The 5 most valuable Canadian artworks ever sold at auction
Jessica Wong | CBC News | Posted: November 23, 2016 4:19 PM | Last Updated: June 19, 2017
Image | Mountain Forms
Caption: Mountain Forms, an iconic 1926 Rocky Mountain canvas by Group of Seven founder Lawren Harris, was sold by Heffel Fine Art Auction House in Toronto in Nov. 2016, not long after being part of The Idea of North, Steve Martin's show celebrating the art of Harris. (Heffel Fine Art Auction House)
The commanding large-scale canvas Mountain Forms by iconic artist and Group of Seven founder Lawren Harris — a mountain scene from his coveted 1920s creative period — sold for a record $9.5 million at the Heffel Fine Art Auction House in Toronto in Nov. 2016.
Tapped with a conservative presale estimate of $3 million to $5 million, the painting ultimately sold for much more, making it the most expensive Canadian artwork ever sold at auction, knocking off longtime record-holder Paul Kane's Scene in the Northwest. Including the buyer's sales premium, the painting sold for $11.21 million.
Here are the top five most valuable Canadian artworks ever sold at auction.
Caption: Jean Paul Riopelle's abstract work Vent du nord headed into Heffel's spring 2017 auction with a conservative pre-sale estimate of $1 million to $1.5 million. (Heffel Auction/The Canadian Press)
3. Paul Kane, Scene in the Northwest – Portrait of John Henry Lefroy
Caption: Art lover and media baron Ken Thomson bought Scene in the Northwest at a Sotheby's Canada sale in 2002, eventually donating it to the Art Gallery of Ontario. (Courtesy: The Thomson Collection/Art Gallery of Ontario)
Caption: Jeff Wall's colossal photograph Dead Troops Talk was a record-setter at Christie's in New York in 2012: highest price ever paid at auction for a Canadian photograph. (Christie's)
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