N E W S L E T T E R Fall 2023
FALL LIVE AUCTION HIGHLIGHTS LIVE AUCTION PREVIEWS Montreal Le Mount Stephen Hotel November 9th-11th Toronto Cowley Abbott Gallery November 16th-December 6th
FALL LIVE AUCTION The Globe & Mail Centre, Toronto Wednesday, December 6th Session 1 - 4:00 pm EST Important Canadian & International Art Session 2 - 7:00 pm EST Artwork from an Important Private Collection L AWREN HARRIS Lake Superior Sketch no. 3
ANDY WARHOL Mick Jagger, 1975
CL ARENCE GAGNON The Ice Harvest, Quebec, 1935
JEAN PAUL LEMIEUX Jeune fille au chandail jaune
Thrilling Live Auction Season Ahead with the Final Sale of An Important Private Collection of Canadian Art Cowley Abbott is delighted to present our Fall 2023 season, with an exciting lineup of auctions and events including the third offering of An Important Private Collection of Canadian Art. To be held at the Globe & Mail Centre in Toronto on the heels of two consecutive record-breaking sales, the final installment of this prestigious collection of rare, museumquality historical Canadian art will serve as part of the two-session Fall Live Auction on December 6th. Highlights include a 1926 oil painting by Lawren Harris entitled Lake Superior Sketch no.3 and The Ice Harvest, Quebec, 1935 by Clarence Gagnon. The collection has cumulatively achieved a gross total of over $27 million across the two auctions to date, and is on pace to become the highest-grossing private collection of Canadian art ever sold at auction. The first of the two Fall Live Auction sessions will feature important Canadian and international works by historical, post-war and contemporary artists from a variety of private, corporate and public collections, including major works by Andy Warhol, Jean Paul Lemieux, Emily Carr, Jack Bush, Guido Molinari and Rita Letendre, among others. We look forward to welcoming our clients for a season of previews in Toronto and Montreal. We will be hosting cocktail and guest speaker events leading up to the Fall Live Auction in addition to a variety of curated online auctions and private sale exhibitions. The fall calendar at Cowley Abbott also includes a special curated selling exhibition of works by Sorel Etrog from the estate of the artist. During Art Toronto, this exhibition, as well as select highlights from the Fall Live Auction will be on display at the gallery. Stay tuned for updates and we hope you will join us for this exciting sneak peak of the fall season!
Cowley Abbott Increases Market Share and Celebrates 10 Year Anniversary in the Canadian Auction Industry
ANDY WARHOL Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom from Reigning Queens Price Realized: $936,000
EMILY CARR Kitwancool, circa 1928 Price Realized: $1,920,000
L AWREN HARRIS Quiet Lake (Northern Painting 12) circa 1926-1928 Price Realized: $2,160,000 TOM THOMSON Ragged Oaks, 1916 Price Realized: $1,800,000
This year, Cowley Abbott celebrates 10 years as part of the auction industry, capping a decade of offering unique and personalized services to buyers and sellers of Canadian art. Canada’s art auction market continues to demonstrate high demand, with enthusiastic bidding driving strong sales at Cowley Abbott’s two-session Spring Live Auction event on June 8th, which grossed more than $16 million. The sale witnessed nine new artist records at auction, cementing the sale as a tremendous afternoon and evening for Canadian art. The first session featured important Canadian and international works of art, entrusted to our firm from a variety of private, corporate and public collections. Besides strong results for Canadian historical, post-war and contemporary masters, the afternoon session realized incredible prices for international artists, including Andy Warhol, David Hockney and Joan Mitchell. The evening session marked the second of three landmark live auctions dedicated to a prestigious Private Collection of Canadian Art. A selection of exceptional historical artworks once again invited a bidding frenzy, with most artworks in the sale exceeding – and often doubling, tripling or more – pre-sale estimates. Three masterworks achieved over and above the million-dollar mark, including works by celebrated artists Tom Thomson, Emily Carr and Lawren Harris. Comprising rare, museum-quality artworks, An Important Private Collection of Canadian Art has cumulatively achieved a gross total of over $27 million across the two auctions to date, setting a noteworthy 2 artist records thus far.
Over $16 Million Dollars of Art Sold at the Spring Live Auction
MARC-AURÈLE DE FOY SUZOR-COTÉ Magdalena (Méditation), 1921 Price Realized: $384,000
RITA LE TENDRE
Rencontre enflammée Price Realized: $312,000
L AWREN HARRIS Red House, Barrie, 1924 Price Realized: $66,000
The evening session’s private collection highlights were led by the trio of masterpieces which exceeded the million-dollar mark. Lawren Harris’ widely exhibited masterwork Quiet Lake (Northern Painting 12), circa 1926-1928 sold for $2.16 million. Emily Carr’s majestic depiction of totem poles in Kitwancool, circa 1928 exceeded expectation, achieving $1.92 million, Lastly, Tom Thomson’s rare oil on panel Ragged Oaks, which was owned by the artist’s family before being acquired by the private collectors more than 50 years ago, also exceeded the pre-sale estimate, selling for $1.8 million. Artist records achieved included heated bidding for Arthur Lismer’s oil on wood landscape titled, A September Gale, Georgian Bay, 1921, setting a new record for a sketch by the artist at $432,000, nearly triple the high-end estimate. A charming canvas by Mary Eastlake, In the Orchard, circa 1895-1897, smashed the previous artist record ($22,000) nearly eight times over, selling for $168,000. Franklin Brownell’s Tea Time, recently exhibited in the Canada and Impressionism exhibition at the National Gallery of Canada and abroad, set a record at $90,000. William Blair Bruce’s Picking Pears in Barbizon (The Pear Orchard), 1882, tripled the pre- sale estimate at $264,000, and exceeded the previous artist record by more than three times. Results were solid for historical, post-war and contemporary Canadian & International art during the afternoon session, including Rita Letendre’s Rencontre enflammée (1962), which fetched $312,000, the second highest price ever achieved for the painter’s work at auction. William Kurelek’s A Bolt Like That (1965) sold for $264,000, well exceeding its auction estimate after remaining in the same private Toronto collection since the year it was painted. Jean Paul Riopelle’s Sans titre (1953) fetched $552,000; the abstract canvas proved to be a favourite throughout previews. Magdalena (Méditation), the incredibly rare 1921 canvas by Marc-Aurèle de Foy Suzor-Coté sold for $384,000, the highest auction price achieved for the historical Quebec painter in the last twenty years.
Iconic Works by Andy Warhol Sold to Benefit W.A.G.-Qaumajuq
Andy Warhol’s Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, from Reigning Queens, 1985 on display at the Spring Live Auction Preview at Le Mount Stephen, Montreal.
Stunningly reproduced on the spring’s first session catalogue, Andy Warhol’s Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, from Reigning Queens, 1985, attracted international attention during the Live Auction of Important Canadian and International Art, selling for $936,000. The set of four colour silkscreens was part of the collection of the Winnipeg Art Gallery-Qaumajuq. Proceeds will support the development of an endowment fund to build more diverse representation in the Gallery’s permanent collection, beginning with contemporary Indigenous art. Cowley Abbott is proud to have donated their selling commission from the sale to the fund.
Promotion, Advertising and Connecting with Collectors to Drive Results
Leading up to the Spring Live Auction, Cowley Abbott secured extensive and varied media coverage, with Rob and Lydia appearing in television news segments and radio shows across the country. Our auctions are promoted in Canadian newspapers and magazines, on both the regional and national levels with carefully crafted advertisements which provide exposure to art collectors and the general public. These ads aim to attract the highest level of attention during the season. The weeks of public previews held by Cowley Abbott in Montreal and Toronto have become immensely popular with our clients, allowing an unparalleled level of actual exposure of the featured artwork and face-to-face promotion by our specialists. In addition to regularly hosting private groups and arts organizations, our team was honoured to have Charles Hill, former curator of Canadian Art at the National Gallery of Canada, join Cowley Abbott for special evening celebrations in Montreal and Toronto, where we gained insight on the masterworks in the Spring Live Auction. Our experienced specialists appear in professionally shot short, informative videos ahead of the live auction which focus upon individual works of art featured in the upcoming sale. These videos are not only shared on our YouTube channel, on our social media channels and in the News section of our website, but the videos are also sent via e-mail to our mailing list and to collectors who have indicated interest in the artist being discussed. The promotion and advertising undertaken by our team prior to the auction was critical and played a key role in the tremendous success of the Spring Live Auction.
Celebrating Ten Years of Record-Breaking Success 2023 marks 10 years since Cowley Abbott was founded. Through industry-leading client service, cultivating and maintaining relationships within the art community and, of course, professional expertise and enthusiasm related to the artwork which we have been privileged to be entrusted with over the past decade, our firm has presented important and rare works of art to advantage. Below we are pleased to provide a selection of the artwork which has performed at the top of the auction market, inviting excitement and spirited bidding from collectors across Canada and beyond our borders.
EXCEPTIONAL RESULTS
TOM THOMSON Petawawa Gorges (1916) EMILY CARR Sold for $2,220,000 The Totem of the Bear and the Moon Sold for $3,120,000
JAMES W. MORRICE Neige, Canada (Snow, Canada) (circa 1905) Sold for $1,260,000
LAWREN HARRIS Algoma (Algoma Sketch 48) Sold for $977,500 (Auction Record)
JACK BUSH DAVID MILNE Column on Browns (1965) Young Cedars (1919) Sold for $870,000 Sold for $792,000 {Auction Record)
J.E.H. MACDONALD Cedars, Little Turtle Lake, 1922 Sold for $204,000
HENRY SANDHAM Low Tide, Murray Bay Sold for $192,000 (Auction Record)
A.J. CASSON Thunderstorm (1933) Sold for $480,000
WILLIAM KURELEK Hot Day in Kensington Market Sold for $472,000
ARTHUR LISMER Lake Superior-Pic Island Sold for $312,000
GUIDO MOLINARI Série noir/blanc Sold for $264,000
MOLLY LAMB BOBAK Beach Crowd Sold for $108,000 (Auction Record)
MAUD LEWIS Car Ride through Town Sold for $90,000
MARCELLE FERRON Sans titre Sold for $1,260,000
PAUL KANE Ojibwa Camp in the Spider Islands Sold for $1,080,000
FRANCES A. HOPKINS Voyageurs Encampment (Camp Scene on the Ottawa) Sold for $552,000 (Auction Record)
ARTHUR LISMER A September Gale, Georgian Bay, 1921 Sold for $432,000
JOCK MACDONALD Drying Herring Roe Sold for $408,000 (Auction Record)
ADRIEN HÉBERT The Eaton’s Window, Montreal (1937) Sold for $408,000 (Auction Record)
RITA LETENDRE Terre feconde Sold for $264,000
DAVID BOWIE DHead XLVI Sold for $108,120 (Auction Record)
CORNELIUS KRIEGHOFF Canadians Preparing for Town Sold for $192,000
FRANKLIN BROWNELL Tea Time Sold for $90,000 (Auction Record)
FRANKLIN CARMICHAEL Old Orchard Sold for $475,000
CLAUDE TOUSIGNANT Absurdo (1964) Sold for $188,800
JEAN PAUL RIOPELLE Sans titre (circa 1959) Sold for $504,000
WILLIAM BL AIR BRUCE Picking Pears in Barbizon (The Pear Orchard), 1882 Sold for $264,000 (Auction Record)
JEAN PAUL LEMIEUX Basse messe dimanche Sold for $330,400
IVAN EYRE Amber Pass Sold for $228,000
A.Y. JACKSON Tadenac, November Sold for $936,000 (Auction Record)
L.L. FITZGERALD Still Life with Plant Sold for $168,000 (Auction Record)
NORVAL MORRISSEAU Animal Unity Sold for $312,000 (Auction Record)
J.E.H. MACDONALD Tracks and Traffic Sold for $230,000
BILL REID Chief of the Undersea World Sold for $129,800
Private Sales at Cowley Abbott with Peter Ohler Trusted for his expertise, integrity and cultivation of client relationships for decades, Peter Ohler continues to pursue, discover and present rare and important Canadian and international artwork for collectors to acquire privately. Peter’s career with leading Canadian art galleries and his private firm, Ohler’s Fine Art, have led him to represent some of the country’s noteable collections and artwork, providing an effective avenue to Cowley Abbott clients who may not wish to engage in the auction process for the sale of their works of art. Following his continued success of acquiring, marketing and privately selling market-desirable artwork, Peter will be presenting special selections of important, exciting artwork during the fall and winter seasons. Please contact Peter if you are interested in discussing Cowley Abbott’s private sale services. peter@cowleyabbott.ca | 437-232-9183
The Cowley Abbott Team
Rob Cowley
Lydia Abbott
Ryan Mayberry
Leah Carey
Anna Holmes
Peter Ohler
Perry Tung
Nicole Plaskett
Patrick Staheli
Eryn Brobyn
Catherine Lacroix
Sydney Rodrigues
326 Dundas Street West Toronto, Ontario M5T 1G5 Toll-Free: 1-866-931-8415 mail@cowleyabbott.ca CowleyAbbott.ca
Katherine Meredith