Important collection of women’s art anchors Waddington’s Contemporary Canadian Art Auction

TORONTO.- Waddington’s presents its largest and most diverse offering of Canadian Contemporary art on March 4, 2014. The auction will feature over 120 lots ranging from conceptual, large-scale works by Robert Fones to Montreal street artist, Stikki Peaches, and the all-women Femmarte Collection. This is the third auction of Waddington’s contemporary art division, Concrete Contemporary Auctions and Projects, proving the potential for a commercial secondary market for contemporary art.

Auction Highlights
Stephen Ranger, Waddington’s Vice President and Director of Concrete Contemporary, is delighted that Concrete was chosen to sell the extraordinary Femmarte Collection. The collection of works by exclusively contemporary Canadian women artists was assembled over a five-year period by a group of 30 women investors to encourage and promote the work of women artists in Canada. Curated by Gerda Neubacher, the collection includes notable artists Shari Boyle, Sarah Anne Johnston and Barbara Cole.

Jeremy Smith, Early Morning, Kitchener. Egg tempera on panel; signed, titled and dated 1986-88 on the reverse, 43.75 ins x 65.75 ins, 111.1 cms x 167 cms. Estimate: $25,000 – 30,000.

Ranger says, “It is an understatement to say that the Femmarte Collection is extremely diverse, and in the words of artist and Femmarte curator Gerda Neubacher, we invite collectors ‘to be daring.’ ”

Other works of particular note are master works by artists such as Jeremy Smith, “Early Morning Kitchener”, estimate $25,000 – $30,000, and Michael Adamson, “Perspective on a Perspective”, estimate $6,000 – $8,000. First Nations artists are also strongly represented with significant works by Robert Houle, Brian Jungen and three works by Annie Pootoogook.

Concrete Contemporary’s vision is to build a vibrant secondary market for Canadian Contemporary Art by offering works by leading artists, most of whom have extensive exhibition history in both the public and private sphere. Concrete also provides a platform to incorporate the work of emerging artists, whose practice has yet to come to critical notice, yet has garnered significant grass roots interest. Waddington’s President Duncan McLean adds “Our legacy of offering fine Canadian art to the market for the last four decades affords us the opportunity to help build the marketability of Canadian contemporary artists.”