Canadian art collectors will have all eyes on Toronto on May 25, when works by Group of Seven painters Franklin Carmichael and Lawren Harris, along with other important artists go on the auction block.
The Joyner Waddington's auction is one of three spring sales in Canada showcasing notable Group of Seven works. The others will take place at the Heffel Fine Art Auction House in Vancouver on May 17 and at Sotheby's in Toronto on May 24.
One of the top-billed paintings at the Joyner Waddington's auction is Carmichael's 1929 landscape, "Lone Lake."
The 44-x-55-cm watercolour was completed by Carmichael in the wilderness west of Sudbury.
Its brilliant depiction of the small lake set before the La Cloche Mountains of Killarney Provincial Park became something of a signature piece in the career of the Ontario-born painter, who died in 1945.
The lake was later named after Carmichael in the late 1970s.
Eighty-three years after its completion, Carmichael's striking "Lone Lake" could fetch as much as $350,000 at the May auction, which will be held at the company's Toronto gallery on King St. East.
Lawren Harris' "Mountain Sketch VII" is another auction headliner and could also sell for as much as $300,000 to $400,000.
The small, vibrant oil painting was produced during one of Harris' many trips to the Rocky Mountains during the 1920s. With it, Harris conveyed the dramatic visuals of the western Canadian landscape while capturing his deepening interest in abstract forms.
Other works on the Joyner Waddington's lineup include the 1976 painting "After Church During Indian Summer (The Kavanagh Homestead Bancroft)," by Ukranian-Canadian artist William Kurelek.
Kurelek's buoyant country scene could earn between $60,000 to $80,000.
Greg Curnoe's 1987 painting, "Dessin Anime," is also up for grabs. The bold, mixed-media work by pop-artist Curnoe is expected to sell for $25,000 to $30,000.
