Posted by & filed under Cowley Abbott Updates.

The Group of Seven were represented strongly in the Cowley Abbott spring live auction last week with eight of the ten members of the celebrated association featured. Many of the exceptional Group artworks made their auction debut, inspiring fierce bidding and driving strong results. Here are some of the artworks by the Group that excited collectors during the spring sale.

Franklin Carmichael
Old Orchard, 1940
Alfred Joseph Casson
The Village Store, Bradford, circa 1928
Lawren Harris
Northern Lake, circa 1925
J.E.H. MacDonald
Church by the Sea, N.S., 1922
Arthur Lismer
Light Breaking Through, Lake Superior, 1927
Frank Hans Johnston
Along the Line, Algoma, 1918
A.Y. Jackson
Reflections in the Creek, circa 1914

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Eryn Brobyn Discusses the Artworks of Marcelle Ferron in the Live Auction

Foremost Canadian Female Artists in the Spring Live Auction

Rita Letendre Sans titre, 1965
Emily Carr Fir Trees, circa 1935
Frances Anne Hopkins Canoes in a Fog, Lake Superior, 1864
Marcelle Ferron Sans titre, 1964
Wanda Koop Standing Withstanding (Infrared-Still); Standing Withstanding (Infrared-Capital), 2017
Marcelle Ferron Sans titre, circa 1962
Lise Gervais Sans titre, 1961
Alexandra Luke Exanimo
(From the Heart), 1954
Pegi Nicol MacLeod School Garden, circa 1933

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View Rob Cowley’s Video Highlighting “Fir Trees”, circa 1935 by Emily Carr

Celebrated Female Artists Featuring Emily Carr

Cowley Abbott is delighted to share Fir Trees, circa 1935 by Emily Carr this auction season. Carr’s oil on paper sketches are amongst her most important contributions to Canadian art. No other Canadian painter explored the idea of the sketch more intensely and brilliantly than Emily Carr and this work is a prime example. 

Cowley Abbott is very proud to be entrusted with a strong selection of works by Canadian and international female artists in the Spring Live Auction of Select Masterworks of Canadian and International Art on May 28th. We hope you will visit our auction preview at the Toronto gallery to enjoy these artworks. 

Emily Carr, Fir Trees, circa 1935
Fern Isabel Coppedge Autumn Scene
Lise Gervais Le double anneau dans l’oeil
Rita Letendre Sans titre
Marcelle Ferron Sans titre
Maud Lewis Two Fishermen
Frances Anne Hopkins Canoes in a Fog,
Lake Superior
Alexandra Luke Exanimo
(From the Heart)
Pegi Nicol MacLeod School Garden
Jessie Willcox Smith Study for a Portrait

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Peter Clapham Sheppard: Chronicler of the Urban Environment

Cowley Abbott is delighted to be entrusted with a rare and masterful work by Peter Clapham Sheppard, The Bridge Builders, Construction, Bloor Street Viaduct, 1915. 

P.C. Sheppard was one of the first among Toronto’s early twentieth century modernists to record the urban experience during a period of dynamic growth and change. Such massive building projects proclaimed this city’s unstoppable industrial and technological age. Bridge Builders is an emblem of the aspirational spirit of a confident nation that will soon emerge from the crucible of war proud, independent, and with a new global identity. Sheppard is captivated by the movement, light, and activity of ports, railyards, markets, parades and the circus. The artist extols the humanity of the workers who laboured there, mostly new immigrants, whose toil wove together the rich multicultural fabric we enjoy in Toronto today.

Cowley Abbott is very proud to be entrusted with this painting, which makes its auction debut in our Spring Live Auction of Select Masterworks of Canadian and International Art on May 28th. 

Peter Clapham Sheppard 
The Bridge Builders, Construction, Bloor Street Viaduct, 1915

VISIT THE AUCTION PREVIEW THIS WEEKEND

May 16th to May 28th

Monday to Friday: 9:00 am to 5:00 pm

Saturday and Sunday: 11:00 am to 5:00 pm

Wednesday, May 28th: 9:00 am to 12:00 pm

Cowley Abbott Gallery 

326 Dundas St. W. Toronto M5T 1G5

SPRING LIVE AUCTION

Wednesday, May 28th at 7:00 pm EDT

The Globe & Mail Centre, 17th Floor

351 King Street East, Toronto

BROWSE AUCTION CATALOGUE

Posted by & filed under Cowley Abbott Updates.

Cowley Abbott is excited to present an extraordinary collection of post-war & contemporary art in our upcoming live auction, “Select Masterworks of Canadian & International Art” set to take place on May 28th at the Globe & Mail Centre.

This event promises to be an exciting evening, showcasing artworks that have shaped the artistic landscape over the decades. Whether you’re an avid collector or a curious art enthusiast, this auction offers a unique opportunity to witness and acquire works that tell compelling stories of creativity and innovation.

Auction Preview

May 16th to 28th

Monday to Friday: 9:00 am – 5:00 pm

Saturday and Sunday: 11:00 am – 5:00 pm

Wednesday, May 28th: 9:00 am – 12:00 pm

Cowley Abbott

326 Dundas St. W. Toronto ON M5A 1G5

SPRING LIVE AUCTION

Wednesday, May 28th at 7:00 pm EDT

The Globe & Mail Centre, 17th Floor

351 King Street East, Toronto

BROWSE AUCTION CATALOGUE

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Discover the artworks of Jack Bush in the Spring Live Auction with Anna Holmes

Jack Bush: A Master of Colour

Cowley Abbott is delighted to be offering six significant artworks by the celebrated Canadian artist Jack Bush in our Spring Live Auction of Select Masterworks of Canadian and International Art on May 28th, spanning the painter’s storied career. A master of colour, Jack Bush said facing a large empty expanse of canvas was “the thrill of a lifetime” but added that the “toughest thing in the world, on that bare canvas, is to put the first colour on, the first mark.”

From our earliest sales, Cowley Abbott has been fortunate to regularly have been entrusted with rare and important artwork by Jack Bush, becoming a major player in the sale of the painter’s work over the past decade and establishing the global auction record for the artist.

We are pleased to feature a range of masterworks by the modern painter whose creative trajectory flowed from landscapes to abstraction, exemplified in the selection being presented for sale. We hope you will visit the Cowley Abbott gallery to stand in front of these commanding works during our preview starting on Friday, May 16th. 

Auction Preview

May 16th to 28th

Monday to Friday: 9:00 am – 5:00 pm

Saturday and Sunday: 11:00 am – 5:00 pm

Wednesday, May 28th: 9:00 am – 12:00 pm

Cowley Abbott

326 Dundas St. W. Toronto ON M5A 1G5

Jack Bush
Yellow Bikini, 1971
Jack Bush
Vic Day, 1974
Jack Bush
Sky Wash/Mabel’s Release #3, 1966
Jack Bush
Untitled, 1959
Jack Bush
Face Off, 1970
Jack Bush
The Good Samaritan, 1951

SPRING LIVE AUCTION

Wednesday, May 28th at 7:00 pm EDT

The Globe & Mail Centre, 17th Floor

351 King Street East, Toronto

BROWSE AUCTION CATALOGUE

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Watch Lydia Abbott discuss two magnificent artworks by Frances Anne Hopkins

The two watercolours in the May 28th live auction represent major subjects of Frances Anne Hopkins’s artistic oeuvre. 

Canoes in a Fog, Lake Superior, is one of several sketches that Hopkins made during her first trip on Lake Superior in July 1864 and formed the basis for the first painting by her to be accepted for exhibition at the Royal Academy in London in 1869 (now in the collection of the Glenbow Museum). Five sketches related to the painting are known to exist and Canoes in a Fog, Lake Superior, is believed to be the first large-scale work prepared. The hues in this watercolour are remarkably bright, and the detail is exquisite, recording the moment when canoeing transformed from being a means of travel and the transport of goods, into a leisure time pursuit.

Lumber Raft on the Ottawa, signed and dated 1886, represents another Canadian theme which Frances Anne Hopkins chose to represent on several occasions. Hopkins would have likely encountered such timber rafts during her journeys on the St. Lawrence and Ottawa rivers. This watercolour shows one of the large timber rafts floating down the river, possibly on Lake of Two Mountains, and is more atmospheric than many of the other works of this subject, with the fog on the river and the cooking fires surrounded by the crewmen. It offers a romantic and enchanting insight into a particular aspect of nineteenth-century Canadian life.

Cowley Abbott is pleased to present these two masterworks for sale on May 28th in the live auction of Select Masterworks of Canadian & International Art. We hope that you will visit the auction preview at the gallery beginning Friday, May 16th to enjoy these rare works on paper by Frances Anne Hopkins.

Frances Anne Hopkins
Canoes in a Fog, Lake Superior, 1864
Frances Anne Hopkins
Lumber Raft on the Ottawa, 1886

TORONTO GALLERY PREVIEW DATES

May 16th to 28th

Monday to Friday: 9:00 am – 5:00 pm

Saturday and Sunday: 11:00 am – 5:00 pm

May 28th: 9:00 am – 12:00 pm

Cowley Abbott

326 Dundas St. W. Toronto ON M5A 1G5

SPRING LIVE AUCTION

Wednesday, May 28th at 7:00 pm EDT

The Globe & Mail Centre, 17th Floor

351 King Street East, Toronto

BROWSE AUCTION CATALOGUE

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Watch Senior Art Specialist Lydia Abbott share insight on the Group of Seven at Lake Superior

Cowley Abbott’s Spring Live Auction will feature masterworks by artists crucial to the story of Canadian art. Depictions of the northern shores of Lake Superior by the founding members of the Group of Seven will take centre stage, reflecting their travels between 1921 and 1928. Over the course of these eight years, the work of the Group members was transformed by the stunning topography and impact of nature’s power at this remarkable junction of lake and land.

The Spring Live Auction will take place in Toronto on Wednesday, May 28th, and will include artwork by celebrated historical, post-war and contemporary artists. The live auction catalogue is now available online to browse.

Franklin Carmichael
Port Coldwell, Lake Superior, 1928
Lawren Harris
Northern Lake, 1922
A.Y. Jackson
North Shore, Superior, Near Coldwell, 1923
Arthur Lismer
Light Breaking Through, Lake Superior, 1927

TORONTO GALLERY PREVIEW DATES

May 16th to 28th

Monday to Friday: 9:00 am – 5:00 pm

Saturday and Sunday: 11:00 am – 5:00 pm

May 28th: 9:00 am – 12:00 pm

Cowley Abbott

326 Dundas St. W. Toronto ON M5A 1G5

SPRING LIVE AUCTION

Wednesday, May 28th at 7:00 pm EDT

The Globe & Mail Centre, 17th Floor

351 King Street East, Toronto

BROWSE AUCTION CATALOGUE

2025_04_25_Live_Canadian_1_51107124a3

Posted by & filed under Cowley Abbott Updates.

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Cowley Abbott enjoyed a successful preview in Calgary sharing highlights of Select Masterworks of Canadian & International Art with new and seasoned collectors. Thank you to our hosts at Norberg Hall, our guests for attending the various events over the preview and to Canadian Art Hop for including Cowley Abbott in both Calgary and Toronto on the tour.

The auction preview will begin in our Toronto gallery on Friday, May 16th and we are eager to share the artworks with you. We have many exciting upcoming events and our specialists look forward to welcoming you over the coming weeks.

The Spring Live Auction will take place in Toronto on Wednesday, May 28th, and will include artwork by celebrated historical, post-war and contemporary artists. The live auction catalogue is now available online to browse.

AUCTION PREVIEW

May 16th to 28th

Monday to Friday: 9:00 am – 5:00 pm

Saturday & Sunday: 11:00 am to 5:00 pm

May 28th: 9:00 am – 12:00 pm

Cowley Abbott

326 Dundas St. W., Toronto ON M5T 1G5

BROWSE AUCTION CATALOGUE

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