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By Irwin Block, The Gazette
May 6, 2010
Lawren Stewart Harris - Bylot Island I
oil on canvas, circa 1930 ~ 1931
Estimate: $1,500,000 ~ $2,500,000 CAD
A superb collection of paintings by such leading Quebec masters as Jean-Paul Riopelle, Jean Paul Lemieux and Jean McEwen and some stunning Group of Seven works are on view starting today at the Heffel Fine Art Auction House on Sherbrooke St. W.
Potential buyers and their agents are the primary target of this opportunity to see and assess works from private collections, including some never before offered at an auction sale. But art lovers with shallow pockets also are welcome to come admire these pieces, which cover the late historical and contemporary periods of Canadian art history.
With total pre-auction prices totalling $12 million to $15 million for the 222 works, the Heffel family, who own galleries here and in Ottawa, Toronto and Vancouver, expects it to be one of the top-grossing auctions of Canadian art of the past decade.
The actual sell-off is set for May 26 in Vancouver, with previews scheduled there and in Toronto after the collection moves on from Montreal.
The works include paintings from the estates of two late collectors and an anonymous philanthropist.
The estates are those of renowned Vancouver architect Arthur Erickson, who died last May, and Theodosia Dawes Bond Thornton of Montreal, who corresponded with Group of Seven artists and bought directly from Lawren Harris. She died in the fall.
Immediately inside the entry of the renovated greystone where the works are on display, two paintings stand out as examples of the quality of art on offer, said auction house co-owner Robert Heffel.
In Bylot Island I (1930-31), Lawren Harris uses deep cobalt blue as ground colour to contrast with mountain faces in golden yellows and earthy browns. Arctic landscapes were "the pinnacle of his career," Heffel said. The estimated price: $1.5 million to $2.5 million
In Ti-Gus (1962), Lemieux paints a French-Canadian boy against a typical horizontal landscape with a grey winter sky. Estimated price: $150,000 to $250,000.
The rest of the ground floor include works by Group of Seven masters Arthur Lismer and A.Y. Jackson, a great self-portrait of Emily Carr having tea with her sister Lizzie from her mature oil-on-canvas period, and other Carr works.
Equally impressive, Heffel noted, are the stunning colours and draftsmanship of B.C. artist E.J. Hughes.
Older viewers will wax nostalgic on seeing Quebec urban and rural scenes by Albert Robinson, Marc-Aurèle Fortin, Marc-Aurèle de Foy Suzor-Côté, Kathleen Moir Morris and John Little.
Gallery owner Simon Blais, a noted Quebec contemporary art connoisseur, came away impressed by the collection yesterday.
He loved Rouge sur rouge, painted in 1962 by Jean McEwen, and called it "a magnificent example of the artist using the colour red on top of a black background, with varnish mixed in the paint, and a divided line separating two windows."
"McEwen is in every important museum in Canada - this to me is a masterpiece," Blais observed.
The Heffel auction preview is on Thursday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at 1840 Sherbrooke St. W.
Call 514-939-6505.
iblock@thegazette.canwest.com
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