INTERNATIONAL ART NEWS LETTER
Introducing the Cowley Abbot Internatonal Art Newsleter
Welcome to Cowley Abbot’s frst semi-annual newsleter dedicated to Internatonal art. The aucton house was founded in 2013 and expanded to include an Internatonal Art department in 2021 in order to meet the needs of the numerous buyers and sellers of Internatonal art in Canada and abroad. Following a highly successful two years and our eventul recent June 2023 Live Aucton, Cowley Abbot looks forward to further developing our Internatonal Art department and strengthening our relatonships within the global art market.
Summer 2023
ANDY WARHOL
Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom from Reigning Queens Price Realized: $936,000
DAVID BOWIE
DHead XLVI Price Realized: $108,120
FERNANDO BOTERO (Top) The Kitchen Price Realized: $468,000
WILLIAM SCOTT XIV/L Price Realized: $24,000
Spring Live Aucton in Review
On June 8th, Cowley Abbot held its Spring Live Aucton of Important Canadian and Internatonal Art at the Globe and Mail Centre in Toronto. The sale presented a curated selecton of twenty works by internatonal artsts from the 19th and 20th centuries, from European Impressionism to Abstract Expressionism to Contemporary Art. The aucton garnered strong enthusiasm from collectors and art lovers from all over the world, throughout previewing and leading up to the night of the sale.
The top highlight was Andy Warhol’s Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, from the Reigning Queens series (1985), which sold for $936,000. This collecton of four colour screenprints was sold to beneft the Winnipeg Art Gallery (WAG)-Qaumajuq. Proceeds will support the development of an endowment fund to support more diverse representaton in the permanent collecton, beginning with contemporary Indigenous art. Cowley Abbot donated our selling commission for this lot to the fund.
We were pleased to have been entrusted with two paintngs by Columbian master Fernando Botero: a colourful oil on canvas enttled The Kitchen, and a monumental watercolour, Compoter aux fruits. These artworks drew strong interest from across the globe, selling for $468,000 and $150,000, respectvely.
Another highlight of the sale was an abstract gouache on paper by Joan Mitchell. This delicate and expressive paintng by the renowned artst of the New York School achieved a fnal selling price of $132,000.
A highly popular artwork during previews and on the night of the aucton was Nehemiah Checking the Walls of Jerusalem, an ink drawing by acclaimed contemporary artst David Hockney. The work drew a ferce bidding war, soaring above the pre-sale estmate of $12,000-16,000 and selling for $102,000.
The 2023 spring season was a resounding success for Cowley Abbot, marking our tenth year in business. Our team is eagerly preparing for upcoming live and online sales this year, in antcipaton of contnued growth and success within the global aucton industry.
The Season Ahead
Preparaton is well underway for Cowley Abbot’s upcoming Fall Live Aucton of Important Canadian and Internatonal Art, set for Wednesday, December 6th, to be held at the Globe and Mail Centre once again. This sale will include a printed catalogue with academic essays, as well as previews in select Canadian cites during the month of November.
In additon to our semi-annual live auctons, Cowley Abbot hosts a selecton of curated online sales of Internatonal art; themes include “Prints & Multples,” “The Art of Europe” and “Modern & Contemporary Art.” These auctons ofer artwork in a wide price range and are very popular with our clients.
Cowley Abbot is dedicated to comprehensive marketng strategies, partnering with a PR frm and appearing on media outlets, to ensure our sales reach the widest possible audience, and to expand our internatonal clientele contnuously.
Oh! You Prety Thing: David Bowie Paintng Set New Aucton Record in Cowley Abbot Internatonal Art Aucton
and well beyond our borders, fnally selling for almost ten tmes the pre-sale aucton estmate of $9,00012,000, establishing a new global aucton record for an artwork by David Bowie.
Price Realized: $108,120
One of the Internatonal Art department’s most excitng stories is that of DHead XLVI, a paintng by David Bowie, which achieved $108,120 CAD during the Spring Internatonal Art Aucton in June 2021. The small portrait, which was purchased at a donaton centre in Northern Ontario for $5, drew bids from clients located across Canada
David Robert Jones, known more commonly as David Bowie, was an icon of the music industry and of twenteth-century pop culture. Like many musicians, Bowie studied art and design as a young man, which would foster a love of fne art throughout his lifetme. He was also a passionate collector and painter, heavily infuenced by the modernist art trends of the twenteth century; his paintngs possess the stylistc infuences of the German expressionists, Francis Bacon and the London School of painters. Bowie’s own work rarely appears at aucton, so when Cowley Abbot was contacted about a paintng enttled DHead XLVI, there was cautous excitement.
DHead XLVI was found in the most unexpected place: a donaton centre
INTERNATIONAL ART HIGHLIGHTS
for household goods in South River, Ontario. The chance discovery of this treasure within a pile of discarded goods is quite remarkable. The consignor of the paintng was astonished upon viewing a label which read “David Bowie” and realizing it was the signature of the artst inscribed on the reverse. Afer conductng thorough research, which included correspondence with a David Bowie specialist in the United Kingdom, we were able to confrm that the paintng is indeed by the famous artst and part of a series that he completed in the 1990s.
Cowley Abbot was pleased to be entrusted with such an excitng artwork and delighted to share the paintng and its story with collectors in the weeks leading up to the aucton. The story was carried by media outlets around the world, and our frm’s excitement was matched by Bowie fans and art collectors globally. This led to the consignment of a second David Bowie paintng, in 2023.
Price Realized:
Price
Price Realized: $132,000
“If you come from art, you’ll always be art.” – David Bowie
DAVID BOWIE
DHead XLVI
ANDY WARHOL Howdy Doody (from the Myth Series)
$60,000
CYRIL POWER The Eight Price Realized: $114,000
DAVID HOCKNEY Nehemiah Checking the Walls of Jerusalem
Realized: $102,000
JOAN MITCHELL Unttled
Meet Perry Tung and the Internatonal Art Team
Catherine et Katherine sont heureuses d’ofrir une assistance en anglais et en français.
Cowley Abbot’s department of Internatonal Art was established in 2021 in conjuncton with Perry Tung joining the team as a Senior Art Specialist. Perry has over twenty years of experience in both the primary and secondary art markets; he began his career with a local Toronto aucton house working his way up through the ranks to become Director of Internatonal Art. Afer nine years he progressed to become a Canadian representatve of a large internatonal aucton house based in Toronto. Perry is also a regular lecturer on the aucton market in Canada and an auctoneer for Cowley Abbot as well as various charity events in Toronto.
Catherine Lacroix works with Perry as a Junior Specialist in the Internatonal Art department. She joined the Cowley Abbot team in 2022 afer working at a local Vancouver aucton house and interning at the MFA Boston. Her primary areas of interest are Early Modern Italian and French works.
AIso a member of the department is Katherine Meredith, who has been working for Cowley Abbot since 2016 as an Art Specialist and more recently as the frm’s Montreal Representatve. Her areas of expertse are the post-war abstract art movements in Canada, the United States and Europe.
INTERNATIONAL ART HIGHLIGHTS
Cowley Abbot was founded in 2013 by Rob Cowley, Lydia Abbot and Ryan Mayberry as Canada’s frst online aucton house, in response to changes in the Canadian art market and collectng practces. With a team of art industry professionals who not only specializes in consultaton, valuaton, and professional presentaton of Canadian and Internatonal art, we are keen to facilitate the entre process of selling or purchasing artworks.
Following our record breaking results this season, Cowley Abbot is now acceptng consignments for our fall aucton, including our major Fall Live Aucton at The Globe and Mail Centre on December 6th. Please contact our experienced team of specialists for a complimentary and confdental art valuaton at info@cowleyabbot.ca.
CHRISTO AND JEANNECLAUDE Arc de Triomphe Wrapped (Project for Paris)
Price Realized: $22,800
NAM JUNE PAIK Television (ICA Editon) Price Realized: $10,200
ED RUSCHA Mocha Standard Price Realized: $21,850
PABLO PICASSO Wood-owl with spots Price Realized: $21,600
Katherine Meredith
Catherine Lacroix
Perry Tung
ANTONIUCCI VOLTI Reverie Price Realized: $72,000
EDWARD SEAGO Morning Sunlight on the Orwell Price Realized: $50,400
DAVID BOWIE Nail-Head of Trent Reznor Price Realized: $38,400
