William Perehudoff, AC-69-29, 1969.
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Consignor Canadian Fine Art’s forthcoming Spring Live Auction of Important Canadian Art features noteworthy examples by Canada’s celebrated historical, post-war and contemporary artists spanning the country’s history. Among the catalogue’s highlights is Québecois painter Claude Tousignant’s striking green and red canvas Absurdo, with an estimate of $60,000–80,000. A champion of abstract art’s development in North America, Tousignant paints his signature circle motif in this commanding painting, dating to 1964. With its mesmerizing concentric rings, Absurdo achieves the artist’s career-long pursuit of creating a painting that is a self-referential object and experience. Another significant post-war abstract painting in the auction is the monumental AC-69-29, by William Perehudoff. The bold, vertical blocks of colour against the raw canvas provide a stunning example of the Color Field painting movement. Completed in 1969, this artwork carries a pre-sale estimate of $20,000-30,000. Other notable post-war offerings include works by artists such as Kenneth Lochhead, Jack Bush, Guido Molinari, Alexandra Luke, Marcelle Ferron, Ray Mead, Fernand Leduc, Otto Rogers, Richard Gorman, Harold Town, Tom Hodgson, Walter Yarwood and others.
Among the strong selection of historical works featured in the May 28 auction is a rare watercolour by David Milne, Soft Hill (Misty Hills) (Boston Corners, N.Y.). Painted in 1917, the work dates to when the artist moved to the small village of Boston Corners, New York, where he produced some of his most iconic paintings. On the cover of the auction catalogue is Lawren Harris’ Algoma Sketch XCII (Algoma Autumn), an important oil sketch from 1920–21, while the Group of Seven was forming and beginning to exhibit in Toronto. The charming autumn woodland scene is estimated at $150,000–250,000. Also prominently featured in the live auction is Emily Carr’s Forest Interior, an oil painting of the lush British Columbian forest. Estimated at $250,000–350,000, the painting showcases the artist’s increasingly stylized painterly approach from 1929–31.
Historical Canadian art plays a central role in the forthcoming Consignor auction, with other very strong examples on offer, including work by A.Y. Jackson, J.E.H. MacDonald, Frederick Varley, Robert Pilot, Edwin Holgate, Franklin Carmichael, William Kurelek, Molly Lamb Bobak and many others.
“We are delighted to once again offer an important collection of work that is a celebration of our country’s artists, schools and movements, showcasing significant works by artists from coast to coast,” notes Consignor vice president, Lydia Abbott. “We are thrilled to provide exciting opportunities for new and established collectors of Canadian art.
The Spring Live Auction of Important Canadian Art will take place on Tuesday, May 28 at 7 p.m. at Toronto’s Gardiner Museum (doors open at 6 p.m.). Previewing continues until then at the Consignor Gallery, at 326 Dundas Street West (directly across the street from the Art Gallery of Ontario). The complete auction listing can be viewed by following this link, and catalogues are available for purchase in the gallery or by mail by following this link.
Since its inception in 2013, Consignor’s live and online auctions have included exceptional works such as an undiscovered William Kurelek (Ukrainian Proverb, sold for $41,400) and Jack Bush’s Summer Lake, which broke records in May 2014 for the most expensive painting by a Canadian artist to be sold at an online auction ($310,500). Consignor’s inaugural live auction of May 2016 set the record for the highest-selling Algoma sketch by Lawren Harris, fetching $977,500. The Spring 2018 Live Auction featured Kurelek’s sought-after masterpiece Hot Day at Kensington Market, which more than tripled its opening bid, selling for $472,000. Other recent notable sales include A.J. Casson’s Storm in the Cloche Hills, which sold for $118,000, nearly doubling its pre-auction estimate, as well as Bertram Brooker’s Delta Ice House, which achieved a price of $82,600 following spirited bidding and a pre-sale estimate of $25,000–35,000.
Consignor Canadian Fine Art is currently accepting consignments for further upcoming auctions, including the Fall Live Auction of Important Canadian Art in November 2019. Consignor offers standard all-inclusive selling commissions and the lowest buyer’s premium in the industry. Those interested in consignment are welcome to arrange a complimentary and confidential consultation by contacting Consignor’s specialists at 1-866-931-8415 or info@consignor.ca.
