2025 in Review: Fine Art Highlights

Ending a year is always bittersweet, particularly when the year was a milestone anniversary. With 2026 marking our 176th year in business, we look forward to being your partner on both buying and selling great works of fine art once again.

As we enter the new year, here’s a recap of last year’s highlights from our Fine Art department, including our major Canadian & International Fine Art, Modern, Post-War & Contemporary Art, Editions, and Discovery Art auctions.

Canadian & International Fine Art

Our major auctions of Canadian and International Fine Art are presented twice a year, in the spring and fall. Highlights from our spring auction included Jack Hamilton Bush’s ebullient Solo Soprano #1, 1975 [Stanners 3.29.1975.23] (described by Sarah Stanners as “no sweeter pink in the painted oeuvre of Jack Bush”), Gordon Appelbe Smith’s Feb 15, 1990 which almost doubled its estimate after a fierce bidding war, William Kurelek’s View on Frobisher Bay, 1968, which almost tripled its estimate. Other strong results came from William Perehudoff’s AC-77-15, 1977 and Takao Tanabe’s Summer Foothills, 5/82, 1982, both of which exceeded their pre-auction estimates.

In the fall, Alberto Pasini’s Before the Mosque led the international portion of the auction to realise a price of $183,750, well above the high estimate. Goulven Le Morvan, Director of Fine Art, explains that “though the Orientalist market remains volatile, this painting achieved a very strong result through fierce bidding from a number of international collectors,” thanks in part to our partnership with Hôtel Drouot, Paris and our expansive base of European clientele.

Attracting early interest and bidding was Alexander Calder’s 1965 excellent gouache Red Serpent. Doubling its reserve, the work fetched $147,150. Another international highlight was David Diao’s Boxcar. The artist’s Chinese-American heritage attracted bidders from both American and Asian markets, vying to own an exceptional work. Boxcar ultimately sold for $98,350. Also notable was Larry Poons’ With Stevens, 88C-9, 1988, which sold for $61,750. A rare painting on the market from the Elephant Skin series, it achieved a strong result, emphasizing Waddington’s ability to perform well in international markets.

Highlights from the Canadian section of the auction included both classic and contemporary works. Walter Joseph Phillips’ River Crossing, ca. 1940 exceeded expectations, selling for $61,750. Le Morvan noted that “the market for Phillips’ watercolours remains strong, and we enjoyed watching a bidding battle amongst Canadian collectors.” Louis-Phillipe Hébert’s Algonquins came to Waddington’s from the Quebec collection of Patrick Martin Wickham, and will return to la belle province after selling for $80,050. Interest in the Group of Seven remains robust, with A.Y. Jackson’s Split Rock Island selling for $20,000, and Lawren Harris’ Toronto urban scene, Houses in Winter, selling for $115,003.

Photography

Waddington’s continues to lead the Canadian auction market in photography. Man Ray’s Gramophone et main en bois, ca. 1930 was a highlight: after much research, our team determined that it was one of only three known extant prints of this photograph, with the others housed in the collection of the Centre Pompidou, Paris – all three unsigned and unstamped.  In March, Julia Margaret Cameron’s The Kiss of Peace, 1869 sold for four times its estimate, and will be part of an excellent private collection in Canada. Two highlights from André Kertész performed well, Washington Square Park, 1954 and Chez Mondrian, 1926, as did works by Edward Weston, Pepper, #30, 1930 and Shell, 1927, with the latter almost doubling its estimate. On the Canadian side, two works by Edward Burtynsky achieved excellent results: Shipbreaking #1, Chittagong, Bangladesh, 2000 and Oil Fields #22, Cold Lake Production Project, Cold Lake, Alberta, 2001.

Editions

Those of you who know Goulven Le Morvan, our Director of Fine Art, know that he came to us from Paris, where he oversaw the Editions department at a major Paris auction house. Bringing his passion and expertise to our auctions, Le Morvan has moved Waddington’s to the top  of the Editions market in Canada. Highlights from 2025 include Francisco Goya’s Los Desastres De La Guerra, 1810-1815, an almost-complete suite which achieved an excellent international result, Lee Bontecou’s Fourth Stone, 1963, a very rare print on the market from a private collection in Toronto, which sold for almost nine times the estimate. Another excellent international result came from Alex Katz’ Black Dress which originated from a Montreal collection, and almost doubled its estimate. Coast to coast, Bedford I, 1981 [T. 363] by Joan Mitchell consigned through our Vancouver office.

On the Canadian side, two excellent David Lloyd Blackwood results included January Visit Home, 1975, which sold for over three times the estimate, and For Edgar Glover: the Splitting Table, 1999. Gregory Richard Curnoe’s Doc Morton, Front Wheel, 1980 performed well, as did Jean Paul Riopelle’s Été indien, 1969.

Modern, Post-War & Contemporary Art

Featuring works by Canadian and international artists, our Modern, Post-War & Contemporary Art auctions saw a hybrid of buyers and sellers from at home and abroad. Canadian highlights included a sublime acrylic on paper by Gordon Appelbe Smith, Sept. 80 #13, 1980, Barker Fairley’s Elm, Cedar, Snow, 1971, Randolph Hewton’s Untitled (Baie St. Paul in Winter), A.Y. Jackson’s Hasaga Mine, Red Lake, Ont, and Peter Clapham Sheppard’s Sketch for “Two Locomotives,” 1915.

On the international side, standout lots included Edouard Cortès’ Paris, animation rue de Rivoli devant le Jarden des Tuileries, a strong result driven by our American clientele, Olga Alexandrovna’s Still Life, Frank Stick’s Bustin’ Up the Party, 1922, Léon Bakst’s Wounded Man, and Lindee Climo’s Venus and Mars After Botticelli (#2), 1998.

Old Masters & 19th Century Art

From the Old Masters and 19th Century category, Le Morvan notes a continued strong interest in still life, with Still Life with Flowers and Bird’s Nest by a follower of Cornelis van Spaendonck selling for $10,000. Work from the Low Countries always excels in this category, highlights include Georges Croegaert’s Secular News, a Madonna, and a Dutch still life.

Also of note was a monumental landscape by James Fairman, Jerusalem, held in the collection of the Sisters of St. Joseph for over 121 years, which sold for $67,850, and a 16th century work on paper from the Venetian School, Christ Driving the Traders from the Temple. As Le Morvan notes, Renaissance works have held steady in an otherwise unpredictable Old Masters market.

Discovery Art

Rounding out our diverse offerings are our Discovery Art auctions, geared towards presenting accessibly-priced Canadian and international works, always popular with our audience. Three highlights from 2025 were Peter Haworth’s Laurentian Village, which sold for $2,000, Frederick Stanley Haines’ Untitled (Laurentian Landscape), which sold for $4,750, and Robert Hope’s A Spring Song, which sold for $3,250.

View all results

Interested in viewing all the results from our 2025 auctions? Please click here.

Consignment Opportunities

The consignment process for our 2026 auctions is already underway. We look forward to connecting with you to discuss how you can achieve excellent results for your artworks.

Please contact us for more information on consigning with Waddington’s.