F A L L 2 0 2 1 new s l etter
FA L L 2 0 2 1 A N D T H E Y E A R I N R E V I E W From the Heffel team to all of you, Happy New Year. We hope you all had a restful, joyful and healthy holiday season, and a great start to 2022. As we look back and share the highlights of 2021, we are so grateful for the ongoing support from our collectors, colleagues, consignors and friends. Together we broke records, found homes for treasured masterworks, and made new memories alongside incredible works of art. Art brings us all joy, and that was evident this year more than ever. The global art market is strong and revitalized after a year like no other, and is seeing increased participation and record results across all categories, as collectors follow their passions and acquire important works of art. Heffel’s monumental fall auction on December 1 concluded what was a rewarding year. Together with our consignors, collectors and colleagues, Heffel overcame the challenging 2021 COVID environment, resulting in the second highest year of gross sales in the history of our firm. As leaders in the market, we were proud to present 80 exceptional works of art through our Digital Saleroom, broadcast live from three connected satellite locations in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. In real time, collectors tuned in and participated by telephone, absentee and online bidding. Thanks to industry-leading technology and the power of our team across Canada, viewers and bidders experienced the excitement of the Heffel auction room from the comfort of their homes, all over the world. Emily Carr continued to make headlines as the year came to a close, following outstanding results achieved in Heffel’s spring sale with two 1930s masterworks, Tossed by the Wind and Swirl. Carr also led the fall auction with seven works on offer, which spanned significant periods of her artistic career. Anchoring the sale was the breathtaking Cordova Drift, a museum-quality canvas painted in 1931 during Carr’s mature period. The painting, outstanding in every way, included the three key elements of the most sought-after and beloved paintings by Carr: sea, sky and the powerful forest of British Columbia. The work deservingly attracted international interest and participation, and became the second most valuable work by the artist ever sold at auction. Important works by Paul Kane, A.J. Casson, Jack Bush, Takao Tanabe and others also
dazzled enthusiasts at our previews in Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal, as well as on auction night when they soared well above their presale estimates. It was truly an honour to find new homes for so many outstanding works of art this season, where they will be enjoyed for generations. The auction was a labour of love from our team across the country, who worked with our cherished consignors around the world, and we feel very lucky and excited to continue on this path through 2022 and beyond.
Online Auction Highlights The continued growth and success of Heffel’s online auctions over the last year is further confirmation of the strength of the market, and the power of our advanced online platform and tools. More than 2,400 outstanding works of art were offered through this robust and flourishing platform throughout 2021, and extraordinary results were achieved. Last year alone, our online auction platform grew
ABOVE: EMILY CARR, Cordova Drift oil on canvas, 1931 30 × 36 inches Sold December 1, 2021 for $3,361,250
by 25% since 2020. We are proud to have been a global pioneer of online auctions, having run our first sale in 1999. It’s incredible to see how much our business has changed and grown since then. Curated specialty auctions of note included Pop Art Prints & International Graphics, Works by Alex Colville | Collection of Peggy Marko, The World of Emily Carr and Treasures from the Family of Lawren S. Harris. We also had the pleasure of introducing new categories to Heffel’s collectors through our online auctions, including Asian Art, an ongoing and growing platform in collaboration with expert Anthony Wu, and Collector Motorcycles, a special sale in partnership with Kiehl’s Canada. The year was also filled with important partnerships, as a result of decades of building lasting relationships with important organizations and institutions. It was our