Tag: press release

  • Rare Lawren Harris Pencil Sketch Featured in Consignor Fall Live Auction

    (L to R) Lawren Harris, Lake Superior; Emily Carr, European Street Scene; Mary Pratt, Baking Bread; Michael Snow, Off Minor
    (L to R) Lawren Harris, Lake Superior; Emily Carr, European Scene; Mary Pratt, Baking Bread; Michael Snow, Off Minor

    From Charlottetown to Vancouver, Consignor’s National Travels Yield Notable Works by Emily Carr, Mary Pratt & Alex Colville to be offered on November 23rd

    (Toronto – November 1, 2017) – Behind many masterpieces, there is a sketch that formulates the artist’s ideas and vision. Consignor Canadian Fine Art announces its fall semi-annual auction highlights that will include a rare pencil sketch by Lawren Harris, the preparatory work for of one of his most renowned canvases, Lake Superior, which currently hangs in the Thomson collection in the Art Gallery of Ontario. The sketch, once owned by his wife Bess Harris, carries an auction estimate valued at $20,000 – $30,000; however, its rarity and significance as the precursor to a major canvas could challenge the record for a pencil sketch by the Group of Seven artist. It debuts on the auction block at Consignor’s live auction event taking place Thursday, November 23, 2017at the Gardiner Museum in Toronto.

    “The significance of pencil sketching to Lawren Harris is well known,” says Rob Cowley, President of Consignor. “His pad of paper and pencil were just as important as the oils and brushes he carried on sketching trips. We’re thrilled to have acquired this important piece of narrative in Harris’s creative process, particularly a sketch that is connected to one of his most renowned works. It is a stunning work and we expect lively bidding when it reaches the block on the 23rd.”

    Fellow artist and close friend of Harris, Yvonne McKague Housser quoted the below about the artist’s process in graphite:  “His drawings are a key which open the door to what he was thinking and painting… The drawings were important as an introduction, to clarify his mind before he started a painting.”

    This past summer, Consignor set out on a 10-city Art Roadshow travelling from the Maritimes to Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Calgary, Winnipeg, Regina and Vancouver, inviting the public to consult with their specialists regarding works of art for valuation. It was during the tour that Consignor discovered some of its most unique offerings and exceptional works including the Lake Superior sketch. Other highlights from the tour, which will be offered at Consignor’s Fall Auction of Important Canadian Art include:

    Featured on the cover of the Consignor fall auction catalogue is a 1958 canvas by Michael Snow titled Off Minor, being offered for the first time at auction with an estimated value of $40,000 – $60,000. The abstract painting, which measures 60” X 36”, was privately owned by Joseph Gladstone, the brother of Toronto artist Gerald Gladstone, and has not been seen at auction until now.

    Live previews are ongoing at the Consignor Canadian Fine Art Gallery located at 326 Dundas Street W. and viewable at consignor.ca. Consignor’s Fall Live Auction of Important Canadian Art event will take place on Thursday, November 23, 7:00pm at the Gardiner Museum located at 111 Queen’s Park, Toronto, ON.

  • Franklin Carmichael Masterpiece Featured in Spring Live Auction

    Franklin Carmichael, Old Orchard (1940)

    (Toronto – May 2, 2017) Two celebrated artworks by Group of Seven painter Franklin Carmichael are the centerpiece to Consignor Canadian Fine Art’s upcoming Spring Live Auction of Important Canadian Art taking place May 25th at the Gardiner Museum, Toronto. A large-scale oil painting, Old Orchard (1940), will make its auction debut having been privately owned by the family of Herbert Laurence Rous, founder of the renown Rous and Mann printing studio where many of the Group of Seven artists began their careers.

    The iconic image depicting a neighbour’s orchard, painted from the view of his studio in present-day North York, Ontario, was used as the catalogue cover for Carmichael’s memorial exhibition at the Art Gallery of Toronto (now the AGO) and the Summer 1947 issue of Canadian Art Magazine, following his death. This will be the first time Old Orchard will be on the auction block (estimated between $500,000 – $700,000); however, given its significance, quality and rarity, the artwork is expected to challenge the current record for a Carmichael painting (Frood Lake sold at auction in December, 2002, for $915,000 including buyer’s premium).

    As the youngest original member of the Group of Seven, Carmichael is also considered one of Canada’s most renowned watercolourists of the twentieth century. Consignor’s auction also includes a stunning watercolour, The Bay of Islands (1929) estimated at $150,000 – $200,000, a sister version of Carmichael’s Bay of Islands that is part of the Art Gallery of Ontario’s permanent collection.

    “Franklin Carmichael’s accomplishments in oil and watercolour are recognized as some of the greatest work produced by the Group of Seven. Both Old Orchard and The Bay of Islands illustrate Carmichael’s mastery of the two media, setting him apart as one of Canada’s preeminent painters,” says Rob Cowley, President of Consignor Canadian Fine Art. “Old Orchard has stood as an example of Carmichael’s best work through its exhibition history over the past 80 years, and we are very excited to be hosting this major work at auction for the first time.”

    Consignor’s Spring auction will also offer two important works by Tom Thomson painted in his early career. A modestly-sized oil on canvas, Road Near Leith (1908), estimated between $100,000 to $150,000, was painted at the start of the decade which would see his transformation into one of Canada’s greatest painters; and Fallen Timber (Algonquin) (1912), estimated at $150,000 – $200,000, was painted the first year that Thomson visited Algonquin Park where his most iconic works would be created, and ironically the site of his untimely death in 1917, exactly 100 years ago this July.

    “It’s an incredible time for Canadian art as we celebrate our country’s sesquicentennial, alongside unprecedented growth and global attention for painters such as Tom Thomson, Lawren Harris and the Group of Seven and now a feature film about Maud Lewis’s life — combining to reinvigorate the public’s fascination and appreciation for Canadian artists,” says Lydia Abbott, Vice President, Consignor Canadian Fine Art. “The Spring auction features artwork that spans the entire 150 years of Canada’s history and presents a rich narrative of our cultural fabric.”

    Other notable Canadian works of art that will be highlighted in Consignor’s live Spring auction include:

    • A.Y. Jackson, Madawaska, 20” x 26” oil on canvas (auction estimate $60,000-$80,000)
    • David Blackwood, Fire Down on the Labrador, the artist’s most popular print (auction estimate $25,000-$30,000)
    • Lawren Harris, Snow-Covered Trees, 1929 gouache (auction estimate $15,000-$18,000)
    • Edwin Holgate, Autumn Leaves, 17” x 21” oil on canvas (auction estimate $90,000-120,000)

    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 Thursday, May 25th, 2017 at the Gardiner Museum located at 111 Queen’s Park, Toronto.

    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). Most recently, 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 7-14, 2017. Consignor 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 Consignor’s specialists at 1-866-931-8415 or info@cowleyabbott.ca.

  • Important Sketch by J.E.H. MacDonald Marks Early Example of Budding Friendship with Lawren Harris

    Tom Thomson, Jean Paul Riopelle, and a well-known work by Jock MacDonald Featured at Consignor’s Fall Live Auction on November 22nd

    (Toronto – November 7, 2016) – Following Consignor Canadian Fine Art’s highly successful live auction debut in May 2016 (that included a record-breaking sale of Lawren Harris’s Algoma Sketch 48), the auction house launches its second live auction event featuring an exciting catalogue of important Canadian works, to be held at the historic Berkeley Church in downtown Toronto on November 22, 2016. A 1912 sketch by founding Group of Seven member and one of Canada’s most celebrated painters, J.E.H. MacDonald, Tracks and Traffic (auction estimate: $200,000 to $250,000), will anchor the auction.

    Tracks and Traffic is a sketch of the well-known canvas that is currently part of the Art Gallery of Ontario’s (AGO) collection, and was recently included in the Toronto showing of the Steve Martin-curated exhibition, The Idea of North: The Paintings of Lawren Harris. The work provides a glimpse of what the city of Toronto looked like over a century ago, and depicts a scene of the harbourfront neighbourhood at the intersection of Bathurst Street and Front Street during the industrial period.

    It is well known that MacDonald was one of Lawren Harris’s closest friends and the pair often painted together in Toronto. Tracks and Traffic was created just months after the two artists met in late 1911, and eight years before the formation of the Group of Seven. Harris also sketched this scene from another angle, suggesting that the friends could have been together during the painting expedition. If so, the sketch would mark one of the very first examples of members of the Group of Seven painting together.

    “We’re thrilled to follow up on the success of our inaugural live auction, with a strong offering of exemplary artworks by many of Canada’s most beloved artists,” said Rob Cowley, President of Consignor Canadian Fine Art. “The fall catalogue features many artworks hitting the auction block for the first time and we anticipate there will be a great appetite for these works among collectors.”

    Auction Debuts and Highlights:

    • DEBUT – An important canvas by Painters Eleven founding member Jock MacDonald, Daybreak from his Modality series (auction estimate: $70,000 to $90,000)
    • 1962 canvas by internationally celebrated Quebec painter, Jean Paul Riopelle, Forteresse (auction estimate: $140,000 to $180,000)
    • 1912 painting by Tom Thomson, Country Landscape with Stream (Huntsville) (auction estimate: $90,000 to $120,000)
    • DEBUT – Two works by Group of Seven member Franklin Carmichael, owned by a descendent of the artist. Bracken, Lansing oil on panel (auction estimate: $60,000 to $80,000); and a Carmichael watercolour, Forest Landscape (auction estimate: $40,000 to $60,000)
    • A large-scale painting by artist Ted Harrison, who passed away in 2015, The Grecian House (auction estimate: $45,000 to $60,000)
    • Several notable works by William Kurelek including the mixed media painting, Russian Thistles Migrating (auction estimate: $60,000 to $80,000); and Candy Floss Clouds, painted the year of his death (auction estimate: $30,000 to $40,000)
    • DEBUT – A charming 1907 painting of a mother and child by J.E.H. MacDonald titled A Hill Path, High Park (auction estimate: $20,000 to $30,000). The painting is believed to have been a gift from MacDonald to Albert H. Robson, a Canadian art author, historian and former VP of the Art Gallery of Toronto (now the AGO) more than a century ago. The painting, owned by the family of Albert H. Robson, is offered for sale for the first time. 
    • Four paintings by Group of Seven member A.J. Casson including Lumber Mill, 1935 (auction estimate: $35,000 to $45,000)
    • A large-scale work from Harold Town’s highly acclaimed Tyranny of the Corner series, the Hypothesis Set (auction estimate: $20,000 to $30,000)

    To preview the full catalogue online, go to www.consignor.ca. Live previews will take place until November 21 at the Consignor Canadian Fine Art Gallery located at 326 Dundas Street West. Consignor’s Fall Auction of Important Canadian Art will be held on Tuesday, November 22, 7:00 pm at the Berkeley Church, located at 315 Queen St. E. in Toronto, ON.

    Since its inception in 2013, Consignor’s auctions have included headline-grabbing and record-breaking works including Algoma Sketch 48, a rare Lawren Harris preparatory oil sketch that debuted on the auction block at Consignor’s inaugural live auction event in May 2016 and set the record for the highest-selling Algoma sketch ($977,500) by the artist at auction. Other highlights include a 100-year-old Tom Thomson portrait (Daydreaming, sold for $172,500) and an undiscovered William Kurelek (Ukrainian Proverb, sold for $41,400, well above its estimated value). Consignor’s offering of 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), and its June 2014 auction saw eight artists’ records broken.

    Consignor is also holding an online December Auction of Artwork, from December 7-14, 2016. Consignor 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 Consignor’s specialists at 1-866-931-8415 or info@cowleyabbott.ca. Consignor is currently accepting artwork for inclusion in its Spring 2017 auctions.

    Consignor Canadian Fine Art is a partnership between art auction veterans Rob Cowley, Lydia Abbott and Ryan Mayberry (Partner at Mayberry Fine Art and Founder of Consignor.ca). Cowley and Abbott became principals in the venture with Ryan Mayberry, taking Consignor.ca from its original form, as a branch of Mayberry Fine Art, to a separate company focusing on auctions of Canadian art.

  • Record Set For A Rare Harris Algoma Sketch at Consignor Inaugural Live Auction

    Algoma Sketch 48, a rare preparatory oil sketch by Lawren Harris debuted on the auction block at Consignor Canadian Fine Art’s inaugural live auction event tonight in Toronto, fetching $977,500 (significantly above its pre-estimate of $400,000 – $600,000; all prices includes a 15 per cent buyer’s premium, the lowest in the industry). The sale set the record for the highest-selling Algoma sketch by the artist at auction, tripling a previous Harris sketch, Herbert Lake Algoma, which sold for $304,000 in 2013.

    Harris painted Algoma Sketch 48 in 1919/1920 during the time when the Group of Seven officially formed as an association of painters. Consignor acquired the exceptional oil sketch from a private seller halfway across the globe in Australia, whose family originally acquired the work from the Toronto-based Mellors-Laing Galleries in 1940.

    “The value of this particular Harris piece stems from its rarity as an unknown preparatory work for four of the artist’s well-known large canvases,” said Consignor’s Managing Director Lydia Abbott. “That, combined with an increased interest in Harris’s artwork, made for a truly exceptional centerpiece for our Spring Auction of Important Canadian Art.”

    Two other Harris works also fared well at the auction: House, Toronto sold for $115,000 and Shacks sold for $103,500. Additional highlights include:

    “We are thrilled with the performance of our first-ever live auction”, said Rob Cowley, President of Consignor. “The success of the auction not only cements a new tradition for Consignor but also establishes Consignor’s role among Canada’s most notable art auction houses.”

    Since its inception in 2013, Consignor’s auctions have included headline-grabbing works such as a rare 100-year-old Tom Thomson portrait (Daydreaming, sold for $172,500) and an undiscovered William Kurelek (Ukrainian Proverb, sold for $41,400). Consignor’s offering of Jack Bush’s Summer Lake 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), and its June 2014 auction saw eight artists’ records broken.

    Press Coverage:

    CBC

    CTV

    Global News

    Toronto Star

    National Post

  • Important Harris Painting Resurfaces on the Art Market After Nearly 80 Years

    Lawren Harris, Algoma (Algoma Sketch 48)Harris Among Important Canadian Artists Highlighted in First-Ever Live Auction Event for Consignor Canadian Fine Art on May 31, 2016

    (Toronto – March 31, 2016) – An exceptional Lawren Harris oil sketch that was recently discovered in a private collection half way across the globe in Australia, will debut on the auction block nearly 80 years since it was first acquired from a Toronto gallery in 1940.  Algoma (Algoma Sketch 48), an autumn oil sketch painted by Harris in 1919/1920, during the time when the Group of Seven officially formed as an association of painters, is expected to fetch $400,000 to $600,000 at Consignor Canadian Fine Art’s inaugural Live Auction of Important Canadian Art, taking place at the historic Berkeley Church, in downtown Toronto on May 31, 2016.

    In addition to its pristine condition, the value and rarity of this particular Harris sketch stems from the fact that it served as the preparatory work for several of the artist’s well-known large canvases including Island, MacCallum Lake (1921) part of the collection of the Vancouver Art Gallery; as well as for three others: Northern Island, Northern Painting XXV, 1924; Northern Painting 25, Northern Island II; and Island, Northern Painting XXI, which are all believed to currently reside in private collections.  Harris first visited the Algoma region of Ontario in 1918 and returned on multiple occasions with fellow members of the Group of Seven. Algoma Sketch 48 was acquired by an anonymous buyer in 1940 from the historic Laing Mellors Gallery in Toronto, later travelling with the family when they moved overseas.

    “We’re thrilled to offer such an exemplary example of Lawren Harris’ work in our first live auction,” said Rob Cowley, President of Consignor Canadian Fine Art.  “It has become increasingly rare to find a Harris preparatory sketch for any of his well-known works, let alone four.  We made the trip to Australia to secure the consignment personally from the client and we are delighted to be introducing this important artwork to Canadian collectors.”

    Lawren Harris is one of Canada’s most celebrated artists, and his works are currently at the height of popularity with the much-lauded retrospective The Idea of North: The Paintings of Lawren Harris, co-curated by actor, comedian and art-collector Steve Martin, anticipated to make its Canadian premiere at the Art Gallery of Ontario in July 2016.

    Several weeks of live previews will begin during the first week of May at the Consignor Canadian Fine Art Gallery located at 326 Dundas Street W. Consignor’s inaugural live Spring Auction of Important Canadian Art event will take place on Tuesday, May 31, 7:00 pm at the Berkeley Church, located at 315 Queen St. E in Toronto, ON.

    “Through careful consideration and feedback from our clientele, we decided that it was time to begin this new chapter for Consignor,” said Lydia Abbott, Managing Director of Consignor Canadian Fine Art.  “It is with great enthusiasm that we announce our first live auction of Important Canadian Art this spring with an exciting selection of artwork, including work by many of the most sought-after artists in the art market right now.”

    The live auction event begins a new tradition for Consignor, augmenting its current slate of notable online auctions established over the past three years through Consignor.ca.  Since its inception in 2013, Consignor’s auctions have included headline-grabbing works such as a rare 100-year-old Tom Thomson portrait (Daydreaming, sold for $172,500) and an undiscovered William Kurelek (Ukrainian Proverb, sold for $41,400).  Consignor’s offering of 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), and its June 2014 auction saw eight artists’ records broken.

    Consignor is also viewing artwork for consideration for the upcoming Online Auction of Canadian Art, acting as the second session to the live sale, with bidding open at Consignor.ca between June 1 – 8, 2016.