In the spirit of Valentine’s
Day, Cowley Abbott profiles a selection of some of our favourite artist
couples. These artists shared a personal chemistry which helped form the
background of their lifelong artistic pursuits.
Painter Rita Letendre met
Kosso Eloul while travelling in Italy in 1962. The couple married two years
later, moving between Los Angeles and New York before settling together in
Toronto in 1969. The two shared many fundamental artistic ideas, and their
respective predilection for geometric abstraction both contrasts and
compliments the other in interesting ways.
When Paterson Ewen met
Françoise Sullivan in 1949, their relationship formed the basis of a fruitful
creative exchange. Sullivan was a member of the influential group Les
Automatistes, and introduced Ewen to an entirely new milieu. Ewen’s
artistic development was deeply impacted by the Quebec group’s experimental
abstraction.
Paterson Ewen, Untitled Price Realized: $20,400Joan Mitchell and Jean Paul Riopelle in Chicago, about 1957 Photo Credit: Anonymous Photographer; Yseult Riopelle Archives https://ago.ca/events/joan-mitchell-and-jean-paul-riopelle-creativity-and-collaboration
Over the course of a
24-year relationship, Joan Mitchell and Jean Paul Riopelle lived and painted
together. The two influential painters sustained a rich exchange of creative
ideas, sharing their deep commitment to their art. As documented in the Art
Gallery of Ontario’s 2018 exhibition Mitchell/Riopelle: Nothing in Moderation,
similar formal and intellectual concerns become clear when viewing the work
of both artists side by side.
Jean Paul Riopelle, Sans titre (circa 1959) Price Realized: $504,000Josef and Anni Albers Photo Credit: The Josef and Anni Albers Foundation, https://albersfoundation.org/artists/biographies/
Among the most notable
artist couples of the 20th century are Josef and Anni Albers. The two met in
1922 during the heyday of the Bauhaus art and design school in Weimar, Germany.
In 1925, they married in Berlin. Following the closure of the school in 1933,
the couple fled Nazi rule and resumed their careers at the Black Mountain
College in North Carolina. The Albers’ extraordinary union fueled
one another’s creativity,
each developing into leading figures of twentieth-century modernism. Josef and
Anni Albers were married for 51 years.
Josef Albers, I-S f (Danilowitz 195) Price Realized: $10,320
Romantic partnerships can
form the basis of a dynamic, fruitful exchange of ideas, artistic concerns and
formal practices. Cowley Abbott invites you to watch for the works of these art
power-couples, along with many more, featured in our upcoming auctions.
Cowley Abbott continues to smash auction records and draw competition for rare and exceptional artwork.
The Fall Live Auction of Important Canadian Art on November 22nd was a spirited evening which experienced overwhelming interest, as lively bidding was invited from collectors in-person and remotely via absentee, telephone and online participation. Providing the greatest variety of convenient options for clients this season, the sale attracted robust competition from bidders across Canada and outside of our borders. The success of the auction is solidified by a healthy 87% sell-through rate, with 55% of lots sold exceeding the high-end of the pre-sale expectation (more than 90% of the artworks sold either within or surpassed the estimate).
Cowley Abbott phone bidders were kept busy during the Fall Live Auction!
The Cowley Abbott team connected collectors with excellent artworks representing the country from coast to coast. Superior artworks by Canadian historical, post-war and contemporary artists attained overall success, as multiple records were set during the auction, including new artist records for Molly Lamb Bobak, Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun, Wyatt Eaton and J.W. Beatty. Cowley Abbott was pleased to host a live auction with an in-person audience, allowing for both excitement and momentum to be created by the auctioneer, Rob Cowley.
Jean Paul Riopelle, Sans titre (circa 1959) Price Realized $504,000.00
Drawing ample pre-sale attention was Sans titre by Jean Paul Riopelle, a 1959 masterwork by the celebrated artist that graced the catalogue cover. Painted while the artist lived abroad, this oil on canvas has primarily been owned outside of Canada by collectors, galleries and auction houses in New York and London. The painting made its Canadian auction debut with Cowley Abbott this season, soaring to $504,000 on November 22nd. The value reached for this important work by Riopelle is one of the highest results achieved for a work dated 1959/circa 1959 by the artist.
J.W. Beatty, Early Spring, Algonquin Park Price Realized $168,000.00
The astounding result of a J.W. Beatty painting provided an exciting start to the Fall Auction. Early Spring, Algonquin Park soared to $168,000, smashing the pre-sale estimate of $10,000-15,000 with fierce bidding taking place between two dedicated telephone bidders. This oil on board by Beatty glorifies the beauty of the Canadian landscape in the simple representation of light and shadow. This quintessential Canadian landscape painting has been snapped up by a discerning private collector, attaining a new auction record for the artist.
Jack Bush, Purple, Lime, Brown (1965) Price Realized $432,000.00
Among the star highlights of the auction was a monumental 1965 canvas by Jack Bush entitled, Purple, Lime, Brown. Owned for decades by beloved singer and variety show host, Andy Williams and his wife, Deborah, this painting is a prime example of Bush’s best work in oil. Executed during a significant time in the artist’s career in 1965, the year in which Bush held his first solo European exhibition at London’s Waddington Galleries. Bush reserved his best work from 1964 and early 1965, in total nine paintings, to impress the overseas crowd for this important exhibition. Purple, Lime, Brown was one such work. After Williams passed away in 2012, four significant Bush paintings from their collection went up for auction in 2013. However, the estate held on to Purple, Lime, Brown until March 2021, when it was sold at auction in New York. The painting then returned to Canada, after 56 years abroad, to be offered by Cowley Abbott in the November 22nd evening auction. This important 1965 work by the celebrated colour-field painter has now found its new home with a Canadian buyer after ascending to $432,000 after considerable competition between bidders at the Four Seasons Hotel. This masterwork is of similar importance and quality to Bush’s Column on Browns, a canvas that set an artist record at auction selling for $870,000 at Cowley Abbott in the fall of 2020. Cowley Abbott is thrilled to have been entrusted with these phenomenal artworks.
Marcel Barbeau, Rétine Ying Yang Price Realized $60,000.00
Two avant-garde artistic groups that dominated the Quebec art scene starting in the 1940s, les Automatistes and the Plasticiens, were well represented in the catalogue auction. Rétine Ying Yang by Marcel Barbeau is a bold and mesmerizing black and white abstract canvas. A member of Les Automatistes, Barbeau was also influenced by post-war abstract movements in France. Rétine Ying Yang is aligned in formalist concerns with Op Art, an extension of hard-edge painting characterized by lines, shapes and movement that appear to the viewer as a result of optical illusions. This confident and arresting work from 1966 sold for a price realized of $60,000. Jacques Hurtubise, who was enamored with the spontaneous and gestural painting of the Abstract Expressionist, developed a unique style that straddled painterliness and hard-edge painting. Rose Slush, attaining $28,800, contains Hurtubise’s signature ‘gestural splash’ forms.
Rita Letendre, WYKI Price Realized $26,400.00
As one of the few women artists at the centre of abstract art in Canada, Rita Letendre held an important position in Canadian art history, having produced some of the most innovative examples of post-war art. Regrettably the artist passed away shortly before our evening auction in the fall. Cowley Abbott is honoured to have been entrusted with WYKI, dating to 1975. This magnetic canvas explores her fascination with depicting speed and vibration and was greatly admired by collectors selling for $26,400.
The auction house was delighted to offer two works by the accomplished female artist, Molly Lamb Bobak. Beach Crowd is an important example of the artist’s lively crowd scenes, her most celebrated subject. This cheerful and vibrant work fetched $108,000, a new record at auction for the sought-after artist. Bobak’s Interior, appearing serene and static in nature, yet quietly energetic, was popular amongst collectors, selling for $22,800.
Kim Dorland, Alley Price Realized $31,200.00
Contemporary Canadian artists continue to experience ample interest at auction. Kim Dorland, who is based in Toronto, pushes the boundaries of pictorial representation in his electric oeuvre. Alley, painted in 2006, when the artist had solidified his artistic style and was beginning to see significant success in the gallery world. The scene, with graffiti on the garage door, recalls the gritty, working-class environment Dorland grew up in and challenges the conventional notion of the romantic Canadian landscape. This gestural work realized $31,200, further solidifying his robust secondary market after Cowley Abbott set the auction record for the contemporary painter’s work in spring 2021 with Green Tree Blue Tree ($66,000).
Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun, Landscape, Spruce Pine Beetle Kill Price Realized $78,000.00 (Auction Record)
A prolific and provocative Indigenous artist, Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun is a Vancouver based contemporary artist of Coast Salish and Okanagan descent. Landscape, Spruce Pine Beetle Kill contains many of the elements employed by Yuxweluptun to articulate, through an Indigenous lens, the impact of colonial paradigms that have led to the desecration of land and, in turn, the lives of Indigenous peoples. This critical painting that speaks to humanity across the globe exceeded the pre-sale estimate to sell for $78,000, setting an auction record for this remarkable artist.
William Kurelek, Behold Man Without God (#3) Price Realized $78,000.00
William Kurelek, Behold Man Without God (#3) (auction estimate: $60,000 – $80,000) is a well-known image for the artist, as versions of this painting currently hang in the Art Gallery of Ontario and the Winnipeg Art Gallery. It is a decidedly personal and dark portrait of human hypocrisy. Consigned from a New Jersey collection, this detailed and noteworthy painting realized $78,000 in the evening auction.
Lawren Harris, Near Métis, Quebec Price Realized $114,000.00
A rare depiction of the Quebec landscape, Lawren Harris’ Near Métis, Quebec appeared for the first time at auction this season. The composition drew bidder interest from across Canada the moment the catalogue was published, offering a glimpse into the little-known vacations in Quebec that the artist took in the prime years of his career. This important oil on panel fetched $114,000 and was complemented by two exquisite drawings by Harris also offered in the auction. Tonquin Valley, Jasper and Study for ‘Lake, North Labrador’ were both widely admired and achieved success.
A.Y. Jackson, Morning, St. Tite des Caps Price Realized $55,200.00
Admiration for the Group of Seven was apparent with the realization of four paintings by the renowned artist A.Y. Jackson. Morning, St. Tite des Caps, a depiction of the valley northeast of Quebec City hammered down at $55,200, and St. Lawrence At Trois Pistoles, Quebec sold for $31,200. Two works gifted directly from the artist after his various visits to Onward Ranch in Cariboo, British Columbia attained $26,400 and $24,000, respectively. Paintings by Edwin Holgate and Franz Johnston experienced significant results in the auction, while A.J. Casson rounded out the Group of Seven offerings with Near Kincardine reaching $40,800 and Woodland obtaining $31,200.
Arthur Heming,A Rocky Mountain Packet Price Realized $36,000.00
Historical Canadian art demanded attention at the auction, signified by the auction record achieved for Wyatt Eaton, a Barbizon school painter. La Moisson (The Harvest) is a well-executed study for the canvas in the collection of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, exuding warmth, sentimentality and Eaton’s skill in draughtsmanship. The gravity of this work was astutely recognized by collectors, selling for $11,400 at the Fall Auction. A rare and vibrant canvas by Arthur Heming, a favourite ahead of the auction and from the collection of General Motors, achieved $36,000. Two works by Cornelius Krieghoff were offered in the evening auction – a nostalgic winter scene with ladies and a habitant sleighing extended to $48,000, while The Old Habitant, a man in a red toque with a jug of ale in hand and an impish grin sold for $27,600.
Frederick Verner, Elk Browsing Price Realized $27,500.00
Further interest for historical works was displayed when Girl in a Dutch Bonnet, a charming portrait of a young subject by Laura Muntz fetched $13,200. Two works by Frederick Verner were highly sought after by buyers – Elk Browsing, an 1888 oil on canvas once owned by Henry Winnett, the “Queen’s Hotelier”, sold for $27,500, and the first work exhibited by the artist with the Ontario Society of Artists in 1873, The Rest, Muskoka River, found a new owner for $10,800. Similarly, a serene and contemplative work be William Brymner, Longings/At the Window was a favourite amongst collectors during the previews and sold for $28,800 the night of the live auction. To no one’s surprise on the Cowley Abbott team, Quebec Village in Winterby R.S. Hewton, a joyful and vibrant winter landscape, rose to $28,800, more than doubling its estimate.
James Wilson Morrice, A Bridge in London Price Realized $192,000.00
One of the most anticipated lots of the evening was a rare work by J.W. Morrice, A Bridge in London (ca.1913-15). This intimate oil on board, executed while the artist was in London, soared to $192,000 from the pre-sale estimate of $50,000-70,000. An impressive result for this busy urban scene by Morrice.
A continually favoured painter amongst collectors is Doris McCarthy, an artist known for her wonderful character and effervescent personality. Two rare depictions of small towns in Newfoundland were entrusted to Cowley Abbott for the Fall Auction. Brigus, Newfoundland, a simple and bright depiction of the local architecture was competed for, selling at $78,000. Equally a beautiful depiction of the province’s rocky shorelines, Bishop’s Harbour, Newfoundland attained $16,800. Arctic scenes by McCarthy are widely beloved for their clear colours and simple, abstract shapes. Reflections in the Melt Water continues to explore the North through geometric forms and after competitive bidding the work was hammered down by the auctioneer at $64,900.
William Perehduoff, AC-78-28 Price Realized $48,000.00
A prime highlight from the collection of abstract paintings in the auction were two works by William Perehudoff. AC-78-28, a vibrating and electrically coloured canvas measuring 31.25 x 94 inches achieved $48,000. Another work by the artist which pulsed with energy is AC-83-94. The bold strips of colour on this canvas caught the attention of buyers and after a frenzy of bidding a telephone bidder won at $24,000.
This Fall Auction was a delight to execute through all the stages of collecting, cataloguing, research and promotion. Cowley Abbott spent close to 150 hours previewing the 83 works of art offered in the catalogue and thoroughly enjoyed sharing and discussing the artworks with collectors and art lovers alike. The opportunity to host a live auction with an in-person audience at the Four Seasons was of supreme importance to the firm and we extend our thanks to the collectors, clients, bidders and buyers who ensured that the Fall Live Auction of Important Canadian was a triumph. We look forward to the Spring Auction and connecting further with the Canadian Art community.
Cowley Abbott’s Fall Live Auction of Important Canadian Art, November 22, features important artworks by Jack Bush, Jean Paul Riopelle, Lawren Harris and William Kurelek, among many other Canadian masters.
Toronto, ON (November 1, 2021) – As the Canadian art market continues to experience overwhelming interest and activity, with the highest level of collector engagement in more than a decade, art auction house Cowley Abbott is returning to a live in-person auction event, the first in more than a year due to the pandemic. Cowley Abbott’s Fall Live Auction of Important Canadian Art takes place on Monday, November 22 at 7pm ET at the Four Seasons Hotel, 60 Yorkville Avenue, Toronto, and offers a hybrid of in-person, absentee, and real-time online and phone bidding.
In June, Cowley Abbott’s Spring Live Auction of Important Canadian Art saw a staggering 96 per cent of artworks sold, with two-thirds of the works exceeding the high-end of pre-auction expectation with active global bidding participation welcomed via absentee, telephone and real-time online bidding. The upcoming fall auction is also drawing significant pre-sale interest, with a registration list for limited in-person bidding.
“The pandemic has
influenced a boom in the Canadian art market at auction. As collectors continue
to spend more time at home, they are choosing to update and beautify their
surroundings; while some are parting with rare and quality works of art that
they have considered selling for years to make room for new work and still others
are looking to art as a more active part of their investment portfolio,” said
Rob Cowley, Canadian art specialist and President of Cowley Abbott. “It has led
to many important and rare works being presented at auction and contributed to driving
record-setting sales while countless individuals engage actively in their
passion to collect.”
Among the Fall Auction highlights is Jack Bush’s Purple, Lime, Brown (1965) (auction estimate: $350,000 – $550,000), owned for decades by beloved singer and variety show host Andy Williams and his wife Deborah. The painting is an excellent example of Bush’s best work in oil and is from a significant period in his career. It was created the same year, and is of similar importance and quality to Bush’s Column on Browns, a canvas that set an artist record at auction, selling for $870,000 at Cowley Abbott in fall 2020. Purple, Lime, Brown is expected to attract similar interest from collectors.
Purple, Lime, Brown debuted to the public
in 1965 during Bush’s first solo European exhibition at London’s Waddington
Galleries. That year, Bush took a hiatus from showing in Canada to make a
strong first impression overseas, reserving nine of his best paintings from
1964 and early 1965.
After Williams passed away in 2012, four significant Bush paintings from
their collection went up for auction in 2013, however the estate held on to Purple,
Lime, Brown until March 2021, when it was sold at auction in New York. With
pandemic travel restrictions in place, and prioritizing safety, the painting
could not be examined in person by the artist’s estate prior to the New York sale,
leading to the painting being offered without its title, concrete date and
confirmation of its history.
The painting returned to Canada, after 56 years abroad, where upon inspection with the painting removed from its stretcher, the artist’s inscription of title and date were revealed and its history fully researched and confirmed by the estate of Jack Bush, establishing the painting as Purple, Lime, Brown, an important 1965 work by the celebrated colour-field painter.
While the primary market for works by Canadian artists is in Canada, Cowley Abbott has seen a spike in global interest. This auction features several important Canadian works from global collections that could find a new home back in Canada.
Drawing pre-sale attention is an important work by celebrated artist Jean Paul Riopelle. Painted while the artist lived abroad, Sans titre (circa 1959) (auction estimate: $300,000 – $500,000) has primarily been owned outside of Canada by collectors, galleries and auction houses in New York and London. The painting makes its Canadian auction debut with Cowley Abbott this season. A rare depiction of the Quebec landscape, Lawren Harris’ Near Métis, Quebec is appearing for the first time at auction this season, the charming composition already drawing bidder interest from across Canada.William Kurelek, Behold Man Without God (#3)(auction estimate: $60,000 – $80,000) is a well-known image for the artist, as versions of this painting currently hang in the Art Gallery of Ontario and the Winnipeg Art Gallery. It is a highly personal and dark portrait of human hypocrisy, with a title that gestures toward religious redemption that signals a harrowing and transformative moment in his life.
When Kurelek created multiple versions of a painting, it underlined his valuation of the message. However, his replicated work tended to be bucolic Prairie landscapes coveted by collectors. He rarely reprised scenes of devastation and violence, or paintings that emphasized his devout Roman Catholic worldview. In this regard, the Behold Man Without God series is remarkable. Consigned from a New Jersey collection. Molly Lamb Bobak’s, Beach Crowd(auction estimate: $40,000 – $60,000) is a prime example of the artist’s lively crowd scenes, her most celebrated subject, and could break the artist’s record at auction (Highland Games, Frederictonestablished the artist record in 2019, selling for $100,300 at Cowley Abbott). Beach Crowd comes from a private collection in Boston. Kim Dorland’s, Alley, (auction estimate: $25,000 – $30,000) was painted in 2006, when Dorland had solidified his artistic style and was beginning to see significant success in the gallery world.The scene, with graffiti on the garage door, recalls the gritty, working-class environment Dorland grew up in and challenges the conventional notion of the romantic Canadian landscape. Cowley Abbott set the auction record for the contemporary painter’s work in spring 2021 with Green Tree Blue Treefetching $66,000. Interest in Alley (which has been exhibited in shows and reproduced in publications related to Dorland’s career) is already receiving strong interest to potentially challenge the high-mark. From a New York City collection. Cornelius Krieghoff’s Ladies and Habitant Sleighing in Winter (auction estimate: $25,000 – $35,000) exhibits the hallmarks of a classic snowy landscape by the artist. A highly sought-after subject matter, the winter sleighing scene was one Krieghoff returned to often and continues to be a coveted token of early Canadian art, culture, and life. From a collection in Arizona. Frederick Verner painted Elk Browsing(auction estimate: $30,000 – $40,000) when he was at the height of his career in 1888. This oil on canvas reflects his confidence in broadening the range of subject matter for his art, and was a departure from his depictions of buffalo and First Nations peoples, for which he was renowned. From a California collection and a descendant of Henry Winnett – who was a well-known hotelier in Toronto, London and Niagara in the late 1800s/early 1900s. The influence of the Group of Seven and Lawren Harris is evident in Reflections in the Melt Water (auction estimate: $12,000 – $15,000) by Doris McCarthy, signified by the stripped back arctic landscape emphasized by simple abstract shapes. C onsigned from a collector in Nebraska.
For more highlights, an online catalogue and an interactive virtual preview, please visit CowleyAbbott.ca. Located across the street from the Art Gallery of Ontario on Dundas St. West in Toronto, Cowley Abbott is open to the public by appointment, allowing collectors to view artwork on offer in the gallery. Offering more previewing hours than any other major auction house this season, public viewing of the fall auction is open Monday to Saturday (and Sunday, November 21st) until the sale day on November 22nd.
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); and a celebrated depiction of Kensington Market by William Kurelek (Hot Day in Kensington Market, sold for $472,000). Their inaugural live auction in May 2016 set the record for the highest-selling Algoma sketch by Lawren Harris, fetching $977,500, tripling the previous auction record. Their Fall 2020 virtual live auction set a new artist record for Jack Bush with Columns on Brown selling for $870,000 with their Spring 2021 virtual live auction witnessing an unprecedented 96% of artworks sold.
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. Preliminary auction assessments are offered
on a complimentary and confidential basis with no further obligation.
Cowley Abbott’s 2021 Fall Live Auction of
Important Canadian Art presents strong examples of Quebec post-war abstract
painting, by artists who took varying approaches to gestural and hard-edge
styles within a thriving and groundbreaking art scene.
Canada’s breakthrough into abstraction largely
began in Montréal in the 1940s. Two avant-garde artistic groups came to
dominate the Quebec art scene: les Automatistes, formed in the mid-1940s who
shared an interest in gestural abstract painting inspired by the surrealist
practice of automatic writing and drawing, and the Plasticiens, a hard-edge
abstraction movement formed in 1954 by a group of artists who sought a return
to order and control.
The catalogue cover lot, Sans titre (circa 1959) (pictured above) is a masterpiece by Jean Paul Riopelle, one of Canada’s most celebrated artists. The oil on canvas contains energetic brushstrokes that are at once controlled and spontaneous. Riopelle was a prominent member of Les Automatistes and signatory of the 1948 manifesto Refus Global, until he moved to France in 1947. There, he became acquainted with André Breton and the Surrealist circle. After many exhibitions and an active artistic production, including Sans titre (circa 1959), Riopelle returned to Québec in 1972.
Marcel Barbeau, Rétine Ying Yang
Rétine Ying Yang by Marcel Barbeau is a bold and mesmerizing black and white abstract canvas. A fellow member of Les Automatistes, Barbeau was also influenced by post-war abstract movements in France, and his travels in Europe and the United States. These experiences helped him form a distinct and more international style of abstract painting. Rétine Ying Yang is aligned in formalist concerns with Op Art, an extension of hard-edge painting characterized by lines, shapes and movement that appear to the viewer as a result of optical illusions. The painting was completed in 1966, while Barbeau was living in New York City and exhibiting with the American Op Art School.
Jean McEwen, Suite des pays vastes
Born in 1923, Jean McEwen trained as a pharmacist at the University of Montreal and wrote poetry for Québec based literary journals. As a self-taught artist, he was most interested in the feelings that paintings gave him and the exploration of colour and light. McEwen was mentored by Automatiste artist Paul Émilie Borduas in the early 1950s and traveled to Paris for a year to study with Jean Paul Riopelle. Following his European sojourn, the artist adopted a style that loosely combined French Impressionists as well as American Abstract Expressionism. Suite des pays vastes, dating to 1972, embodies McEwen’s signature style of large, open areas of layered and softly-applied colour, creating complex and moody compositions.
Rita Letendre, WYKI
As one of the few women artists at the centre of abstract art in Canada, Rita Letendre holds an important position in Canadian art history, having produced some of the most innovative examples of post-war art. She is an example of a painter who fluctuated between gestural and hard-edge abstraction throughout her prolific career. WYKI, dating to 1975, explores her fascination with depicting speed and vibration. The use of the airbrush technique, combined with sharp wedges or arrows that cut across the image plane, was characteristic of her large canvases from the decade.
Jacques Hurtubise, Rose Slush
Jacques Hurtubise attended the École des beaux-arts de Montréal until 1960, when a grant enabled the young painter to spend nine months in New York. There, he became enamored with the spontaneous and gestural painting of the Abstract Expressionists, such as De Kooning and Pollock. Hurtubise divided his time between Montreal and New York for much of the 1960s, as he developed his unique style that straddled painterliness and hard-edge painting throughout his career. Rose Slush contains Hurtubise’s signature ‘gestural splash’ forms, during the 1980s when he was exploring the theme of symmetry.
These five abstract paintings in the November 22nd auction serve as fantastic examples of the varying and converging directions taken by Quebec’s avant-garde artists in the post-war era. Of course, the sale also includes numerous other important works of art on offer, by historical, Group of Seven, abstract and realist, Indigenous and contemporary artists. The complete catalogue of artworks included in the Fall Live Auction of Important Canadian Art can be found by following this link. For more information on the sale, to book a private preview appointment, and for information on our consignment process, please contact us at info@cowleyabbott.ca.
Cowley Abbott, A Leader in the Canadian Auction Industry, Continues to Realize Strong Results for Canadian Historical, Post-War and Contemporary Art at Auction
The Cowley Abbott Fall Auction of Important Canadian Art on December 3rd was a resounding success, attaining excellent results and connecting collectors with superior artworks by renowned Canadian artists representing the country from coast to coast. In several instances, collectors participating over the telephone and online drove bidding to record levels, leading to the unprecedented values reached for select works by celebrated Canadian historical, post-war and contemporary artists.
Jack Bush, Column on Browns (1965) Price Realized: $870,000 (Auction Record)
A monumental masterwork by Jack Bush, Column on Browns, made its auction debut, soaring to a new world auction record of $870,000, after spirited bidding took place over multiple platforms. This captivating canvas was featured in major international exhibitions, including “Colorists 1950-1965” at the San Francisco Museum of Art and the Sao Paulo IX Biennial in 1967. The commanding work from Bush’s golden period of the mid-1960s was met with much admiration and excitement from the moment of the publication of the catalogue and is a remarkable addition to any discerning art collection.
Jack Bush, Summer Gone (1976) Price Realized: $90,000
The auction house was delighted to be entrusted with another seminal work by Jack Bush, Summer Gone, the first triangle-shaped canvas executed by the artist as part of a series of shaped canvases in August 1976. The shape of Summer Gone is an irregular triangle with different lengths on all three sides, allowing Bush freedom from the restrictions of the traditional picture plane. Bush only created four triangle paintings, with this rare canvas selling for $90,000.
Cowley Abbott was again delighted to offer numerous works by accomplished Canadian female artists, many of which garnered energetic bidding during the Fall Auction, notably Emily Carr’s Forest Glade (Dark Glade), reaching $216,000. This painting radiates with compositional energy, eloquently capturing Carr’s deep connection to the wild, untamed beauty of the forest. Rita Letendre, an electric and dazzling painter, demanded attention with three works by the celebrated artist selling well overestimate. Untitled reached $28,000 and Manotik sold for $20,400 – airbrushed compositions of forceful chevrons and diagonal bands of exploding colours, both from the most celebrated period of Letendre’s artistic oeuvre. Dorothy Knowles, a beloved Saskatchewan painter, saw reward with the enigmatic canvases, The Noon Sun ($7,000) and Bright Weeds ($26,400).
Tom Hodgson Non Objective, Bluish Price Realized: $60,000 (Auction Record)
Further records were smashed in the December 3rd evening auction, with appreciation shown for Painter’s Eleven’s artist, Tom Hodgson. An energized, abstract masterpiece, Non Objective (Bluish), found a new home selling for $60,000, an auction record for the multitalented painter and athlete. Fellow member of the Painter’s Eleven abstract artist’s collective, Ray Mead, was much sought after in the lead-up to the auction, with Untitled, a 1959 painting fetching $15,600.
Attention for historical Canadian art was strong, as Surf, Barbados, B.W.I by J.E.H. MacDonald commanded a final value of $21,600 and a dynamic, yet diminutive oil on board by J.W. Morrice, Coast, Brittany, sold for $45,600. Rain on the River (Morning on the River) by David Milne, a favourite artist amongst collectors, achieved $40,800. Ungava Bay by A.Y. Jackson, a sketch for a canvas in the collection of Hart House, hammered down at $48,000, representing the artist’s vision and connection to the Arctic landscape. Another success in the historical realm was Martello Tower, Montreal by Ethel Seath, selling for $24,000.
Cowley Abbott was entrusted with a painting by the esteemed artist and physician, Sir Frederick Grant Banting. 2021 marks the centenary of the discovery of insulin by Banting, a momentous discovery that changed the lives of millions of people and for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1923. Island, French River, Ontario, suffused with colour, light and shadow, sold for $31,200, a brilliant result for this historical Canadian figure.
Alex Janvier, Shoreline Existence Price Realized: $31,200 (Auction Record)
A founding member of the Professional Native Indian Artists, established in 1973, Dene and Anishinaabe (Salteaux) artist Alex Janvier of Cold Lake, Alberta, was an integral component of the auction. Shoreline Existence, a striking acrylic on canvas, set a new auction record at $31,200 after competitive bidding.
Three automatic works by Jock Macdonald executed in 1947 well exceeded their pre-sale estimates with vigorous telephone bidding the night of the auction. Untitled (Two Creatures) sold for $6,600, Prehistoric World for $10,200 and New Fruit for $7,800.
Jean Paul Riopelle, Dieppes (1965) Price Realized: $130,500
A prominent member of the Automatistes, Jean Paul Riopelle’s Dieppes (1966) sold for $130,500, while his small but mighty painting, Sans titre, 1970, had collectors clambering, achieving a final selling price of $52,800. The works of Ted Harrison were again met with avid interest – Yukon Priest selling for $19,200 and The Walk finding a buyer at $10,200.
The impressive results of the Fall Auction of Important Canadian Art are due to the active participation of both new and old bidders alike, as well as the unwavering support of the Canadian art community. We extend our sincere gratitude to the clients, bidders and buyers who helped to ensure that our Fall Live Auction was a triumph.
A.Y. Jackson, Ungava Bay Price Realized: $48,000
The new year begins with an exciting season of online auctions, offering a wide range of artwork for all levels of collectors. The team at Cowley Abbott is already hard at work preparing the tremendous offerings to be presented in the Spring Live Auction of Important Canadian Art and we greatly look forward to sharing the catalogue in the coming months. Cowley Abbott is currently accepting consignments for its upcoming auctions and if you feel our firm can be of service, we would be pleased to provide a complimentary and confidential consultation. Please contact our specialists at 1-866-931-8415 or mail@cowleyabbott.ca
