User:HeatherBlack/Consignor Canadian Fine Art

Consignor Canadian Fine Art is a Toronto-based auction house which specializes in live and online auctions of Historical and Contemporary Canadian Art. Founded in 2013, the company established a new model in Canada of online-only auctions combined with gallery exhibitions. Known for their free-appraisal service in cities throughout Canada, the company has set records for Canadian Art sold in online auctions in Canada.

History
Consignor Canadian Fine Art was established in June 2013 by Canadian Art specialists and appraisers Ryan Mayberry, Rob Cowley and Lydia Abbott. Building on the online service Consignor.ca introduced in 2012 by software engineer and gallerist Ryan Mayberry of Mayberry Fine Art, the company was formed to take advantage of the growth in private sales and online auctions, and the increased demand for postwar Canadian Art. The partners, professionals within Canada’s secondary art market, also saw an opportunity when Sotheby's departed the Canadian art-auction industry. In keeping with the trend of auction-preview exhibitions, Consignor established a permanent gallery at 326 Dundas Street West, opposite the Art Gallery of Ontario. The company is credited with establishing a new model within the industry, described as a "new hybrid auction house" with exhibition space, by Canadian Art magazine.

The company introduced its first online auction in November 2013 with an extended preview exhibition of approximately four weeks. Consignor also introduced free art-appraisal clinics at advertized venues across Canada. Compared to the Antique Roadshow, these exhibitions, held regularly in St. John’s, Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa, Winnipeg, Calgary, and Vancouver, create interest in upcoming auctions as well as encourage potential consignors to learn more about their art. These clinics and Consignor's “10 commandments” of art appraisal received widespread media coverage. Exceptional finds such as William Kurelek’s Ukrainian Proverb also drew media attention. The company also holds specialty auctions of Canadian and International Contemporary Art which includes prints and sculpture, as well as hosts fundraisers in support of Variety, The Children's Charity, for those with special needs.

Auctions of Note
As auctioneers of work by historical and postwar Canadian artists, Consignor set new price points for individual artists and established two records for the most expensive art sold at a Canadian online auction in 2014. The company's first online Canadian Art Auction held November 20-29, 2013, included a rare portrait by Group of Seven artist Tom Thomson as well as work by contemporary artists Kim Dorland, Dil Hildebrand, Iain Baxter and Wanda Koop. The May 21-29, 2014 auction made national news and set new price points for Jack Bush’s Summer Lake and Pink on Red. Yves Gaucher's Gris et Bleu, Gershon Iskowitz's October #2, and William Perehudoff's AC-78-33 were among other results noted. The November 2014 auction included works by A.J. Casson, Arthur Lismer, Franz Johnston, Emily Carr, Robert Pilot, Jean Paul Riopelle and Robert Bateman, and set records for works by William Kurelek, Dorothy Knowles, Ted Harrison and Norval Morrisseau. The May 20-26, 2015, auction included a rare watercolour Arbutus Trees by Emily Carr, and works by John Lyman, A.H. Robinson, Maurice Cullen and Group of Seven members Frederick Varley, A.J. Casson, L.L. Fitzgerald, Edwin Holgate and Frank Johnston. The sale also featured work by contemporary Canadian artists Harold Town, Robert Bateman, John Little, Tom Forrestall, Arthur Shilling, Maud Lewis, and Joe Fafard.

Record price points:
 * Emily Carr Arbutus Trees (drawing) $52,900 (May 2015)
 * Otto Rodgers Light Above $13,915 (June 2014)
 * Jack Bush Summer Lake $310,500; Pink on Red  $225,000 (May 2014)
 * William Perehudoff AC-78-33 $46,000 (May 2014)
 * William Kurelek Ukrainian Proverb $41,400 (Nov 2014)
 * Dorothy Knowles Soft Greens in May $29,900 (Nov 2014)
 * Ted Harrison The Village Road $29,900 (Nov 2014)
 * Norval Morrisseau Warrior $27,600 (Nov 2014)