Tag: Lawren Harris

  • Harris, Milne, Tousignant & Perehudoff Highlight Spring Live Auction

    David Milne, Soft Hills (Misty Hill) (Boston Corners, N.Y.)

    Related work to Harris’ Record-Breaking Algoma sketch hits the Block with Masterworks by David Milne & Claude Tousignant debuting at Consignor Canadian Fine Art’s Spring Live Auction on May 28

    May 1, 2019 (Toronto, ON) – Lawren Harris rarely repeated subject matter, but the familiar depiction of Algoma, an island of tall trees, was a pivotal scene for the renowned Canadian artist, serving as the focus of several large-scale canvases. In 2016, Consignor Canadian Fine Art’s inaugural live auction event set the record for the highest-selling sketch of the Algoma region by Lawren Harris, fetching $977,500, tripling the previous auction record. Now, two new Harris sketches of the area will go on the auction block at Consignor’s Spring Live Auction of Important Canadian Art, taking place May 28 (7pm) at Toronto’s Gardiner Museum.

    Algoma Sketch XCII (Algoma Autumn), painted in 1920, marks an important place in Canadian art history, portraying the region where the Group of Seven embarked on their first sketching trips as an official association. The colourful oil sketch depicting a densely populated forest scene is being offered with an auction estimate of $150,000 to $250,000.

    Another of Harris’ works, Algoma, is a graphite drawing depicting the familiar island scene and serves as a related work for major canvases by the artist, including paintings at the Vancouver Art Gallery and the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. The graphite sketch has an estimated value of $15,000 to $20,000 but could exceed expectations based on the strong past performance at Consignor’s auctions of Harris’ graphite studies including the sale of Lake Superior in 2017 for $161,000, a record for a Harris work in this medium.

    “Lawren Harris’ work continues to captivate collectors and art enthusiasts across Canada and beyond our borders, and we are already witnessing a great deal of interest and excitement for the two Harris artworks included in our upcoming auction,” said Rob Cowley, President of Consignor Canadian Fine Art. “No matter the medium, Harris’ Algoma compositions are a fascinating display of the region and his development as one of our Canada’s most renowned artists. We are proud to have achieved record-breaking results for Harris’ work in oil and graphite over the past few years and are pleased to offer two works connected to such a pivotal area and period for Harris and the Group.”

    David Milne’s Soft Hills (Misty Hills) (Boston Corners, N.Y.), a masterful watercolour painted by the artist in 1917 also appears for the first time at auction at the May 28th evening sale. Composed shortly after Milne and his family moved to the small village of Boston Corners, watercolours from the region are considered to be some of Milne’s most iconic, this stunning work a perfect example, on offer with an auction estimate of $40,000 to 60,000.

    Other notable artworks featured in Consignor’s Spring Live Auction include:

    • Claude Tousignant, Absurdo (1964), 72” x 72”, a mesmerizing canvas by the celebrated Quebec abstractionist, recently on view at Calgary’s Mount Royal University (auction estimate $60,000 to 80,000)
    • William Perehudoff, AC-69-29 (1969), 63.5″ x 87.75″, a quintessential Colour-Field canvas, showcasing the unique voice of the Prairies abstract master.
    • William Kurelek, Tale of a Dog, 13.25” x 1.25”, mixed media on board, was gift from Kurelek to its current owner, a fellow framer and friend, is offered up for sale for the first time (auction estimate $7,000 to $9,000)
    • Tom Thomson, Road Near Leith, 8.25″ x 13.5″, a rare and early canvas by the famed Canadian landscape painter, depicting the area near his childhood home.

    The auction includes strong examples by many of Canada’s most important historical artists including the Group of Seven (A.Y. Jackson, J.E.H. MacDonald, Frederick Varley, Franklin Carmichael, Frank Johnston and Edwin Holgate), M.A. Suzor-Coté, and Robert Pilot, as well as renowned post-war and contemporary Canadian painters such as Jack Bush, Harold Town, Walter Yarwood, Ray Mead, Rita Letendre, Guido Molinari, Ken Lochhead, Sorel Etrog, Bill Reid, Robert Bateman, Maud Lewis and Joe Fafard, among others.

    Live previews are currently taking place at the Consignor Canadian Fine Art Gallery located at 326 Dundas Street West and viewable at consignor.ca. Consignor’s Spring Live Auction of Important Canadian Art will take place on Tuesday, May 28, 2019 at 7pm at the Gardiner Museum located at 111 Queen’s Park, Toronto, ON. The auction’s second session will be held online, with more than 150 works of art available for bidding between May 22 to June 5, 2019.

  • 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.

  • 2017 In Review: A Year of Continued Success

    As we reflect on the past year, Consignor Canadian Fine Art wishes to extend our sincere appreciation to our clients and the Canadian art community for its continued support and participation throughout a momentous and record-breaking 2017.

    On November 23rd, Consignor held its Fall Live Auction of Important Canadian Art, the second of our semi-annual live auctions taking place at the Gardiner Museum. The sale presented a strong and well-rounded selection of artworks spanning across Canadian art history. Compositions by historical artists from Cornelius Krieghoff to the Group of Seven and the Beaver Hall Group were well represented in the sale. The auction also featured abstract paintings by members of post-war movements, including the Automatistes and Painters Eleven, as well as works by east coast realist painters and contemporary Canadian artists.  Continue Reading…

  • Lawren Harris Record Smashed during Strong Consignor Fall Live Auction

    Lawren Harris, Lake SuperiorLake Superior Fetches $161,100, Almost Tripling Previous Auction Record for a Work on Paper by the Group of Seven Artist

    (Toronto – November 23, 2017) – The preparatory work for of one of Lawren Harris’ most renowned canvases, Lake Superior (I.D. 463) sold for nearly five times its auction value setting a new record for a pencil sketch by the Group of Seven artist, fetching $161,000 (significantly above its pre-estimate of $20,000 – $30,000; all prices include a 15 per cent buyer’s premium, the lowest in the industry). The sketch made its auction debut last night at Consignor Canadian Fine Art’s live auction event in Toronto, smashing the previous record for a Harris sketch of $64,900. The exceptional quality of the sketchpad drawing, once owned by the painter’s wife, Bess Harris, along with its rarity and historical significance, helped to propel the bidding to achieve a new auction standard for a Harris work on paper.

    “Although we anticipated this exceptional work would garner significant interest, we’re thrilled to have achieved a new record result for this important piece of narrative in Harris’s creative process, particularly a sketch that is connected to one of his masterpieces,” said Rob Cowley, President of Consignor Canadian Fine Art. “Today’s results continue to illustrate Harris as one of our country’s most celebrated and iconic artists.”

    Another highlight of Consignor’s fall auction was a watercolour painted in 1911 by Emily Carr during her artistic training in France.  European Street Scene nearly doubled its opening bid to sell for $276,000 (including premium).  The painting was one of many notable works acquired this past summer during Consignor’s Art Roadshow that travelled to 10 cities from coast-to-coast, inviting the public to bring in works of art for valuation. European Street Scene emerged out of the firm’s visit to Calgary during the tour.

    Solid auction results were also achieved for the following works collected from across Canada:

    • A.J. Casson, Bridge Over Humber River, one of the first outdoor sketches by the artist, sold for $32,200, exceeding its pre-sale high estimate. Consigned from a collector in British Columbia.
    • Alex Colville, Recording Line Zero, Near Nijmegen, a rare war-period watercolour fetched $34,500, one of the highest prices ever achieved for a work on paper by the artist. Secured from a collection in New Brunswick.
    • Three Black Cats by Maud Lewis, the most popular subject by the East Coast artist, fetched $20,700 (doubling its opening bid, $10,000 – $15,000). This was another work discovered during Consignor’s Art Roadshow in Ottawa. The painting, inherited from the owner’s mother, was tucked away in the family’s basement for decades. It was secured during Consignor’s summer travels when a friend had alerted the owner to the possibility she owned a popular and valuable Maud Lewis work, after seeing a similar painting in the news that was sold by Consignor in the spring for $36,800 (an auction record for the artist). It was a tremendous evening for the work of Maud Lewis, with all seven works on offer achieving prices in excess of the high-end of pre-sale expectation and one rare, large-scale painting, Team of Oxen Ploughing, selling for $32,200, within reach of Consignor’s existing auction record for the painter.

    Post-War and Contemporary selections attracted fierce bidding throughout the evening auction, with many works achieving prices at or above pre-auction estimates.

    Featured on the front cover of the Fall Auction catalogue, Michael Snow‘s 1958 canvas Off Minor attracted strong bidding on Thursday evening, the rare painting selling for $57,500, at the high end of expectation. The painting had been held in a single Toronto collection for decades following its creation, the Consignor auction its first opportunity for acquisition since the late 1950s.

    Consignor Vice President and Senior Specialist Lydia Abbott shared, “We are thrilled with the performance of our catalogue cover lot by Michael Snow, a result which underscores collector’s interest in the period of the artist’s career as well as the significance of the period in Canadian art history.”

    Two works by Prairies painter William Kurelek captivated collectors during Consignor’s month-long previews, leading to feverish competition within the auction gallery, Arrived Too Early achieving $29,900 (just short of doubling its estimate) and I Hate Water (A Cat’s Loss of Dignity), portraying a feline’s unexpected dip in a pond, selling for $25,300 (exceeding the high-end of expectation).

    Saskatchewan painter William Perehudoff‘s canvases proved to be in demand during the evening, AC-78-20 nearly doubled its opening bid to sell for $27,600, while Arcturus #32 was hammered down at $14,950, to more than double its opening bid after a battle in the auction gallery.

    Consignor Canadian Fine Art closes their fall sale with a November/December Online Auction (with bidding open between November 29th and December 6th). The firm has already begun collecting for their 2018 auctions, including the Spring Live Auction of Important Canadian Art, scheduled to take place in late May (date to be announced).

  • Consignor’s Fall Live Auction & the Story of Abstract Art in Canada

    William Perehudoff, AC-78-20
    William Perehudoff, AC-78-20

    Auction Showcases Important Non-Figurative Works in Canadian Art History

    Consignor’s Fall Live Auction of Canadian Art presents an impressive selection of abstract painting from artists across the country and through the decades. Early ventures into abstraction in Canada occurred in the 1920s and 1930s, although they were sporadic and inconsistent. These artists, notably Kathleen Munn, Bertram Brooker, Lawren Harris and Jock MacDonald, were heavily influenced by European artistic movements, namely Cubism, Surrealism and Symbolism. An examination of the abstract works in Consignor’s November sale can help illustrate the story of how abstraction emerged and developed throughout Canada in the following decades.

    Jean Paul Riopelle, Sans Titre (1946)In the 1940s, Montreal gave rise to the highly-influential Automatistes, Canada’s first avant-garde art movement. Under the leadership of Paul-Émile Borduas, a group of young artists rebelled against their artistically conservative and politically and religiously repressive province. They strove for creative spontaneity, free from academic rules.

    After reading André Breton’s “Le Surréalisme et la peinture” in 1945, Jean-Paul Riopelle was inspired to break away from tradition to pursue non-representational painting. The young artist created several small watercolours in the next two years, consisting of web-like black lines, inspired by Surrealism and Breton’s automatic writing techniques, such as Sans titre of 1946, lot 6 in Consignor’s November sale.

    Marcelle Ferron, Sans Titre (1949)Another member of the Automatistes, Marcelle Ferron was encouraged by Borduas to abandon landscape painting in favour of a more radical abstraction. From 1946 to 1953, Ferron preferred a ‘sgraffito’ technique, applying multiple layers of pigment and scraping away between applications with a palette knife. This signature approach of Ferron is exemplified in the colourful layers of paint in Sans titre (1949), lot 101 in the Live Auction.

    Harold Town, Clandeboy RepriseIn the following decade abstraction spread across Canada. Toronto exploded as an art centre in the 1950s, largely influenced by the Abstract Expressionists in New York. Harold Town was a founder and member of the Painters Eleven, a group of Toronto abstract artists that exhibited together during the 1950s. Rich colour and thick paint application, as exemplified in Clandeboy Reprise (1959), lot 71, are characteristic of Town’s approach to abstraction, inspired by the New York School.

    Michael Snow, Off Minor (1958)Contemporary artist Michael Snow exhibited in Toronto in the mid-to-late 1950s at the Greenwich Gallery. Though today he is known as a pioneer of conceptualist and multimedia art throughout the world, Snow’s work of these years were also heavily influenced by American abstract artists such as De Kooning, Kline, and Rothko. Off Minor (1958), lot 25 in Consignor’s November auction, exemplifies Snow’s affiliation with avant-garde abstract movements at the time, shortly prior to creating his famous Walking Woman Works.

    A notable and influential group of Canadian abstract artists formed in Regina in the 1960s, known as the Regina Five. Founding member Ron Bloore was instrumental in starting the Emma Lake workshops as a way for practising artists to break from the artistic isolation they felt in the prairies. As a professor of art history and archaeology, the influence of archeological excavation and ancient civilizations worked their way into Bloore’s painting.The monochromatic palette of Untitled, lot 86, references the white marble buildings and sculptures of ancient Greece and the Classical period.

    Ron Bloore, UntitledDuring the Emma Lake Artists’ Workshops held in 1962-63, Saskatchewan artist William Perehudoff was introduced to Post-Painterly Abstraction by art critic Clement Greenberg and American artist Kenneth Noland. Many of the artist’s wide horizontal canvases of the mid-to-late 1970s are composed of vibrant parallel bands of colour, such as AC-78-20, lot 11 in the live auction. The effect of the flat plains and open skies that are so dramatically present throughout Saskatchewan is often detectable in Perehudoff’s work – AC-78-20 may be evocative of a prairie sunset.

    Jack Shadbolt, Sea Edge 5

    Jack Shadbolt was an innovative and dominant figure in the Vancouver art scene beginning in the 1940s. Shadbolt drew from many sources of inspiration, including Cubism, Surrealism, American Regionalism and Northwest Coast art. The artist met Emily Carr in 1930 while attending Victoria College. Carr left a strong impression on Shadbolt’s life and work; they were both inspired by the spiritual unity with nature that is apparent in Northwest Coast art. Sea Edge 5 (1978), lot 9, is exemplary of Jack Shadbolt’s bold and colourful work of the late seventies. Sea Edge 5 serves as part of a series on the theme of abstracted seascapes, and Contexts: Variations on Primavera Theme, lot 10, is one of 15 hand-painted posters of the ‘primavera’ theme, which together form a mosaic-like mural.

    Leon Bellefleur, RituelAbstract painting in Canada has continued to evolve through a multitude of approaches in the 1970s, 80s and through to today. Lot 8, Rituel, by Léon Bellefleur, Lot 31, Spring Yellows – B by Gershon Iskowitz, and Lot 103, Les feuilles d’un astre by Jean-Paul Jérôme, among many other non-figurative artworks in Consignor’s Fall Live Auction, demonstrate the enduring development of unique abstract styles throughout the country, from the ‘gestural’ to the ‘hard-edge’. Visit our gallery and view the full catalogue on the Consignor website for more artworks and details regarding the Fall Live Auction of Important Canadian Art on November 23rd at the Gardiner Museum.