Category: Schaeffer Collection

  • Important Artworks from the AGO Vault, The Robertson Family, The Gerson Iskowitz Foundation and Canada’s Preeminent Private Historical Canadian Art Collection Hit the Block at Cowley Abbott

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

    ANDY WARHOL, GUIDO MOLINARI, EMILY CARR, GROUP OF SEVEN AND OTHER CANADIAN AND INTERNATIONAL MASTERS GO UNDER THE HAMMER ON DECEMBER 6

    Already the highest-grossing single collection of Canadian art sold at auction at nearly $30 million, one of Canada’s most-significant private Canadian art collections has its final session

    Toronto, ON (October 23, 2023): Rare and important artworks from several prominent private and public collections will go under the auction hammer in Cowley Abbott’s fall auction of Canadian and international masters on Wednesday, December 6. This two-session live auction is valued at over $10 million.

    Highlights of the first session include two canvases by abstract painter Guido Molinari,deaccessioned by the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) and five notable works by Canadian artists William James Bennett, Jack Bush, Marc-Aurèle Fortin, Jean Paul Lemieux and David Milne, from the collection of the late Joe and Anita Robertson.

    Born in Montreal, Molinari (1933-2004) was named an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1971 and achieved international renown, having exhibited in New York and at the 1968 Venice Biennale, and was featured in retrospectives at the National Gallery of Canada, Art Gallery of Ontario and Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal. His art is actively pursued by collectors around the world. Molinari is represented by major works in the AGO’s collection, as well as across Canada. Following museum guidelines, the proceeds of deaccessioning go towards future acquisitions.

    The two works up for auction are Seriel, 1966 (auction estimate: $125,000 – $150,000) and Quantifcateur, 1981 (auction estimate: $70,000 – $90,000).

    Guido Molinari
    Seriel (1964/1966)
    Guido Molinari
    Quantifcateur (1981)

    “It is our privilege to represent the Art Gallery of Ontario and the Collection of the late Joe and Anita Robertson in the offering of these Canadian artworks. Our firm has a history of success in the sale of Molinari’s work and they are already inviting strong interest from collectors. It is a pleasure to collaborate with our colleagues and neighbours at the AGO and we are thrilled to donate a portion of our commission to support future acquisitions by the institution.” – Rob Cowley, President, Cowley Abbott

    From the collection of the late Joe and Anita Robertson, prominent Niagara region businesspeople and philanthropists, comes four spectacular paintings and a collection of four prints. The Robertson’s made major financial contributions to the performing arts and health organizations, and were active supporters of the United Way, among many other charitable causes.

    From an early New York canvas by David Milne (Billowing Trees, estimate $100,000 – $150,000); to a rare, large canvas by Jack Bush of Port Loring (Sunset at Port Loring, estimate $25,000 – $35,000); to William James Bennett’s captivating scenes of Niagara Falls (four aquatints, estimate $15,000 – $20,000) and a pair of celebrated subjects by Quebec masters, Jean Paul Lemieux (Femme en noir, estimate: $150,000 – $200,000) and Marc-Aurèle Fortin (Vieille maison, estimate $40,000 – $60,000), each work of art was carefully chosen by the Robertson, who have been advised by Brett Sherlock through the auction process. Cowley Abbott will donate a portion of their selling commission to the United Way Niagara Falls in memory of Joe, Anita and their daughter Laura, who passed away in 2018. An online auction of artwork from the Robertson Family Collection will also be held by Cowley Abbott this fall.

    The second session of the live auction event is devoted entirely to the final sale of a landmark three-session auction of one of Canada’s most prominent, well-known and extensively-exhibited private art collections. Expertly curated over 60 years, the collection of rare and remarkable artworks features prime example, museum-quality paintings, drawings and sculptures by Canada’s most celebrated historical artists.

    With two-thirds sold to-date for nearly $30 million, it is already the highest-grossing single collection of Canadian art to ever sell at auction. The sales through Cowley Abbott have achieved over 20 artist records, with nine artworks selling in excess of $1 million and 80 of 100 works of art sold exceeding the high-end pre-sale auction estimate. The final session is rich in important and rare art by celebrated Canadian historical artists, including the members of the Group of Seven, Emily Carr, Cornelius Krieghoff, Helen McNicoll and Paul Peel.

    The two-session live auction, Important Canadian & International Art and Artwork from An Important Private Collection (Part Three), takes place on Wednesday, December 6 at 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. EST respectively at the Globe and Mail Centre, 351 King St. East, Toronto. It will also be livestreamed online at cowleyabbott.ca, allowing for simultaneous in-person, telephone, absentee and real-time online bidding – enabling prospective buyers to participate from anywhere in the world.

    Before hitting the auction block, highlights will be previewed at Montreal’s Mount Stephen Hotel from November 9th to 11th and then all artworks included in the two-session live sale will be exhibited at Cowley Abbott’s gallery, 326 Dundas Street West, located across the street from the Art Gallery of Ontario, free for the public to view from November 16th to December 5th.

    Preceding the official November fall previews, a free pop-up public exhibition, Important Canadian and International Art Selections, will feature roughly 70 artworks from the two sales, on display in the Cowley Abbott Toronto Gallery from October 23rd to November 3rd.

    Additional fall auction highlights include:

    Andy Warhol, Mick Jagger Auction Estimate: $135,000-175,000 Warhol was fascinated by pop culture and captured many famous individuals in his art, including The Rolling Stones’ frontman Mick Jagger. His creative relationship with the singer in the 70s included many artistic collaborations including their iconic Sticky Finger album cover.   Session 1 – Fall Auction of Important Canadian and International Art
    Clarence Gagnon, Ice Harvest, Quebec, 1935 Auction Estimate: $400,000-600,000 Major works by Gagnon such as this are very rare. The large-scale canvas depicts a highly celebrated and cherished subject for the artist: ice harvesting in Quebec. The canvas is expected to challenge the auction record for Gagnon’s work.   Session 2 – Artwork from An Important Private Collection    
    Helen McNicoll, The Chintz Sofa, circa 1912 Auction Estimate: $250,000-350,000 McNicoll was an impressionist painter and one of Canada’s most notable female artists. This well-known work has exhibited extensively and internationally for over a century, most recently in the 2023 exhibition, Cassatt‒McNicoll: Impressionists Between Worlds at the Art Gallery of Ontario.   Session 2 – Artwork from An Important Private Collection  
     Arthur Lismer, Ragged Lake, Algonquin Park, 1914 Auction Estimate: $250,000-$350,000 (canvas) and $60,000-$80,000 (preparatory sketch) This oil canvas and its preparatory oil sketch date to an important early trip to Algonquin Park taken by Lismer and Tom Thomson, just a few years prior to the formation of the Group of Seven. This collection has already featured the sale of two record-setting sketches by the artist and the sketch here is expected to challenge the record. This is a rare offering of a canvas and related sketch in the same auction.   Session 2 – Artwork from An Important Private Collection


    		JEH MacDonald, Laurentian Hillside  Auction Estimate: $250,000 – $350,000 (canvas) and $20,000 – $30,000 (preparatory oil sketch) Created during an early, foundational painting trip by future Group of Seven members, MacDonald and Lawren Harris. The pair of works have exhibited extensively across Canada and globally.
    Session 2 – Artwork from An Important Private Collection  
    Emily Carr, Nirvana, circa 1930 Auction Estimate: $250,000 – $350,000 A well-known work by Carr, this fourth and final major work by Carr from the celebrated private collection relates to a 1912 watercolour currently in the McMichael Canadian Art Collection, as well as a 1930 canvas in another prominent private collection.   Session 2 – Artwork from An Important Private Collection  
    Jean Paul Lemieux, Jeune fille au chandail jaune (1964) Auction Estimate: $550,000 – $650,000 First featured in a quickly sold-out exhibition at Montreal’s Galerie Agnès Lefort in 1965, this major canvas by Quebec master Jean Paul Lemieux captivates viewers and is expected to invite excited bidding in December.   Session 1 – Fall Auction of Important Canadian and International Art  
    Jack Bush, Bridge Passage (1975) Auction Estimate: $300,000-400,000 One of two major canvases by the celebrated Canadian colourfield painter, his works have demanded strong prices in recent auction seasons, including a record price for Column on Browns, sold by Cowley Abbott in Fall 2020 for $870,000. Being held in Canadian and American collections and exhibited on both sides of the border, Bridge Passage makes its auction debut this fall.   Session 1 – Fall Auction of Important Canadian and International Art
    Jack Bush, Rose Red & Red (1966) Auction estimate: $400,000 – $600,000 First exhibited at the Sao Paulo IX Biennial in 1967, the canvas has been included in exhibitions across Canada since it was painted, most recently as part of the travelling Bush exhibition organized by the Esker Foundation in Calgary.   Session 1 – Fall Auction of Important Canadian and International Art

    For a full auction schedule, additional highlights, or an online catalogue please visit CowleyAbbott.ca. Those interested in consignment can arrange a 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.

    About Cowley Abbott
    Since its inception in 2013, Cowley Abbott’s live and online auctions have included headline-grabbing works that have regularly smashed auction records. Cowley Abbott has rapidly grown to be a leader in today’s competitive Canadian auction industry, with a dual gallery in downtown Toronto and representatives across Canada. Cowley Abbott’s effective set of services marry the traditional methods of promoting artwork with technology and innovative means to connect collectors with artwork of rarity and quality.

  • Over $16 Million Dollars of Art Sold at Cowley Abbott’s Spring Live Auction

  • Record Breaking Auction of Rare Canadian Art Masterpieces

    Cowley Abbott’s live auction on June 8th marked the second of three landmark live auctions dedicated to a prestigious private collection of Canadian art. A selection of exceptional historical artworks offered in the evening auction saw a bidding frenzy, with most artworks in the sale exceeding – and often doubling, tripling or more – presale estimates. Three masterworks achieved over and above the million-dollar mark, including works by celebrated artists Tom Thomson, Emily Carr and Lawren Harris.

    Cowley Abbott’s two-session live auction event realized incredible results, featuring artworks by international artists Andy Warhol, David Hockney and Joan Mitchell. Nine new auction records were attained for Canadian artists, cementing the sale as a tremendous evening for Canadian art.

    Following our record breaking results this season, Cowley Abbott is now accepting consignments for our fall auction, including our major Fall Live Auction at The Globe & Mail Centre on December 6th. Please contact our experienced team of specialists for a complimentary and confidential art valuation.

  • Rob Cowley Visits CP24 Breakfast to Discuss the Cowley Abbott Spring Live Auction

    Rob Cowley chats with CP24 Breakfast’s Nick Dixon and Jennifer Hsiung ahead of the June 8th Cowley Abbott Spring Live Auction. They discuss masterpiece work by Lawren Harris, Emily Carr, Andy Warhol, Tom Thomson and David Bowie, each on offer during the upcoming sale.

  • Cornelius Krieghoff “The Royal Mail Crossing the St. Lawrence” – Spring Live Auction of An Important Private Collection of Canadian Art (June 8th)

    Cornelius Krieghoff moved to Quebec City in 1853, encountering a vibrant and growing city. As Dennis Reid remarked: “Almost as large as Montreal at a population of some 58,000, close to 40 per cent anglophone (as opposed to the then slightly more than 50 percent anglophone component of the Montreal population) it was the military headquarters for British North America, the centre of the all-important timber trade with Britain, the location of the burgeoning new ship building industry and since October 1851, had been the seat of the government for the province of Canada.”

    Cornelius Krieghoff The Royal Mail Crossing the St. Lawrence

    While pioneer life was rugged and precarious, it was also a productive and fruitful time for Krieghoff as he recorded the industry and ingenuity of the people of Quebec City. At this time, there was no bridge over the St. Lawrence River, and so to cross this mighty body of water to access Lévis on the opposite shore, one had to embark upon a perilous journey in a Royal Mail canoe. Marius Barbeau, Krieghoff’s early biographer, points out that, “The cutting of lumber in the woods and the driving of rafts down the Ottawa and the St. Lawrence gave rise to a great Canadian industry in the earlier part of the nineteenth century, and Krieghoff, like his predecessor Bartlett, interprets some of its aspects upon canvas.”

    Few would embark upon this journey across the St. Lawrence River in a Royal Mail canoe unless necessary. Passengers had to lay down or seat themselves in the canoe, which was manned by ten or twelve people. The canoe would be paddled through the open water amidst floating islands of ice. This crossing would take hours and was dangerous, with the passengers often reaching a shoreline that was miles beyond the point at which they had started. According to J. Russell Harper, “The boatmen or canotiers who operated these were a hardy breed who jumped out on the ice floes which impeded their progress and hauled the wooden canoes over the obstacles. Some passengers who gave them a hand received a reduction in their passage money. It was an adventurous trip for the uninitiated, and one of the experiences remembered by visitors to Quebec in the winter months.”

    Krieghoff has chosen to depict a heightened scene of drama in this composition of a Royal Mail canoe making its crossing at winter. This canoe bears the responsibility of safe passage for eleven people, which includes a woman seated on a bearskin rug holding her dog, secured in the back half of the vessel. The citadel and ramparts of Quebec City are silhouetted in the distance, anchoring the scene. The energy and hard work involved in this venture, as well as the frenzy and cold nature of the excursion vibrates from the canvas. The boatmen are hustling to pull and push the boat over the ice floes before the vessel freezes in place, while one worker blows a horn signalling their position in the river. No one aboard the Royal Mail canoe seems particularly alarmed by what appears to be an experience that could have an uncertain outcome.

    Krieghoff specialized in genre paintings, and this work is a remarkable anecdotal image of the human struggle against ice floes and the ferocity of the upper St. Lawrence River in the depths of winter. Barbeau lists six known versions of this subject, painted between
    1859 and 1862. “Under his vivid brush they are alive with fun and movement,” stated Barbeau. A similar variant to this 1860 canvas is “Crossing the St. Lawrence with the Royal Mail at Quebec,” an 1859 canvas in the collection of the Sobey Art Foundation. Krieghoff is known to have painted more than one of the same image in various canvas sizes and also recognized the commercial benefit of lithography, a popular endeavour in this period. A lithograph of a Royal Mail canoe making the arduous St. Lawrence River crossing was produced from one of Krieghoff’s versions of the painting, but the citadel of Quebec City was eliminated.

    Krieghoff visited Montreal around the time of the erection of the Victoria Bridge between 1854-59 and sold one of his canvases of the Royal Mail canoe crossing to an engineer working on the project. When a book was issued on the development of this ground-breaking new bridge, Construction of the Great Victoria Bridge in Canada, illustrations demonstrating the inadequacy of the boats used to cross the river in Montreal were included, highlighting the convenience of the new bridge. Krieghoff’s painting of the Royal Mail canoe crossing was included. However, this reproduced image removed the Quebec citadel from the horizon line, declaring the depiction to be in Montreal, thus strengthening the case for the triumph of the Victoria Bridge.

    Krieghoff was an artist attuned to the interests of his audience and was beloved by collectors during his lifetime. The legacy of “The Royal Mail Crossing the St. Lawrence” as a treasure within his artistic oeuvre is further solidified by the rarity of a canvas with such an abundance of figures, exquisitely rendered detail and narrative strength. Krieghoff produced dignified paintings that were romantic in nature, evoking the deep roots of the people he encountered and imparting his own vision of historical Canada. Reid argues for “the complex genesis of Krieghoff’s images of Canada”, in which this canvas holds a prominent place.