Fall 2022 and the year I n re VI e W
We want to start by wishing you a very happy and healthy New Year, and all the very best for 2023. As we reflect on the last year, one thing that remains very clear is the importance of community. We are truly grateful to all of you—our colleagues, friends, consignors and collectors—for your ongoing patronage, friendship and support.
Throughout 2022, the global auction market continued to break new barriers, as current conditions have propelled the industry to embrace and enhance digital tools and strategies at an unprecedented rate. Heffel is proud to have once again led Canada’s art market in sales, achieved record prices for renowned artists and placed major works of art in important collections globally. In the face of change, the market showed resilience and adaptability, and Heffel’s digital platforms continued to open up new possibilities for engagement and accessibility.
Our fall auction was held on November 24 in Toronto. It was such a pleasure to see so many familiar faces, welcome bidders back into the ballroom and to marry the traditional live auction experience with the major technological advancements we have focused our efforts on growing over the course of the pandemic. Bringing together in-person bidding and our state-of-the-art Digital Saleroom, along with dynamic telephone bidding, created a lively and energetic environment, enjoyed by bidders around the world. The excitement from both participants and viewers reverberated beyond the walls of the ballroom, as records were shattered across all areas of the market, with total sales exceeding $23 million, including our online auction. Outstanding results were achieved for masterworks by Marcelle Ferron, Tom Thomson and Jean Paul Lemieux, to name just a few. Six incredible paintings by Lawren Harris captured the hearts of art-lovers and collectors, totalling a remarkable $7.3 million for just those works.
The crown jewel of the auction, Andy Warhol’s highly coveted portrait of Queen Elizabeth II surpassed the million dollar mark, and broke the global auction record for a Warhol editioned print sold at auction. The royal blue screen print from the ultra-rare Royal Edition, dazzling with diamond dust, sold for $1,141,250. The passion and confidence of our bidders this season was evident to all, as participants enthusiastically called out bids well above asking prices.
We are honoured to have presented so many phenomenal works by Canadian and international giants, which will continue their journeys in wonderful new homes. It was truly a night to remember.
Online Auctions
Since 1999, Heffel has been an innovator in the online auction space, and we have taken great pride in continuously enhancing our technology and capabilities to ensure that we are giving both buyers and sellers
the best experience possible. With two decades of experience, our platform continues to grow, and emulates the live auction experience with thoughtful presentation, competitive bidding and international participation. Heffel’s proprietary and bilingual bidding platform, virtual gallery tours and post-sale transaction tools have propelled our sales to success.
In the last year alone, thousands of works were offered in our monthly online auctions and achieved record sales results, totalling an exceptional $ 14 million. From Jean Paul Riopelle to Kenojuak Ashevak to Hokusai to A.Y. Jackson, major works of art from across the world changed hands, and specialty sales highlighted the calendar, including Painting Towards the Infinite: Works by Rita Letendre, Twice Around the World: Works by Doris McCarthy and Alex Colville: Prints & Process, to name just a few. We also partnered with renowned pioneering artist Armand Vaillancourt for a dedicated auction and exhibition.
Heffel’s commitment to building relationships across our industry remains a point of pride for our entire firm. It was our privilege to partner with a number of leading corporations, institutions and organizations to present important works in dedicated online auctions and to reach new audiences. It was our pleasure to work with the Guido Molinari Foundation, Musée d’art contemporain de Baie-Saint-Paul, Capture Photography Festival and many others. One partnership we will never forget was this past summer, when we presented an important and meaningful artwork at auction by renowned artist Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun, Lets’lo:tseltun,
titled Indian Residential School, Leaving the Shallow Graves and Going Home. This powerful canvas sold in the online benefit auction for $ 157,250 and all proceeds from the sale benefited the Orange Shirt Society and the Indian Residential School Survivors Society. The painting was commissioned by Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel and Yuxweluptun generously offered to increase the size of the work. Macaulay & Co. Fine Art, which represents the artist, donated its commission, and Heffel donated our Buyer’s Premium. The work is currently on public view at the McMichael Canadian Art Collection, thanks to the generous collector who acquired the painting and loaned it to the institution.
Expanding Across Canada
This year Heffel successfully advanced into the fascinating world of Numismatics. We launched our exciting category expansion with the record-breaking sale of The Ultimate, Heffel’s first auction in collaboration with the Royal Canadian Mint. The masterpiece coin, a one-of-a-kind, one-kilo pure platinum work of art, adorned with hundreds of ultra-rare pink diamonds from the famed Argyle mine, made history in the June live sale. Participation from around the world propelled The Ultimate to a final sale price of $ 1,261,250, a national record for a coin at auction. We look forward to following its historic journey for decades to come.
Heffel is also pleased to offer coins and bullion for retail sale, including a number of major pieces from the Royal Canadian
Mint. We are pleased to launch our Heffel Numismatics website later this year and we look forward to building more lasting partnerships as we grow our presence in this exciting space.
New Spaces
Heffel’s national footprint continues to grow with new team members, new departments and added infrastructure across Canada, now totalling more than 20,000 sq. ft. nation-wide. We are thrilled to announce that Heffel has recently acquired and opened our brand new Manning location, a state-of-the-art, secure storage and gallery facility in Calgary. With this additional space, we will host more great exhibitions and events, and will be offering storage solutions and services to our collectors in Alberta and beyond. Keep your eye out for upcoming exhibition announcements—we have quite a bit in store!
Private Sales
Heffel’s Private Sales department proved a major area of expansion in 2022. We found new homes for exceptional artworks, both from important private collections and also through artist representation.
This fall, Heffel held its second exhibition of works by Barry Ace, Encoding Culture II. The show and public catalogue were extremely well-received, and resulted in important institutional acquisitions. We are so pleased to share that Global Affairs Canada acquired two iconic works, Erased and Traditional, to be exhibited in Canadian diplomatic missions abroad. These acquisitions are a testament to the relevance of the artist’s body of work, and represent a milestone in his career as one of Canada’s most important contemporary Indigenous artists. All sale proceeds of Erased, from both Barry Ace and Heffel, will benefit Bruce House, a community-based organization providing housing and compassionate support to individuals and families impacted by HIV in and around Ottawa.
Heffel is delighted to represent the work of Dorothy Knowles, one of Canada’s most beloved senior artists, in Toronto and Vancouver. Earlier this year, in partnership with Knowles and her wonderful family, Heffel held a successful career-spanning exhibition of Knowles’s work at our Toronto gallery, which allowed for an intimate look at her stunning landscapes.
Most recently, we announced that Heffel now represents Ross Penhall, a renowned contemporary artist. Best known for his striking and colourful landscapes inspired by high-contrast views across Canada, Penhall’s works can be found in collections around the world. A number of major works were sold immediately following the announcement, and we look forward to showcasing a number of available works in a group exhibition this coming spring.
a BOV e: l a W ren sT e War T harr I s House in the Ward, Winter, City Painting No. 1 oil on canvas, circa 1924 32 × 38 3/8 inches Sold November 24, 2022 for $ 2,521,250Heffel Foundation
We are truly grateful for the opportunity to work with and support organizations, causes and institutions across the world that share Heffel’s passion for the advancement of visual arts and culture. In 2021, we established the Heffel Foundation, which provides ongoing and lasting philanthropic backing for cherished museums and galleries, scholarships encouraging further education in the arts, and so much more.
This year, Heffel was honoured to sponsor the outstanding and very important Uninvited: Canadian Women Artists in the Modern Movement exhibition at the Vancouver Art Gallery, after its hugely successful opening at the McMichael Canadian Art Collection. This major exhibition was a compilation of more than 200 works of art by a generation of extraordinary women—painters, photographers, weavers, bead workers and sculptors—focused on the 1920s through the 1940s.
We are very much looking forward to the ground-breaking exhibition at the Art Gallery of Ontario, Cassatt—McNicoll: Impressionists Between Worlds, celebrating the work of two pioneering women Impressionist painters, Mary Cassatt and Helen McNicoll. Heffel is a Supporting Sponsor for this highly-anticipated show, which opens to the public on June 3, 2023.
As we embark on a new year, we encourage you to visit your local museums and galleries to enjoy the incredible artworks that we are lucky to have here in Canada.
Looking Ahead
Our team is back in action and ready for an exciting year of record results, museum-quality masterworks and important partnerships. We look forward to seeing you, working with you and building upon the successes that we have achieved together.
We are eager to share some of the online auctions on the horizon, including Works on Paper and Prints from the Estate of Betty Goodwin, First Nations & Inuit Art, Folk Art, Asian Art and more, as well as additional collaborations through our Online Auction Partnerships (HO 2) platform. We are always welcoming consignments for this dynamic platform, and encourage you to reach out to our team of specialists to discuss your artworks.
We are also accepting consignments for our major spring auction of Canadian, Impressionist & Modern Art and Post-War & Contemporary Art. There are phenomenal examples by renowned artists filling the catalogue pages already, including masterpieces by Jean Arp, Jack Bush, Doris McCarthy and Arthur Lismer, so works consigned will be in great company. As always, we are here to assist with your art collecting journey and look forward to learning more about your goals.
Thank you again from our whole team for a wonderful 2022. Wishing you all the very best for the year ahead.
