Rare artworks spark buzz for Canadian auction

A collection of museum-worthy artworks has drawn both buzz and record numbers of visitors to Heffel's this fall, as the auction house prepares for its annual fall sale of Canadian fine art.

Heffel announced earlier this year that it would be selling an esteemed collection of 15 works by art collector Charles Shaw Band, an early champion of the Group of Seven and Emily Carr.

Since then, both art collectors as well as members of the art-loving public have shown great interest in the auction, according to Robert Heffel.

More than 1,200 people stopped by to check out Heffel's 210 lots on offer during a four-day preview in Vancouver earlier this month — a record for the B.C.-based auctioneer, vice-president Heffel told CBC News on Monday.

'For us, it feels like we're standing in a museum every day.' —Robert Heffel

A subsequent preview in Montreal also drew droves of curious art fans, ahead of the Toronto preview this week and auction on Thursday evening.

"This strong attendance is an indication of how much the Band works and this auction has captured the public's imagination," he said. "For us, it feels like we're standing in a museum every day."

In addition to the valuable Band works — which include a trio of canvases by Lawren Harris each expected to surpass $1 million — Heffel is to sell eight pieces on behalf of an anonymous collector, with the funds to benefit charities.

The anonymous philanthropist "is donating his consigner proceeds to various Canadian charities," including the Nature Conservancy of Canada, Heffel said.

Chief among the works is Early Spring, Canoe Lake, an snow-covered river and forest scene painted by Tom Thomson in early April 1917, just a few months before his death. It is estimated to sell for between $600,000 and $800,000.

Other notable pieces from the philanthropist's collection include Bronx Park, a canvas David Milne completed in New York in 1913 (carrying an estimate of $200,000-$300,000), and Allegro furioso, an abstract piece Paul-Émile Borduas completed the year after the publication of his famed Refus global (expected to fetch between $100,000-$150,000).

The proceeds "should add up to well over a million dollars," Heffel said.

Though such an anonymous, charitable sale is not common, Heffel called it "a win-win situation for everybody."

"The person who buys the Thomson, the Borduas, the Milne … is getting a great painting, but they also know that their purchases … are going to various good causes."

With the strength of the Band collection, the anonymous philanthropist's offerings and the rest of the lots available, Heffel has estimated Thursday's auction in Toronto to fetch between $11 million to $15 million.

The quality of this seasons's offerings and the fact that Canada has largely remained sound "through the economic turmoil" bodes well for the domestic art market, he said.