We have been entrusted with many fantastic artworks this fall auction season and two paintings by Laura Muntz have captured the attention of one of our specialists, Anna. 

“A Little Girl”, originally in the collection of the artist, was exhibited in 1905 in New York at the National Academy of Design. This painting is engaging, not only for its warmth and naturalness of subject, but because Muntz chose to portray more of a country girl than a city girl, within a setting that indicates country life, with the watchful barnyard cat at the girl’s feet.

Muntz was considered a trailblazer for women artists in Canada and painted this dazzling portrait in 1903. The striking figure in this work is modelled after the artist’s niece, Elizabeth. Echoes of this painting can be seen in the subject of “Oriental Poppies” of 1915, a canvas in the collection of the Art Gallery of Ontario.

We hope you will join us on December 1^st at Toronto’s Globe & Mail Centre when these artworks will make their debut at auction with Cowley Abbott.

Rob Cowley highlights the exquisite details of this masterful painting by Antoine Plamondon, included in the Live Auction of An Important Private Collection of Canadian Art.

Further details about the painting can be found here at https://cowleyabbott.ca/artwork/AW41530. Don’t miss your opportunity to view the artwork before it goes back into private hands and tune in to the auction on December 1st at 7:00 pm EST.

« Terre féconde » fût complété en 1961 durant une période charnière de la carrière de Rita Letendre. Au fur et à mesure qu’elle est devenue plus habile avec les matériaux de peinture tout en ayant plus de temps pour travailler, elle a commencé à créer de plus grandes toiles avec des explosions de couleur. Katherine examine la carrière de l’artiste durant cette période et explore le dynamisme que l’on retrouve dans cette toile magnifique.

Ce tableau sera offert dans le cadre de notre vente aux enchères en direct présentant les œuvres d’une importante collection privée d’art canadien qui aura lieu jeudi le 1er décembre à 16 h.

“Terre feconde”, dating to 1961, was completed during a pivotal period of growth in Rita Letendre’s career. As she became better equipped with painting materials and more time to work, she began creating larger canvases with explosions of colour. Katherine looks deeper into the artist’s career at this time and explores the vibrancy of this stunning canvas.

This painting will be offered in our Fall Live Auction of Important Canadian Art taking place this Thursday, December 1st at 4:00 pm. Further details about the painting can be found here: https://cowleyabbott.ca/artwork/AW42100.

Rob Cowley recently spoke with Global News to discuss the auction debut of an Important Private Collection of Canadian Art with Cowley Abbott. It has been a thrill to share these artworks with collectors, art lovers and the public. We look forward to offering these artworks on the podium his coming Thursday, December 1st , many of them making their auction debut.

Peter highlights a fantastic J.E.H. MacDonald painting included in our Live Auction of Important Canadian Art. 

In 1911 J.E.H. MacDonald resigned from Grip Limited, wanting to pursue painting full-time. He organized an exhibition of his work at the Arts and Letters Club in Toronto. Lawren Harris attended this show and was struck by MacDonald’s painting. The next year the two artists held a joint exhibition, encouraging each other to continue to paint and exhibit. MacDonald was receiving acclaim and recognition for his work, a marked sign to continue to pursue an artistic career.

In this early sketch of Georgian Bay, the location is identified as “south point of Dr. MacCallum’s Island looking west”. Here, MacDonald has captured the intense heavy clouds and choppy waters as they crash into the inlet. Thanks to Dr. MacCallum, Georgian Bay would become a regular destination for sketching trips for members of the Group of Seven.

1912 was an important year for MacDonald as he launched his career as a professional artist and began painting the northern landscape of Georgian Bay and the Muskoka districts of Ontario. His painting style was still heavily influenced by Impressionism and MacDonald was an advocate for the small oil sketch produced “en plein-air”. As Nancy E. Robertson remarked in the exhibition catalogue for the J.E.H. MacDonald retrospective, in which this painting was included: “[MacDonald’s] interest in untamed and unlimited nature…continued to develop and to urge him into new areas. He was equally attracted by the closed intimate nooks and the great open expanses of water and sky. In the large dramatic productions of nature, MacDonald assures man a place, never greater than nature but never at the mercy of nature.”

To learn more about this artwork, visit CowleyAbbott.ca and book your preview appointment to view the painting in-person.

Cowley Abbott is pleased to have been entrusted with four dynamic artworks by Marcelle Ferron, one of the most dominant female Quebec artists, in our Fall Live Auction of Important Canadian Art. 

In this video, we discuss the large, vibrant, and dynamic, “Sans titre”, a monumental canvas of 1960. The bold forms move to their own rhythms. At the same time, we can readily feel that they were made by a painter who is moving physically in the space of the canvas. Compellingly animated from a distance, the sweeping forms perform what can be imagined as a perpetual dance of transformation. Close up or standing back, we can appreciate her skillful use of hue, texture, and movement.

We look forward to offering these paintings for sale next Thursday, December 1st at 4:00 pm.

An exceptional 1912 oil on canvas by the celebrated Emily Carr is making its debut at auction with Cowley Abbott on December 1st. Acquired directly from the artist by the renowned Marius Barbeau in 1912, the painting has remained in private collections until now. We are thrilled to be presenting this important artwork to the art market and to provide an incredible opportunity for art lovers to view this masterwork in our gallery in downtown Toronto.

Rob Cowley discusses the importance of this painting, an artwork we are privileged to be entrusted with at Cowley Abbott. Find further details about the artwork here: https://cowleyabbott.ca/artwork/AW41520.

Visit Cowley Abbott this weekend to view the artworks included in our exciting two-session live auction ahead of the auction on Thursday, December 1st.

Rob Cowley visits the CTV Your Morning studio with highlights from the upcoming Cowley Abbott Live Auction of An Important Private Collection of Canadian Art. Thank you for hosting Cowley Abbott, it was a pleasure to share the artworks with Lindsay Deluce!

Learn about this prestigious collection of artworks from a private collection in the auction catalogue: https://cowleyabbott.ca/items/1220.

Eryn Brobyn takes a closer look at a Maud Lewis painting included in our Fall Live Auction of Important Canadian Art and shares why the painting caught her eye.

Lot 22, Maud Lewis, “At the Train Station”, oil on board, 11.5 x 13.5 ins, Estimated: $20,000-30,000, Fall Live Auction of Important Canadian Art, Session 1 – Thursday, December 1st at 4:00 pm

As Perry Tung shares, Jim Dine is an avid printmaker. He sees the medium as artistically equal to the rest of his body of work, which encompasses painting, drawing, sculpture and photography. The artist embraces the deeply personal as we see in “Jim’s Hand Painted One”, which reflects the artist’s childhood obsession with Disney’s Pinocchio. As he explains, “I found a doll of Pinocchio, franchised by Disney at the time of the film. A beautiful doll, with real clothes – I mean cloth clothes – and papier-mâché and hand-painted head, arms, and legs…It’s in pieces in my house. Because it’s just so beat. I’ve done all kinds of things with it. I’ve cast it, I’ve taken it with me. It’s just completely beat. But it was a beautiful thing”.

Lot 240, Jim Dine, “Jim’s Hand Painted One”, lithograph with hand colouring, 66.5 x 38 ins, Fall International Art Auction (Bidding closes November 22nd).