Iconic Lawren Harris canvas up for auction after starring in museum show

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Sep 27, 2016, 10:00 ET

Heffel will offer the outstanding Mountain Forms canvas by Group of Seven founder, Lawren Harris at its upcoming fall live auction on November 23
The work just completed its North American tour with a museum exhibition co-curated by Steve Martin
The commanding 1926 Rocky Mountain painting is expected to achieve between $3M and $5M

TORONTO, Sept. 27, 2016 /PRNewswire/ - Heffel Fine Art Auction House is thrilled to share that its upcoming fall live auction will see one of the finest examples of 20^th century painting hit the auction block. Mountain Forms, an iconic 1926 Rocky Mountain canvas by Group of Seven founder Lawren Harris, will make its way into new hands this November in Toronto. Estimated to achieve between $3 million and $5 million, the masterwork will unquestionably attract collectors from around the world (all prices are in Canadian dollars and are according to conservative estimates).

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160927/412180)

Mountain Forms is a large-scale masterpiece by Harris, commanding in scale and rich in colour, standing at five feet tall and nearly six feet wide. The work depicts Mount Ishbel located in the Sawback Range in the Rocky Mountains. Consigned from the prestigious Imperial collection, the fall auction offers collectors an incredible opportunity to own a rare-to-the-market Harris canvas, very few of which are in private hands today.

"An artwork of this importance comes up once in a lifetime, at most," said David Heffel, President of Heffel Fine Art Auction House. "The pinnacle of our father's career was selling this painting in 1980, and Robert and I are honoured to offer it once again."

Lawren Harris continues to shine at the forefront of the art market with record prices and major international interest. In the last year, four Harris paintings sold by Heffel surpassed the million dollar mark, led by the outstanding Mountain and Glacier, which sold for $4.6 million and set a world record for the artist.

Mountain Forms comes with an impressive exhibition history, having travelled extensively across North America for major exhibitions throughout its lifetime. Most recently, the work toured with, and starred in, The Idea of North: The Paintings of Lawren Harris, a critically acclaimed exhibition co-curated by Steve Martin. The display garnered a new appreciation for Harris with successful showings at the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, and finally at Toronto's own Art Gallery of Ontario. Beyond its recent appearances, the canvas was also included in a touring exhibition across five American states in 1930 and an exhibition that took place in five major Canadian museums in 2002.

Following the company's relocation of its head office from downtown to a new space in southeast Calgary, Imperial reduced the size of its art collection to adapt to its open concept office design with fewer walls. A focused body of Canadian art representative of the country's geography was selected and moved to the new Imperial campus in Quarry Park. Over the course of 2014 and 2015, Imperial donated $784,000 in art auction proceeds to its United Way partners. Imperial will also donate approximately 60 noteworthy artworks valued at approximately $3.5 million to galleries across Canada, including works by Lawren Harris designated for the National Gallery in Ottawa and the Glenbow Museum in Calgary.

Heffel's Fall 2016 Live Auction Schedule
Buyers from across Canada will have an opportunity to view Mountain Forms before the live auction, as the collection will be previewed in three cities:

Vancouver: Saturday, October 29 to Tuesday, November 1, 11 a.m. – 6 p.m., Heffel Gallery Vancouver, 2247 Granville Street
Montreal: Thursday, November 10 to Saturday, November 12, 11 a.m. – 6 p.m., Galerie Heffel Montreal, 1840 Sherbrooke Street West
Toronto: Saturday, November 19 to Tuesday, November 22, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. and Wednesday, November 23, 10 a.m. – noon, Design Exchange, Exhibition Hall, 234 Bay Street

The three-session live auction will take place on Wednesday, November 23 at Design Exchange (The Historic Trading Floor, 234 Bay Street, Toronto):

4:30 p.m. ET—Post-War & Contemporary Art
7:00 p.m. ET—Fine Canadian Art
The Peter & Joanne Brown Collection to follow

For additional details on the previews and live auction, please visit www.heffel.com.

About Heffel Fine Art Auction House
Heffel has sold more Canadian art than any other auctioneer worldwide, approaching half a billion dollars in art sales since 1978. With offices in Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa and Calgary, Heffel has the most experienced team of fine art specialists in Canada and provides superior client service to both sellers and buyers internationally.

SOURCE Heffel Gallery Limited