Toronto art auction makes $14 million in sales

International lovers of Canadian art went a little paddle crazy last night, buying $14 million in fine art at Heffel’s fall auction in Toronto. The top seller was Man on Verandah, a tempura tempera painting by Nova Scotia artist Alex Colville that went for $1.29 million. It’s the most his work has ever fetched and is also the highest auction price ever recorded for a living Canadian artist (Colville is 90). An abstract knife painting by Jean-Paul Riopelle also broke the million-dollar mark, selling for $1,111,500, and 23 other pieces went for more than $100,000.

Though it wasn’t the most lucrative auction in Canadian history—that honour belongs to Heffel’s 2007 fall auction with drew sales of $23 million—it’s still considered a success. Last night’s auction set 13 Canadian records, more than tripling the sales of its closest competitors and reaffirming Heffel’s domination of the Canadian art resale market.

• Canadian art auction nets $14M [CBC]
• Colville’s Man on Verandah sets record at Heffel auction [Globe and Mail]
• Heffel Auction of Canadian fine art nets $14 million [CTV]