This Thursday, June 8, Toronto’s Cowley Abbott auction house will present the first of a two-session sale, “Significant Canadian and International Art(4 p.m. EDT). Comprised of 100 works by artists ranging from David Bowie to Marc Chagall, the sale will showcase an incredible range of important works of art from the 20th and 21st centuries.
One of the highlights of the sale includes the presentation of a suite of prints from Andy Warhol’s iconic “Reigning Queens” series, which are from the Qaumajuq collection of the Winnipeg Art Gallery (WAG). The alienation and sale of this work will contribute to the collection of funds for the endowment of the gallery, in particular to support the acquisition and the representation of works of art and various artists, in particular works of contemporary Aboriginal art, in the permanent collection. Cowley Abbott will also donate his commission from this sale to the development of the WAG – Qaumajuq endowment.
Below, we’ve rounded up the best must-see bundles from the sale.
Andy Warhol
Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdomfrom “Reigning Queens” (1985; F&S II.334–337)
East. $700,000 to $900,000
Andy Warhol, Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, from “Reigning Queens” (1985). Courtesy of Cowley Abbott, Toronto.
Undisputed king of pop art, the American artist Andy Warhol (1928-1987) is particularly known for his images of famous people, from Marilyn Monroe to Queen Elizabeth II, as seen in this lot. Warhol’s “Reigning Queens” portfolio from 1985 includes sixteen portraits of four reigning queens (four portraits each). The composition of the image of Queen Elizabeth II is based on the official photo of the Queen’s Silver Jubilee in 1977 by Peter Grugeon. The artist’s removal of fine detail and inclusion of monochromatic bands of color reduce an individual’s queen to a symbol of royal power.
Fernando Botero
The kitchen (1994)
East. $350,000 to $450,000
Ferdinand Botero, The kitchen (1994). Courtesy of Cowley Abbott, Toronto.
Colombian figurative artist Fernando Botero (b. 1932) has a unique artistic language marked by his experimentation with proportion – both in his painting and sculpture – and his distinctive sense of tactility and sensuality. These facets of Botero’s style are immediately recognizable in The kitchen (1994), where the central figure is seemingly dwarfed by his surroundings, conveying a sense of strangeness and offering a modern interpretation of the still life tradition. The rounded line art and vibrant color palette provide viewers with visual space to interpret or project their own experience with the composition.
Emily Carr
kitwancool (circa 1928)
East. $1,000,000 to $1,500,000
Emily Carr, kitwancool (circa 1928). Courtesy of Cowley Abbott, Toronto.
Canadian artist and writer Emily Carr (1871-1945) is perhaps best known for her paintings depicting Indigenous peoples and cultures as well as landscapes of the Pacific Northwest. Carr’s paintings were considered avant-garde, as she favored the styles of the Modernists and Post-Impressionists. current work, kitwancool (ca. 1928) was born out of a years-long effort by the artist to gain passage to the village of Kitwancool, famous for its totem poles.
Lawren Stewart Harris
Quiet Lake (Northern Painting 12) (c. 1926–28)
East. $2,000,000 to $3,000,000
Lawren Harris, Quiet Lake (Northern Painting 12) (c. 1926–28). Courtesy of Crowley Abbott, Toronto.
Like Carr, Lawren Stewart Harris (1885-1970) was a Canadian artist working primarily in the early 20th century. An important figure in the Group of Seven landscape painters, also known as the Algonquin school, Harris helped modernize and popularize the Canadian art scene. Harris often returned to the sites of previous landscape paintings, but subtly changed his nuanced color schemes and altered perspective to accomplish something new in each work. The result is a coherent but always varied work.
Jean Paul Riopelle
Untitled (1953)
East. $500,000 to $700,000
Jean-Paul Riopelle, Untitled (1953). Courtesy of Cowley Abbott, Toronto.
Leading Canadian abstract expressionist Jean-Paul Riopelle (1923-2002) was classically trained at the École des beaux-arts, and early in his career associated with the Automatistes, an art group from avant-garde based in Quebec. The Automatistes were inspired by the Surrealists and had an aversion to the artistic establishment. In the late 1950s, however, Riopelle met the American Abstract Expressionist Joan Mitchell, following which Riopelle’s style evolved into a concretely abstract style. The current untitled lot dates from the start of his engagement with AbEx and illustrates the artist’s experimentation with color, brushstroke and pure abstraction.
Joan Miró
concrete graphics (1951)
East. $70,000 to $90,000
Joan Miró, concrete graphics (1951). Courtesy of Cowley Abbott, Toronto.
Surrealist multidisciplinary artist Joan Miró (1893-1983) had an artistic practice focused on the revolution in painting. His work is deliberately difficult to categorize, as his form of marking and composition aimed to disrupt traditional modes of art. One of the artist’s greatest series was a succession of hastily drawn works which all bear the title concrete graphicscompleted in the early 1950s. The lines and shapes that appear in these works are references to compositions that Miró had made before, but simplified and streamlined to only absolute essentials.
“Significant Canadian and International ArtThe sale will take place on Thursday, June 8, 2023 at 4 p.m. EDT with Crowley Abbott, Toronto.
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