TORONTO – A record amount paid for a painting by Canadian artist Emily Carr helped the Heffel Fine Art Auction House set a sales record in its fall auction Thursday.
Leading the live auction at the Park Hyatt Hotel was “The Crazy Stair,” which brought in $3.39 million, the most ever paid at auction for an Carr painting.
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The pre-auction estimate for the painting, which was sold to an anonymous buyer, was between $1.2 and $1.6 million.
Heffel says it was the highest amount paid for a work by a Canadian female artist and the fourth most valuable piece ever sold in Canadian art auction history.
The large format painting from Carr’s mature period is described as “indicative of the artist’s lifelong engagement with First Nations culture.” The Victoria, B.C native died in 1945 at the age of 74.
The sale of “The Crazy Stair” boosted overall sales at the auction to more than $13.5 million, which Heffel says exceeded pre-sale expectations.
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