Emily Carr, “Masset, Q.C.I.,” 1912 (courtesy of Heffel Fine Art)
The Emily Carr painting found in a barn and sold for $50 US a few months ago has sold at auction for $349,250 CDN.
The auction was held Nov. 20 at Heffel Fine Art Auction House in Toronto. The evening's total sales were more than $22 million.
Entitled Masset, Q.C.I., the Carr painting was created in 1912 and shows an Indigenous memorial post that stood in Masset, a Haida Gwaii village in British Columbia. It is believed to have been in a barn in the U.S. since the 1930s, when Carr likely gave it to her friend Nell Cozier.
“The remarkable backstory of the work — hidden away for over a century before being purchased for just $50 USD at a Hamptons barn sale — has captivated the world. Collectors flocked to Heffel’s cross-country previews for a glimpse of the powerful and vivid depiction of a bear totem in Haida Gwaii, exemplifying Carr’s reverence for the Indigenous cultures and landscapes of British Columbia,” noted the Heffel auction team.
“The sale marks a triumphant homecoming for the painting, which now reclaims its place as an essential chapter in Canada’s cultural history.”
The auction also saw major sales for Tom Thomson works, with two major paintings each going for more than $2 million.
Source: Heffel Fine Art Auction House
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