Works by Canada’s Thom Thomson have sold for $1 million recently. Even with the economy in disarray, there’s always interest in a rare work that has not been on the market before. Here’s a story from the Globe and Mail showing that such works do come up even in hard times:

Wrapped in a towel and transported on a bus from small-town Alberta to a fine-art auction house in Calgary rested a painting by one of Canada’s most venerated artists. After being held by a private family for 94 years, the Tom Thomson painting will be offered this month for the first time at a public auction in Alberta.

Doug Levis, of Levis Fine Art Auctions & Appraisals, said a relative of the owner received the oil painting, Untitled – Dawn on Round Lake, from Mr. Thomson in 1915. For whatever reason, the Alberta woman decided it was time to sell it.

Rare Thomson Painting on Block (Globe and Mail)