Canadian Art Market Heats Up

Fellow appraiser Stephen Sweeting, ASA passed along an article from the Canadian Globe and Mail on a fine art auction in in Vancouver at Heffel Fine Art. According to Stephen this sale is considered the last major auction event of the season, and the sale did surprisingly well. Three paintings sold for over $1 million Canadian, with the Wind in the Tree Tops (see image) by Emily Carr sold for $2.16 million Canadian. The sales price is the fourth most ever paid for a painting sold in Canada. Not a bad result during an economic downturn. To put the value in perspective, the current exchange rate is almost even at the moment with $1.00 US dollar equalling about $1.12 Canadian.

The final Heffel sales totaled $11.34 million Canadian, which was also $2 million Canadian over the total high auction catalog estimate. Over 87% of the lots sold.

The article states “Look at this room,” auctioneer David Heffel said at the end of the evening. “If the mood in here reflects the wider economy at all, then I’d say it was joyous.”

Two other paintings topped the million-dollar mark: Thomas (Tom) John Thomson’s, Birches and Cedar, Fall (1915) which reached an impressive $1,404,000, well over its $600,000-$800,000 estimate; and Jean-Paul Riopelle’s Jouet (1953).

The article continues The pre-eminent player in the Canadian fine art market, Vancouver’s Heffel Fine Art Auction House, held their sale late this year. Usually the Heffel auction kicks off the spring art auctions, offering a good marker of the industry economic landscape. This year, because the Heffel brothers had their hearts set on using Vancouver’s new convention centre for their auction, they have trailed Sotheby’s/Ritchies and Joyner Waddington’s Toronto sales. Following poorer than expected revenues in those earlier auctions, the Heffel catalogue became increasingly significant.

To read the full article on the sale, click HERE.