Jean-Paul Riopelle's 1955 oil on canvas painting "Composition" is shown in a handout photo. The painting, measuring more than two metres long, sold for $1,228,500 at auction Wednesday. That's well over the estimated price of $600,000 to $800,000 and was the highest amount achieved in the sale.THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Heffel Fine Art Auction House
May 16, 2013 - 11:23 AM
VANCOUVER - Collectors continue to push the value of Canadian fine and contemporary art into the stratosphere.
Heffel Fine Art Auction House says its annual spring auction has fetched prices far above original estimates for masterworks of Emily Carr, Jean-Paul Riopelle and the Group of Seven.
The auction, held Wednesday in downtown Vancouver, had collected a total of $11.5-million by the time the last gavel came down on the 185 works on the block.
One bidder paid $1,228,500 for Composition by Riopelle, an oil-on-canvass work that was originally estimated for sale at between $600,000 and $800,000.
Emily Carr's Old Timer, originally donated by the artist to raise money for the Red Cross during the Second World War, sold for $936,000, far above its $400,000 to $600,000 asking price.
Auction house president David Heffel says results prove the market for Canadian artists remains strong.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2013