Heffel’s Spring Auction in Vancouver last week made $11.5 million exceeding the $7 to $10 million presale estimate. The Canadian Post-War & Contemporary Art session had sales totalling $4.7 million, while the Fine Canadian Art session totaled at $6.8 million.
- Jean-Paul Riopelle’s Composition, which sold for $1,228,500 (estimate $600,000 to $800,000); eight other works by Riopelle were personally consigned by the artist’s mistress Belle Burke. These works were given to Burke by the artist during their relationship. The Belle Burke collection drew an impressive total of $444,600.
- Emily Carr’s Old Timer which sold for $936,000 (estimate $400,000 to $600,000)
- Emily Carr, Cape Mudge Totem Poles (estimate: $150,000 – $250,000), which sold for $380,250
- 31 works by influential Canadian artists consigned by The Protestant School Board of Greater Montreal (PSBGM) Cultural Heritage Foundation had a combined total of $1.6 million in sales. A.Y. Jackson led the collection with his A Quebec Village (Winter, Saint-Fidèle) selling for $585,000 (estimate $500,000 – $700,000) and his Saint-Simeon, Lower St. Lawrence selling for $152,100 (estimate $90,000 to $120,000). Thoreau MacDonald’s Canadian Geese sold for $21,060 (estimate $10,000 to $15,000), breaking the record for the artist.
- Gordon Appelbe Smith was represented with five works. His Red Beach was the catalogue front cover feature this year and sold for a remarkable $93,600 surpassing the $20,000 to $30,000 estimate.
- Five works by influential B.C. artist E.J. Hughes totaled $252,720 in sales, led by his Mt. Stephen which sold for $175,500.
- Quebec modern remains highly sought after, as demonstrated by Paul-Émile Borduas’ Sans Titre from his calligraphic series, which sold for $409,500 (estimate: $100,000 to $150,000), Jean-Philippe Dallaire’s Le fonctionnaire which sold for $ 70,200, and Marcelle Ferron’s Otsatot which sold for $81,900. All three of these works were consigned from a prominent Montreal family Estate.
- Lawren Harris such as the Pic Island, Lake Superior (sold for $234,000) and Lawren Stewart Harris’ Rainstorm, Northern Lake which sold for $187,200, more than doubling the low estimate (sold for $187,200), and Tom Thomson’s Mississagi (estimate: $80,000 – $120,000) which sold for $163,800.
- Marc-Aurèle Fortin’s Vue de St-Siméon, a rare large format oil painting, which sold for $672,750 (estimate $400,000 to $600,000). Additionally, all three of the David Milne works exceeded their high estimates, commanding a total of $277,975.
