Heffel, Canada's National Auction House, Unveils a Spectacular Collection of Canadian Masterworks for Spring 2013

Led by a recently discovered trove of paintings by Jean-Paul Riopelle and the consignment of a major collection by The PSBGM Cultural Heritage Foundation, the Spring Auction is expected to achieve between $7 and $10 million

TORONTO, April 17, 2013 /CNW/ - Heffel Fine Art Auction House is thrilled to introduce the spectacular Spring 2013 collection, which will be presented at a live auction on Wednesday, May 15 in Vancouver, with previews beforehand in Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver.

"As Canada's undisputed leader in live auctions, we are thrilled to champion such a strong and diverse group of Canadian art," explains David K.J. Heffel, President of Heffel Fine Art Auction House. "From the return of an Emily Carr masterpiece to our shores after nearly 60 years abroad to a highly personal collection of Riopelles that the artist gifted to his mistress to the first-ever contemporary video to be sold at live auction by a major auction house in Canada, we are celebrating our country's most influential artistic voices."

The 186 lots on offer are expected to achieve between $7 and $10 million, according to conservative estimates. They will be presented in two separate sessions: Canadian Post-War & Contemporary Art at 4:00 p.m., followed by the Fine Canadian Art session at 7:00 p.m. Heffel was the first auction house in Canada to split historical and contemporary Canadian art into separate sales, and is the only one that produces separate catalogues for each session.

Heffel's Fine Canadian Art highlights include:

• Consigned by The Protestant School Board of Greater Montreal (PSBGM) Cultural Heritage Foundation, more than 30 works by influential Canadian artists, many never before seen at auction, will be presented and are estimated to reach sales of $1.3 to $1.8 million. "We are honoured to have been entrusted with this important group of paintings," said Robert Heffel, Vice- President of Heffel Fine Art Auction House. "Our previews will offer one of the first public viewings of the collection, and the resulting sale will benefit an extremely worthy cause." Proceeds from the sale of these works will provide local Montreal students with post-secondary scholarships.
• The PSBGM collection includes the star lot, A Quebec Village / Winter, Saint-Fidèle (est. $500,000-$700,000) by Group of Seven member A.Y. Jackson, as well as two large Robert Pilot murals, Early Explorers and Indian Fur Traders (est. $100,000-$150,000 each), measuring six feet x 10.5 feet and are among the largest mural paintings ever sold by Heffel.
• The nine works by Emily Carr are led by Old Timer (est. $400,000-$600,000), which is returning to Canada after having been in the UK. The work was given by the artist in the 1940s to raise money for the Red Cross during the Second World War and bought by the CBC's Alice Hemming. This was said to have pleased Carr, as she was a regular listener to her radio programme "A Morning Visit with Alice Hemming." Also included in the auction is the important watercolour Cape Mudge Totem Poles (est. $150,000 -$250,000) as well as several oil on boards and ceramic sculptures.
• Marc-Aurèle Fortin's museum-quality Vue de St-Siméon (est. $400,000-$600,000) was one of the highlights of his landmark 2011 retrospective in Quebec City and has already generated huge interest from collectors.
• Always a favourite, Lawren Stewart Harris's Pic Island, Lake Superior est. $200,000-$300,000 and Snow in the Woods, Algonquin Park I (est. $200,000-$300,000) continue to establish this original Group of Seven member's dominance of the Canadian art scene.  Heffel holds the record for a Group of Seven work at auction, having sold The Old Stump, Lake Superior by Harris for $3.51 million in 2009.
• Along with Jackson and Harris, additional Group of Seven members in the Spring 2013 Auction include J.E.H. MacDonald, Arthur Lismer, Frederick Varley and Franklin Carmichael. 

Heffel's Post-War & Contemporary Art highlights include:

• There are nine works by acclaimed Quebec artist Jean-Paul Riopelle.  Eight were personally consigned by Belle Burke of New York, who received them as gifts when she was a young American student and Riopelle's mistress in Paris in the 1950s.  In addition, there is an important 1955 canvas titled Composition (est. $600,000 -$800,000) that measures over two metres long.
• Lot 12, Describe Video (est. $5,000-$7,000), by Judy Radul, is the first time a video has been offered by a major auction house in Canada. The auction also features Basement (est. $10,000-$15,000), an important Vancouver-based photographic work by Roy Arden.  Both these contemporary works come from the acclaimed Rennie Collection, one of the largest collections of contemporary art in Canada.
• There are four important works by Jack Bush, including Snow Day (est. $90,000-$120,000), which will gather major interest in advance of the significant retrospective planned at the National Gallery in October 2014.
• Gordon Appelbe Smith, featured on the cover of the catalogue with Red Beach (est. $20,000-$30,000) leads a very strong West Coast contingent, which also includes E.J. Hughes and Jack Shadbolt.
• Like Smith, who is 93 years old, the auction features over a dozen living and producing Canadian Contemporary Artists including Rita Letendre, Alexander Colville and Tony Scherman.
• From Quebec, we find a rare black and white Paul-Émile Borduas, Sans titre (est. $100,000-$150,000), one of the last works done by the artist before his death. We also see strong works by Charles Gagnon, Guido Molinari and two whimsical sculptures by Joe Fafard of the artists Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera (est. $30,000 - $40,000 each).
• The entire landscape of Canada can be seen throughout the Spring auction from Doris Jean McCarthy's Northwest Territories to Christopher Pratt's East Coast to William Kurelek's Prairies.

Heffel's Spring 2013 Auction Schedule
To give interested buyers from across Canada a chance to view these extraordinary works, many on display for the first time in generations, the collection is being previewed in three cities before the live auction: 

• Montreal Preview - April 25 to April 27 at Galerie Heffel Montreal, 1840 Sherbrooke Street West
• Toronto Preview - May 2 to May 4 at Heffel Gallery Toronto, 13 Hazelton Avenue
• Vancouver Preview - May 11 to May 15 at Heffel Gallery Vancouver, 2247 Granville Street
• Live Auction (Vancouver) - Wednesday, May 15, 2013, Vancouver Convention Centre West, Burrard Entrance, Room 211, 1055 Canada Place, Vancouver
• 4:00 p.m., Canadian Post-War & Contemporary Art
• 7:00 p.m., Fine Canadian Art

About Heffel Fine Art Auction House 
With offices and representatives in Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Calgary and Vancouver, Heffel truly embodies Canada's National Auction House.  Since 1995, it has sold more Canadian art than any other auctioneer worldwide, with over $325 million in art auction sales. In addition to full-colour printed catalogues, Heffel publishes its entire live auction online at www.heffel.com, from initial promotion and illustrated lot listings, to the auction's live multi-camera webcast and final sale results. Led by the most experienced team of fine art specialists in Canada, Heffel provides transparent expert service because they believe that art inspires the human spirit.

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*All estimates are in Canadian Dollars

Image with caption: "Included among the 186 Canadian masterpieces offered by Heffel Fine Art Auction House for Spring 2013, are eight works by Jean-Paul Riopelle returning to Canadian soil from the personal collection of Belle Burke, who was his mistress in Paris in the 1950s. Heffel's Spring 2013 live auction will occur on Wednesday, May 15th in Vancouver, with previews beforehand in Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver. (CNW Group/Heffel Fine Art Auction House)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20130417_C5899_PHOTO_EN_25598.jpg

SOURCE: Heffel Fine Art Auction House

Media contact:
For more information, to schedule an interview or media viewing, or for high-resolution images, please contact:

Mercedes Smith
NATIONAL Public Relations
416-586-1929
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David Heffel / Robert Heffel
Heffel Fine Art Auction House
604-418-6505 / 604-418-0100
[email protected] / [email protected]