A painting by Group of Seven artist Lawren Harris was the star attraction Thursday at the Heffel Fine Art Auction House fall auction.
With seven record-breaking sales among the 142 lots on offer, Heffel said this year’s live auction reached a total of $12-million. (All prices include an 18 per cent buyer’s premium.)
The Harris painting, entitled Houses on Gerrard Street, sold for $1.12-million, far surpassing the pre-auction estimate of $350,000-$450,000.
Five works by Jean Paul Riopelle, including Ombrages (shown above) and Sans titre also surpassed estimates and sold for a combined $2.25-million.
Another highlight of the auction, held at the Park Hyatt Hotel in Toronto, was Study for Snowplow by Alex Colville, which sold for $47,200. That established an auction record for a Colville work on paper.
William Kurelek’s Retired Sea Captain in Newfoundland was sold for $100,300 – far above its pre-auction estimate of $40,000-$60,000.
Another work that far exceeded estimates was Uplands by Ivan Kenneth Eyre. It was expected to sell for as much as $60,000, but fetched $318,600.
The auction house also said Study for Regatta, Saint Malo by James Wilson Morrice set a record for a sketch by selling for $236,000.
Photos from heffel.com