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Heffel’s Spring sale of Post-War and Contemporary art held last night totaled $14.1m with a new world record for Jack Hamilton Bush at $691k (above.) The lead lot of the sale was:

• Paul-Émile Borduas, Figures schématiques, from 1956 sold for $3,601,250, shattering the previous record for the artist
• Morning, Lake Superior by Group of Seven founder Lawren Harris (below)sold for  $1,141,250 ($100,000 – 150,000), nearly ten times its presale estimate. The small, but inspiring work is a preparatory sketch for a pivotal canvas by the artist, hanging in the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts
• Two significant works by Quebec-born Jean Paul Lemieux reached impressive heights in the Post-War & Contemporary Art session. Le Cavalier dans la neige sold for $841,250 (est. $700,000 – 900,000) and Le temps retrouvé – Kent House 1913 for $391,250 (est. $200,000 – 300,000)
• Strawberry by Jack Bush set a new and impressive artist record and sold for $691,250 (est. $350,000 – 450,000)
• A.J. Casson, a Group of Seven member, achieved $541,250 (est. $150,000 – 250,000) for Farmhouse Near Wingle
• Tom Thomson’s Sketch for Lake in Algonquin Park was recently rediscovered by a woman from Alberta. After significant bidder participation, the painting, which relates to a significant canvas by the artist, sold for $481,250 (est. $125,000 – 175,000)
• Robert Pilot’s superb Quebec City from Lévis sold for $337,250 and broke the artist record (est. $50,000 – 80,000)
• Emily Carr’s Sophie Frank, a rare watercolour, sold for four times its presale estimate at $277,250 (est. $50,000 – 70,000)
• An untitled acrylic on paper by Sam Francis sold for $169,250 (est. $25,000 – 35,000), The Friendly Well by Jack Butler Yeats sold for $229,250 (est. $100,000 – 150,000) and T1950-57 by Hans Hartung sold for $205,000 (est. $70,000 – 90,000)