A $50 New York barn sale painting by legendary Canadian artist Emily Carr recently sold for $349,250 at a Toronto auction.The painting, Masset, Q.C.I., at first appearing crude and childish, is an effigy of a grizzly bear atop a totem pole that holds Carr's signature, reported CBC. The artist was born in Victoria B.C. in 1871 and was affiliated with the renowned Group of Seven, which includes Franklin Carmichael, Lawren Harris and A.Y. Jackson."I did a quick research when I had pulled it down from the rafters and realized that she was an important artist. I didn't realize how important at that point. I knew it was worth something, but I didn't realize the real importance and special nature of that painting," said purchaser and art dealer Allen Treibitz, owner of Heritage Gallery Auctions in Patchogue, N.Y."There's an otherworldly look to it. It's an amazing work of art on a small canvas, which makes it even more special that she was able to paint and make an impression of this totem that's in Masset."The story of Carr's lost painting mimics the discovery of Leonardo da Vinci's Salvator Mundi (Savior of the World), which was purchased at a New Orleans auction, heavily overpainted, in 2005 for $1,175 and eventually sold in restored condition in 2017 for $450,312,500..Another Group of Seven painting was discovered in 2017 attached to the back of another piece — A.Y. Jackson’s painting of Barkerville, B.C. Art collector Peter Wright bought A.Y. Jackson's Onward Ranch, reported CBC."It was only after he purchased it that Wright discovered there was a second painting by the acclaimed Canadian artist hidden in the back, depicting the historic gold rush town of Barkerville, B.C.," wrote CBC.
A $50 New York barn sale painting by legendary Canadian artist Emily Carr recently sold for $349,250 at a Toronto auction.The painting, Masset, Q.C.I., at first appearing crude and childish, is an effigy of a grizzly bear atop a totem pole that holds Carr's signature, reported CBC. The artist was born in Victoria B.C. in 1871 and was affiliated with the renowned Group of Seven, which includes Franklin Carmichael, Lawren Harris and A.Y. Jackson."I did a quick research when I had pulled it down from the rafters and realized that she was an important artist. I didn't realize how important at that point. I knew it was worth something, but I didn't realize the real importance and special nature of that painting," said purchaser and art dealer Allen Treibitz, owner of Heritage Gallery Auctions in Patchogue, N.Y."There's an otherworldly look to it. It's an amazing work of art on a small canvas, which makes it even more special that she was able to paint and make an impression of this totem that's in Masset."The story of Carr's lost painting mimics the discovery of Leonardo da Vinci's Salvator Mundi (Savior of the World), which was purchased at a New Orleans auction, heavily overpainted, in 2005 for $1,175 and eventually sold in restored condition in 2017 for $450,312,500..Another Group of Seven painting was discovered in 2017 attached to the back of another piece — A.Y. Jackson’s painting of Barkerville, B.C. Art collector Peter Wright bought A.Y. Jackson's Onward Ranch, reported CBC."It was only after he purchased it that Wright discovered there was a second painting by the acclaimed Canadian artist hidden in the back, depicting the historic gold rush town of Barkerville, B.C.," wrote CBC.
