A small Tom Thomson panel the artist painted a few months before his mysterious death sold for a record-breaking $1.46 million at a Toronto auction Tuesday.
Spring Thaw, a novel-sized 13 x 18-centimetre oil sketch Thomson painted in the spring of 1917, soared to a sale price of $1,463,500 (including buyer's premium) Tuesday night during Joyner Waddington's fall auction of important Canadian art.
Tom Thomson presented Spring Thaw to his sister in 1917 prior to his mysterious death. It remained in their family until the 1970s.
(Joyner Waddington)
Featured on the cover of the fall Joyner Waddington catalogue and described as a "blue chip" work by director and auctioneer Rob Cowley, Spring Thaw more than tripled its high pre-sale estimate of $400,000 Tuesday night.
Bidding for the panel rose in increments of first $50,000 and then $100,000 during a spirited bidding session before a standing-room-only crowd. It sold to an unnamed telephone bidder.
Thomson presented Spring Thaw to his sister, Minnie Thomson Henry, as a gift in 1917, and it remained in their family until the early 1970s, when it was acquired by a private collector.
Tuesday night's auction also saw a West Coast buyer score the Jean McEwen canvas Arc-En-Ciel Rouge for $97,750 — more than triple its $30,000 estimate.
Joyner Waddington will continue with the second half of its fall sale on Wednesday.
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