The Old Stump, Lake Superior. Oil on board, 30.5 X 38.1 cm. Lawren Harris. Heffel Fine Art Auction House Catalogue, Nov. 26, 2009.
The brothers behind Thursday's Heffel fine-art auction say they expect the event will be a historic night and a milestone in their careers.
David and Robert Heffel say their fall auction, with 210 items up for sale, will likely be one of their most lucrative to date.
While it's not expected to rival Heffel's record sale in May, 2007, which garnered more than $23 million, the brothers are conservatively estimating sales between $11-million to $15-million.
The most expensive painting is expected to be The Old Stump, Lake Superior by Group of Seven member Lawren Harris.
The oil painting has been hung in the National Gallery of Canada and the Heffels say it's considered to be one of Harris's most important works.
It's estimated to sell for between $2-million to $2.5-million.
Two other Harris paintings are also expected to sell for more than a million dollars.
Iceberg, Baffin's Bay North and Houses, St. Patrick Street are both expected to sell for $1.2-million to $1.6-million.
Those paintings are among 15 from the collection of the estate of Helen E. Band, daughter of Canadian art collector Charles Band.
"When we're old and crabby art dealers this sale will definitely be one of our milestones in our career," said David Heffel.
"Charlie Band was at the forefront of collecting Canadian art in his generation and a figure the size of a Ken Thomson. He had a schoolboy relationship with Harris ... and had an opportunity to get three or four of the finest Lawren Harris's directly from the artist, and produced relationships with other members of the Group of Seven and acquired some very fine works."
Heffel says the auction house hasn't been badly hurt by the impacts of the recession and he expects buyers will be ready to spend.
"When a great painting comes up for auction, collectors get very excited and often that opportunity can be a once in a lifetime opportunity," he said.
"So even last November, at the beginning of the financial crisis, we had a very good sale, which was the third biggest sale in Canadian history, so we haven't seen a tremendous impact on our firm."