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TORONTO - November 26, 2009 - 10:20 P.M. EST
Fifteen masterworks from the collection of Helen E. Band estate brought in a combined $10,494,024, and with the other 84 lots in Heffel's second session of Fine Canadian Art, totaled $17.5-million. The first session featuring Canadian Post-War and Contemporary Art that occurred between 4 p.m. and 6:05 p.m. brought in $3.3-million. The two sessions combined totaled $20.8-million - the second highest total for a Canadian fine art auction. This sale also set a record for the most million dollar paintings in one Canadian auction with five works.
Heffel set the record for the highest-grossing Canadian fine art auction in Spring 2007 with a $23-million sale in what was considered the height of the art market. This $20.8-million Fall 2009 sale is the second highest fine art auction in Canadian history.
"A sale like this in a recovering art market is phenomenal," says David Heffel, principal of Heffel Fine Art Auction House. "To have four Lawren Harris paintings each exceed a million dollars is a reflection of the quality of the work in the Band estate. It was an honour for us to represent this unprecedented and historic consignment."
The cover lot, Lawren Harris' The Old Stump, Lake Superior, became the most valuable Group of Seven painting in Canadian history when it sold for $3,510,000 (all prices include a 17 per cent buyers premium) to a buyer sitting near the front of the crowded ballroom in Toronto's Park Hyatt Hotel.
The largest Harris painting in the sale, the 32-1/2 by 40-1/4 inch oil on canvas, Houses, St. Patrick Street went for $2,808,000. The two Harris iceberg images, both 12 by 15 inch, oil on boards painted in 1930 went to the same bidder. The pair sold for a combined total of $2,632,500.
Other notable pieces in the Band estate included Group of Seven member A.Y. Jackson's canvas North Shore, Lake Superior, which sold for $626,500. Frederick Varley's Nude on a Couch went for $585,000 and a stunning 9 by 8 inch B.C. Binning abstract Atomic Fountain went for three times its high estimate at $55,575. A Henry Moore bronze sculpture, Maquette for Figure on Steps, sold for $198,900.
"It was only five months ago in our spring auction when we set a record of three million dollar-plus paintings in one auction. In this evening's sale, it was exhilarating to sell five paintings for more than a million dollars in a span of 20 minutes," says Robert Heffel, principal of Heffel Fine Art Auction House.
The other big painting of the night was Tom Thomson's masterpiece Early Spring, Canoe Lake. The 8-1/2 by 10-1/2 inch oil on panel sold for a record $2,749,500. This was one of eight works from an anonymous Canadian philanthropist who donated the proceeds from the sale of his collection to various Canadian charities, including The Nature Conservancy of Canada. His eight works totaled $3,350,880.
Another early Tom Thomson work, Autumn, Algonguin Park sold for $380,250. Other noteworthy pieces included David Milne's Bronx Park, 1913 which sold for $280,800. Emily Carr's Arbutus Trees sold for $198,900 and her Skidegate image went for $234,000.
Highlights in Heffel's first session of Canadian Post-War and Contemporary Art included the sale of a 42 by 32 inch abstract oil by Paul-Emile Borduas, Arabesque, which sold for $338,750. Another oil on canvas by Borduas, Allegro furioso, sold for $144,400. E.J. Hughes had a painting that sold for $245,700 and set a record for a drawing.
In the two sessions, 24 paintings exceeded the $100,000 mark and 26 records were set.
The complete list of the top 10 paintings from the two sales and the list of new Canadian fine art records follows below. High resolution images of the top paintings are available upon request.
In total, the Fall Auction featured 210 Canadian works. Information on the pieces and artists can also be found at www.heffel.com.
New Price Records Set in Heffel Fine Art's Two Sessions on November 26, 2009
These are the 25 new price records set at Heffel's Post-War & Contemporary Art and Fine Canadian Art auction today. All prices include the 17 per cent buyers premium added to the hammer price.
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James Williamson Galloway (Jock) MacDonald
Lot 002
Cross and Recross / Colour in Stained Glass
New record for a paperwork: $15,210
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Alexander Colville
Lot 006
Study for Stove
New record for a paperwork: $49,725
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Oscar Cahén
Lot 008
Untitled
New record: $40,950
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Sorel Etrog
Lot 023
Circus
New record: $49,725
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Hortense Mattice Gordon
Lot 032
Nirvana
New record: $15,210
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Charles Gagnon
Lot 035
Intersection
New record: $105,300
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Lise Gervais
Lot 036
Les jeux controptiques opus 6
New record: $21,060
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Lise Gervais
Lot 040
Sans titre
New record: $29,250
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Betty Roodish Goodwin
Lot 041
Shoes for a Long-Distance Runner
New record for a print: $6,435
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Raymond John Mead
Lot 046
Painting
New record: $64,350
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Christopher Pratt
Lot 047
Black Boat, Study for Launching Greyling
New record for a watercolour: $18,720
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John Geoffrey Caruthers Little
Lot 051
Une journée d'été, avenue Coloniale vers Duluth, Montréal
New record: $55,575
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Edward John (E.J.) Hughes
Lot 058
Museum Ship, Penticton, BC
New record for a drawing: $46,800
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Joseph Hector Yvon (Joe) Fafarad
Lot 75
Auguste
New record for a sculpture: $55,575
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Takao Tanabe
Lot 077
Chilcotin 6 / 89: The Way to Farewell Canyon
New record: $43,875
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Mashel Alexander Teitelbaum
Lot 091
Untitled
New record: $23,400
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Maxwell Bennett Bates
Lot 093
Reception
New record: $49,725
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Ted Harrison
Lot 098
Mountains of Hope
New record: $40,950
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Daphne Odjig
Lot 100
Rhythm of the Northern Lights
New record: $55,575
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Samuel Borenstein
Lot 102
Street in Ste-Agathe
New record: $76,050
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Molly Joan Lamb Bobak
Lot 108
Grain Boats at English Bay, Vancouver Harbour
New record: $32,175
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Robert Wakeham Pilot
Lot 205
The Ferry Landing, Quebec
New record for a sketch: $64,350
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Tom Thomson
Lot 223
Early Spring, Canoe Lake
New record: $2,749,500
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Emily Carr
Lot 238
Klee Wyck Ceramic Bowl
New record for a ceramic: $32,175
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Lawren Stewart Harris
Lot 240
The Old Stump, Lake Superior
New record: $3,510,000
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Top Ten Paintings Sold - Heffel Fine Art's two sessions - November 26, 2009
Below is a list of the top 10 highest selling paintings from Heffel Fine Art's Post-War & Contemporary Art auction and the Fine Canadian Art auction combined. All prices include the 17 per cent buyers premium added to the hammer price.
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1.
Lot 240
Lawren Harris
The Old Stump, Lake Superior
$3,510,000
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2.
Lot 237
Lawren Harris
Houses, St. Patrick Street
$2,808,000
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3.
Lot 223
Tom Thomson
Early Spring, Canoe Lake
$2,749,500
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4.
Lot 241
Lawren Harris
Iceberg, Baffin's Bay North
$1,521,000
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5.
Lot 242
Lawren Harris
In Buchanan Bay, Ellesmere Island
$1,111,500
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6.
Lot 235
Frederick Varley
Nude on a Couch
$585,000
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7.
Lot 245
A.Y. Jackson
North Shore, Lake Superior
$526,500
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8.
Lot 263
Tom Thomson
Autumn, Algonguin Park
$380,250
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9.
Lot 280
J.E.H. MacDonald
Sunset, Waldmere Farm, Muskoka
$339,300
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10.
Lot 074
Paul-Émile Borduas
Arabesque
$315,900
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