona, Walrus
    Price Realized: $5,040.00

    Among the notable works on paper were a set of lithographs by contemporary Inuk artist Shuvinai Ashoona. Teeming with colour, detail and imaginative forms, the dazzling lithographs sold above their estimate for $5,040.

    Kim Dorland, Camp
    Price Realized: $26,400.00

    Camp, a 2006 canvas by Kim Dorland also generated excitement among visitors. Rendered in fluorescent paints, a tent glows dramatically in the dark night. The detritus of wild times is strewn about in the foreground. Both quiet and exuberant, the distinctive painting sold well over the estimate for $26,400.

    Frederick Loveroff, Evening, Algonquin
    Price Realized: $38,520.00

    One of the stand-out results of the December auctions was Evening, Algonquin by Frederick Nicholas Loveroff. Reminiscent of the Algonquin Park sketches of the iconic Tom Thomson, the small oil sketch captures a dramatic sunset with confident brushwork and glowing colours. The appealing landscape caught the eye of a number of collectors and bids poured in for the painting. Evening, Algonquin soared to a price realized of $38,520.

    Maud Lewis, Covered Bridge in Winter
    Price Realized: $43,200.00

    Covered Bridge in Winter by beloved Canadian artist Maud Lewis was a wonderfully apt addition to Cowley Abbott’s “Holiday Charm” auction. Featuring snowy pines, horse-drawn sleighs and colourful east coast buildings, the painting exudes heart-warming appeal. The wintry scene demonstrated Maud Lewis’ enduring popularity with a strong result of $43,200. 

    The team at Cowley Abbott extend our gratitude to all the collectors, bidders and buyers who ensured 2021 was a year of growth and success. We very much look forward to the many new opportunities and experiences to come in the year ahead. 

  • 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 House, sold 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. Jackson, St. Irenée, Quebec, a 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. Casson, Storm 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.