Both auction houses racked up sales of approximately $55 million last week with Sotheby’s edging out Christie’s by $300,000. At Sotheby’s, Norman Rockwell’s Home on Leave (Sailor in Hammock) (1945) was the second highest lot sold at $4,520,000, well beyond it’s $3 million estimate.
At Christie’s, Mary Cassatt’s Children Playing with a Dog (1907) sold for $6.2 million. (Estimate was for $3 – 5 million.) Read more exciting auction news at Artnet.
Mixed signals were sent to the Canadian art market on Monday when 47 out of 226 lots failed to sell at Sotheby’s/Ritchies Canadian art auction in Toronto. But records were set for several items, including Alex Colville’s Soldier Girl at Station going for $664,750. And Colville’s Running Dog (1968) print found a new home for $4,200, plus buyer’s premium of 20%.
Colville, known for his stark realism, is said to see life as “inherently dangerous.” When I look at his work, I don’t always feel the “anxiety of our times” that he describes. To me, Hound in Field (1958) is simply joyous: grass peaking through snow, a promise of spring, and a dog, nose to the ground, doing what he loves…
See more of Colville’s work at and read about the brilliant 86-year-old Nova Scotia artist at CyberMuse. To purchase one of his prints or paintings contact his representation at Mira Goddard Gallery.