Paintings by some of the leading figures in abstract art in the United States and Canada are expected to fetch seven-figure sums of money at an auction to be held in Toronto.
A major work painted in 1972 by American Abstract Expressionist Robert Motherwell, August Sea #5, is expected to sell for between $2 million and $2.5 million this Wednesday at Heffel Auction House’s spring sale.
Six works by Quebec artist Jean-Paul Riopelle will be presented before the celebration of the centenary of his birth next year. The value of the famous canvas Untitled », made in 1953, is estimated between $1 million and $1.5 million.
Heffel predicts that the 79 works in its spring catalog will bring in between $10 million and $15 million. All estimates include auction house fees in addition to the hammer price.
Other highlights of the sale include four works by Lawren Harris of the Group of Seven, including a depiction of the Rockies, Mountain Sketch , estimated between $500,000 and $700,000. The female nude coastal figure painted in 1951 by Canadian artist Alex Colville after returning from World War II, is worth between $650,000 and $850,000.
As for Quebec artist Rita Letendre, a native of Drummondville, who died last November in Toronto, where she had lived for several decades, she will be represented at auction by Reflection of Eden, whose value is estimated between $100,000 and $150,000.
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