Posts By: Cowley Abbott

Guido Molinari, a leader in Quebec abstraction, was a major contributor to post-Abstract Expressionism and post-Automatisme with his Stripe Paintings. Série noir/blanc is a “stop-you-in-your-tracks stunner” of a painting. Originally in the collection of the artist’s family, then sold in New York and now being offered by a major collector, this monumental acrylic on canvas… Read more »

Peter popped across the road recently to visit the Art Gallery of Ontario and take a closer look at the Cornelius Krieghoff interior scenes within their permanent collection. These paintings share many similarities in terms of subject matter, rich detail and narrative tone to “French Canadian Habitants Playing at Cards”, the important canvas included in… Read more »

One of the artworks I admire in the Spring Live Auction is Bertram Brooker’’s “Still Life (Variation No. 3)“. This work was one of two still-life paintings by Brooker included in the 1938 CNE exhibition in the “Canadian Small Pictures” section. Brooker’s “Variation No. 3” appears to be an abstract version of the second painting, which depicted an arrangement… Read more »

I am drawn in by Riopelle’s thick paint application that creates a tactile surface, tempting the viewer (me) to touch it!  The palette knife strokes are a mix of order and spontaneity. “Polyvalencia” dates to a key period in the artist’s life – just as he was moving away from his structured “mosaic” compositions to… Read more »

Working with both Canadian and International Art I’m always intrigued by the unspoken dialogue that can occur in work by artists of different nationalities who unlikely had any contact. I was instantly drawn to the dynamic work by Jack Bush, Angry Man and saw the many similarities it has with Edouardo Kingman’s painting Figura, which will be offered… Read more »

Cowley Abbott’s Spring Live Auction of Important Canadian Art presents an impressive selection of historical, post-war and contemporary works by renowned Canadian artists. The catalogue offers a variety of landscapes depicting the range of Canadian terrain across the nation, from the Pacific to Atlantic and Arctic Coasts. Many of Canada’s most iconic landmarks and destinations… Read more »

This is one of the works in our Spring Live Auction that just keeps drawing my attention back in for another close look. Carmichael’s mastery of the medium is on full display here. The surface buzzes with autumn colours and the paint handling is both sensitive and confident. The best of the Group sketches have… Read more »

This won’t come as a surprise to you, but I see a lot of art. The special works I experience stay with me and the very special works are revisited in my memory time and time again. Pegi Nicol MacLeod’s A Descent of Lilies in the National Gallery of Canada collection is one of those… Read more »

The auction market is certainly alive and well and Cowley Abbott is delighted to be entrusted with exceptional Historical, Post-War, and Contemporary artworks included in our current dedicated May online auctions. The auctions complement our Live Auction of Important Canadian Art and offer collectors the opportunity to build their collections with rare gems of important… Read more »

A warm welcome to Eryn Brobyn as she joins the Cowley Abbott team! Eryn holds a Masters degree in Art Gallery and Museum studies from the University of Leeds and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Art History with a minor in Studio Art from the University of Guelph. Upon graduating from the University of… Read more »