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Media Release
Vancouver, B.C. - (June 17, 2009, 9:20 p.m. PST)
Heffel Fine Art Auction House set a new record sale price tonight when a rare Emily Carr painting sold for $2,164,500 in the second session of Heffel's Live Spring Auction. Wind in the Treetops, a 36-1/2 x 21-1/4 inch oil on canvas, circa 1936-1939, is from the most sought-after period in Carr's career - the mature period of the 1930s. Heffel Fine Art Auction House has previously sold two Carr paintings for more than $1-million and is the only auction house to reach that price point for her works. This ranks as the fourth highest priced painting in Canadian history.
"We were very fortunate to have a mature period Carr canvas of this calibre in our sale," says Robert Heffel, principal of Heffel Fine Art Auction House. "A painting from this period is one of the rarest treasures in Canadian art, so it is not surprising we shattered the previous Carr record by $1 million."
Tonight's sale result of $11.3-million was well past the $6 - $9-million presale estimate for Heffel's two sessions. The Canadian Post-War & Contemporary Art, which commenced at 4 p.m. PST, had sales totalling $4.7-million. The second session of Fine Canadian Art began at 7 p.m. PST and had a sales total of $6.6-million. Both sessions were held before a crowd of 300 people at Vancouver's new Convention Centre overlooking Coal Harbour.
Tom Thomson's Birches and Cedar, Fall was another highlight, selling for $1,404,000 - well above its estimate of $600,000 to $800,000. The oil on panel, circa 1915, is embossed with the Thomson estate stamp and highlights the ever-changing fall landscape of the Ontario woods.
During the second session a record was set when John William Beatty's Canoe Lake, Algonquin Park sold for $222,300. Beatty strongly influenced Tom Thomson and the Group of Seven in its early days.
Three other Emily Carr lots showed well in the second session. A Forest Clearing, a colourful oil from 1935 sold for $187,200; Shore and Forest (Cordova Bay) sold for $128,700; and Tangle, a 1937 oil on board forest scene also sold for $128,700.
"The Fine Canadian Art session was one of our finest collections of artwork to date, featuring a number of Group of Seven canvases and an exceptional Carr work," says David Heffel, president of Heffel Fine Art Auction House. "Once again, we were delighted to see consistently strong bidding throughout both sales."
Highpoints in the first session included the sale of Jean-Paul Riopelle's Jouet, a drip painting that sold for $1,170,000. Jouet; Thomson's Birches and Cedar, Fall; and Carr's Wind in the Tree Tops are the only three paintings to sell for over $1-million in the entire spring 2009 auction season. Alexander Colville's Coastal Figure was also among the first session's top selling paintings, with a sale price of $526,500.
In the two sessions, 21 paintings exceeded the $100,000 mark and 15 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 in the auction are cleared for media use and can be downloaded from the newsroom page of www.heffel.com.
In total, the Spring Auction featured 159 Canadian works. Information on the pieces and artists can also be found at www.heffel.com.
Top Ten Paintings Sold - Heffel Fine Art's two sessions - June 17, 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. Emily Carr
Wind in the Tree Tops
Lot 156 - oil on canvas
Sold for: $2,164,500
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2. Tom Thomson
Birches and Cedar, Fall
Lot 137 - oil on panel
Sold for: $1,404,000
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3. Jean-Paul Riopelle
Jouet
Lot 31 - oil on canvas
Sold for: $1,170,000
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4. Alexander Colville
Coastal Figure
Lot 40 - glazed tempera on board
Sold for: $526,500
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5. James Edwards Hervey (J.E.H.) MacDonald
Algoma Hillside
Lot 138 - oil on board
Sold for: $409,500
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6. William Kurelek
After the Blizzard in Manitoba
Lot 10 - mixed media on board
Sold for: $245,700
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7. John William Beatty
Canoe Lake, Algonquin Park
Lot 121 - oil on canvas
Sold for: $222,300
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8. Jean-Paul Riopelle
Côte sauvage (D)
Lot 34 - oil on canvas
Sold for: $187,200
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9. Emily Carr
A Forest Clearing
Lot 161 - oil on paper laid down on board
Sold for: $187,200
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10. Edward John (E.J.) Hughes
Trees on a Point, Mill Bay, BC
Lot 41 - oil on canvas
Sold for: $175,500
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Combined New Records set in the two Heffel Fine Art Auctions - June 17, 2009
These are the 15 new records set at today's Heffel Post-War & Contemporary Art Auction and Fine Canadian Art auctions. All prices include the 17 per cent buyers premium added to the hammer price.
Jack Shadbolt
Lot 1 - Pender St. at Granville - Sketch for United Services Centre Mural
New record: $38,025 for a watercolour
E.J. Hughes
Lot 5 - Mouth of the Courtenay River, BC
New record: $43,875 for a drawing
Louis Belzile
Lot 23 - Sérénité
New record: $5,265
Jack Shadbolt
Lot 29 - Summer Icon
New record: $152,100
Rita Letendre
Lot 33 - Réseaux d'intrigue
New record: $64,350
Rodolphe de Repentigny
Lot 36 - Sans titre
New record: $40,950
Jean-Philippe Dallaire
Lot 37 - Nu décoratif
New record: $76,050
Walter Hawley Yarwood
Lot 39 - Island
New record: $40,950
E.J. Hughes
Lot 44 - Museum Ship at Penticton, BC
New record: $128,700 for a watercolour
Jean-Paul Riopelle
Lot 48 - Hibou
New record: $49,725 for a sculpture
Robert Charles Davidson
Lot 49 - Dunee
New record: $15,210 for a bronze sculpture
Agatha (Gathie) Falk
Lot 69 - Still Life with Fruit
New record: $7,020 for a ceramic
Henriette Fauteux-Massé
Lot 72 - Sans titre
New record: $7,605
John William Beatty
Lot 121 - Canoe Lake, Algonquin Park
New record: $222,300
Emily Carr
Lot 156 - Wind in the Tree Tops
New record: $2,164,500
For more information contact:
Ross Sullivan / Serena Matter
Peak Communicators (for Heffel Fine Art Auction House)
cell: 604-802-7139 (on site during auction)
office: 604-689-5559
email: rsullivan@peakco.com / smatter@peakco.com
Heffel Fine Art Auction House - Canada's National Fine Art Auction House
Vancouver Office:
2247 Granville Street, Vancouver
British Columbia, Canada V6H 3G1
tel: (604) 732 6505
fax: (604) 732 4245
toll free: (800) 528 9608
Montreal Office:
1840 rue Sherbrooke Ouest, Montreal
Quebec, Canada H3H 1E4
tel: (514) 939 6505
fax: (514) 939 1100
toll free: (866) 939 6505
Toronto Office:
13 Hazelton Avenue, Toronto
Ontario, Canada M5R 2E1
tel: (416) 961 6505
fax: (416) 961 4245
toll free: (866) 961 6505
Ottawa Office ~ by appointment:
104 Daly Avenue, Ottawa
Ontario, Canada K1N 6E7
tel: (613) 230 6505
fax: (613) 230 8884
toll free: (866) 747 6505
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