TORONTO.- Cowley Abbott’s Spring Live Auction of Important Canadian and International Art achieved strong results last night at the Globe and Mail Centre in Toronto, led by competitive bidding for rare works by Emily Carr, Edward John Hughes, Franklin Carmichael and Tom Thomson, alongside a new artist record for Anne Savage and notable international offerings by Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Vincent van Gogh.
Highlights of the sale include (all prices include the buyer's premium):
• Once part of the artist’s estate, Emily Carr’s dynamic 1936 canvas “Wind” made its auction debut, selling for $842,500, exceeding its auction estimate of $500,000 - $700,000.
• Edward John Hughes’ “Sooke Harbour Landscape, 1951”, from a corporate collection where it remained for nearly 75 years, attracted major interest, achieving $470,500 (est. $200,000 - $300,000).
• Group of Seven artist Franklin Carmichael achieved strong results across several artworks, with the exceptional oil panel “Autumn Landscape, circa early 1920s” more than doubling its auction estimate, achieving $266,500 (est. $80,000 - $100,000) and a second oil panel created the same year - “Study of Trees, Autumn” - selling for $116,500 (est. $70,000 - $90,000).
• A small rare 1911 Tom Thomson canvas “Marsh, Lake Scugog” sold for $230,500 (est. $100,000 - $200,000)
• ARTIST RECORD: Beaver Hall Group artist Anne Douglas Savage’s oil painting “Concarneau, 1924” drew heated bidding, soaring well beyond expectation to audience applause. The artwork sold for $182,500 (est. $15,000 - $20,000), setting a new auction record for the artist.
Two globally-celebrated international artists were featured in the sale with “Paysage du Midi, c. 1900”, a small canvas by the pioneering impressionist master Pierre-August Renoir selling for $146,500 (est. $150,000 - $250,000). Vincent van Gogh’s first and only etching, “Homme à la Pipe: Portrait du Docteur Gachet, 1890”, offers a glimpse into the artist’s relationship with the doctor who cared for him during his final year of life. The intimate portrait sold for $170,500 (est. $150,000 - $250,000).
