Joyner Waddington's Canadian Art Blog

Newly Discovered Works by Canadian Historical and Contemporary

Artists Featured in Joyner Waddington’s Fall Auction

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE           

TORONTO (November 1^st, 2012) – Rare and newly-discovered works of art from some of the country’s most renowned artists highlight the Joyner Waddington’s Fall Auction of Important Canadian Art, taking place on Monday, November 26^th at 7:00 pm in Toronto.

Highlighting the Post-War and Contemporary Canadian offerings in the November auction, the location of Chatterie, a 1957 masterwork by Paul-Emile Borduas, had remained unknown for over fifty years.  During the summer of 1957, American art dealer Martha Jackson purchased three striking canvases from Borduas, the painter living in Paris, France.  Jackson had bought several of works from Borduas during the previous year, 1957 finding the dealer far more selective and deciding on only a few important works from the artist.  One of the three is now part of the permanent collection of Art Gallery of Ontario, the second remains in a private collection and Chatterie was recorded to have been sold by Jackson to well-known Toronto art dealer, Blair Laing, in 1960.  The whereabouts following Laing’s purchase were published as “unknown” in volumes detailing Borduas’ life and work.  The Joyner Waddington’s Fall Auction marks Chatterie’s returns to public view after more than fifty years, the painting having resided in a private Toronto collection for decades.  Paul-Emile Borduas’ Chatterie carries a pre-sale auction estimate of $150,000-200,000.

Senior Art Specialist, Lydia Abbott, remarks on Joyner’s contemporary art offerings: “ It is a wonderful experience to uncover hidden art treasures of this country, bringing the artwork into the public sphere to be viewed and enjoyed once again.  Important works by Paul-Emile Borduas, Michael Snow and William Kurelek, as well as many other celebrated artists, highlight our firm’s Canadian contemporary art offerings this fall.  We anticipate a great preview and auction.”

River Scene, a small oil on glass painting by Tom Thomson is one of the earliest works by the artist to have ever appear at auction.  Believed to have been completed as early as 1906, River Scene was executed by the artist while he was a student at the Central Ontario School of Art and Industrial Design in Toronto.  Likely taking classes at the school in the evening (Thomson worked as a commercial artist during the day), the three inch by three inch painting was a gift from the painter to Amy Barnard, a fellow student who accompanied Thomson on sketching trips.  The painting remained in Barnard’s family for close to one hundred years before changing hands (a private Ontario collector has consigned the artwork to the Joyner auction).  River Scene is the only known instance of Tom Thomson having employed glass as a medium for his work, the luminous and colourful landscape essentially glowing when light passes through it.  River Scene is being offered with an auction estimate of $15,000-20,000.

Joyner Canadian Art Specialist and Chief Auctioneer Rob Cowley speaks to the excitement of offering the early work by Thomson as part of the Joyner Fall Auction:  “River Scene is fascinating in its rarity and uniqueness.  It is the only known Tom Thomson work of its kind and it captures the essence of a painter who would, within a decade, produce work which are some of the most celebrated masterpieces in our country’s history.  While the overall composition of River Scene is the careful work of a student, still honing his craft, the painting also displays elements of the confidence and  mastery which would bloom in the years that followed.  Beginning as a personal gift from Thomson to a fellow student, and spending over a century in her family, River Scene is now set to begin the next chapter of its history, available to become part of a new collection on November 26^th.  The fall auction includes rare and fascinating works spanning essentially the entire history of historical and post-war Canadian Art, with pieces that are sure to appeal to a wide range of astute collectors”.

Following the record-setting result for a watercolour by the artist during their spring auction, Joyner Waddington’s is delighted to be including important oil sketches by Group of Seven member Franklin Carmichael in the November 26^th auction.  Autumn Landscape was completed by Carmichael in 1921, a year into the association of the artists recognized as the Group of Seven.  Offered with an auction estimate of $125,000 to $175,000, Autumn Landscape is typical of the artist’s work during the early 1920s, the oil on panel depicting a close-up examination of the natural pattern of branches and leaves, dominated by a central cluster of trees.  Painted fifteen years following Autumn Landscape, Summer Landscape, a 1936 oil sketch finds Carmichael at the height of his artistic abilities and confidence, the varying blues and greens complementing the lush La Cloche landscape.  Also being offered with an estimate of $125,000 to $175,000, the artwork was painted by Carmichael during the same year that he designed and built his cottage in the region, sitting on Cranberry Lake.

The Joyner fall auction includes important works of art from notable historical and contemporary Canadian artists, including A.Y. Jackson, A.J. Casson, J.E.H. MacDonald, Frank Johnston, J.W. Beatty, Kathleen Morris, Prudence Heward, Marc-Aurele Fortin, Clarence Gagnon, Maurice Cullen, David Milne, Frederick Verner, Cornelius Krieghoff, Gordon Smith, Jack Shadbolt, Harold Town, Jean-Philippe Dallaire, Marcelle Ferron, Greg Curnoe, Michael Snow, Joe Fafard, David Blackwood, William Ronald, Doris McCarthy, William Kurelek, Jean-Paul Lemieux and many others.

Joyner Waddington’s Fall Auction of Important Canadian Art will take place at 7:00 pm on Monday, November 26^th at the new Waddington’s Auction Galleries, located at 275 King Street East (Second Floor), just west of Princess Street (between Sherbourne and Parliament Streets).  An online session of Canadian Art will be held surrounding the live auction, with bidding taking place between November 19^th and 29^th.