Art Market Monitor

Global Coverage ~ Unique Analysis

  • AMMpro
  • AMM Fantasy Collecting Game
  • Podcast
  • Contact Us

Canadian Record to Be Broken?

December 1, 2009 by Marion Maneker

In 1946, Lawren Harris was selliing his canvases for $1oo through a dealer, the Toronto Star explains:

“If I sell them myself to friends they then sell for $75 unframed.” That’s likely how Band, a Toronto businessman and classmate of Harris’s, acquired The Old Stump, Lake Superior, a 1926 study sketch for what would become one of his best known works, North Shore, Lake Superior. It’s now a pillar of the National Gallery’s collection.

The sketch Band picked up at that friendly discount now sits poised to become the most expensive piece of Canadian art of all time. On Thursday, the Heffel Brothers auction house will put the 30-centimetre-by-38-centimetre sketch on the block with a presale estimate ranging between $2 million and $2.5 million.

“But they’ll easily shatter that,” said Anthony Westbridge, the Vancouver-based publisher of the Canadian Art Sales Index. Westbridge, who tracks Canadian auction results, thinks the Harris sketch could push past $5 million and challenge the Canadian record price at auction of $5.1 million, paid by the late Ken Thomson in 2002 for a Paul Kane portrait.

“I’ve spoken with some serious buyers at the high end and they’re of the same opinion,” Westbridge said. “What we’re looking at is something that could really be sensational.”

Last Sold for $75, Is This Sketch Worth $5m at Auction? (Toronto Star)

More from Art Market Monitor

  • Where Bryant Parks His ArtWhere Bryant Parks His Art
  • Giacometti's RevengeGiacometti's Revenge
  • Christie’s Takes a Bow = $495mChristie’s Takes a Bow = $495m
  • Gallerist Admits He’s in Hong Kong to Sell ArtGallerist Admits He’s in Hong Kong to Sell Art
  • The Rise of the SuperGallery Museum Show ContinuesThe Rise of the SuperGallery Museum Show Continues
  • Christie’s London PWC Eve = £70,253,225Christie’s London PWC Eve = £70,253,225

Filed Under: General

About Marion Maneker

LiveArt

Want to get Art Market Monitor‘s posts sent to you in our email? Sign up below by clicking on the Subscribe button.

  • About Us/ Contact
  • Podcast
  • AMMpro
  • Newsletter
  • FAQ

twitterfacebooksoundcloud
Privacy Policy
Terms & Conditions
California Privacy Rights
Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Advertise on Art Market Monitor