Courtesy Heffel
A royal blue print of Queen Elizabeth II set a new auction record for an Andy Warhol edition print last week after being sold in Toronto for $1,141,250 Canadian ($855,600 USD).
The diamond-dusted Royal Edition is one of four images of the late monarch from Warhol’s 1985 “Reigning Queen” series. The piece was sold at the Heffel auction house on Nov. 24, and its closing amount, which includes fees and buyer’s premiums, far exceeded the estimate of $375,000–$450,000.
Robert Heffel, vice president of Heffel auction house, said the company’s monthly online auctions, interest in the live sale, as well as the auction activity in New York helped boost confidence that many items would do well, not just the print of Queen Elizabeth II. He was also the auctioneer for the Warhol sale.
It was also a strong night for Group of Seven painter Lawren Harris. Six works by him sold for more than $5.72 million. The seller, Nora Lyle, bought three of the small oil and board paintings directly from Harris’ son in the 1930s. “She had the pick of many Lawren Harris’ and she chose really, really well,” Heffel told ARTnews.
Harris’s Arctic Sketch XV sold for $1.5 million, From Berg Lake, Evening for $1.17 million, and Lake Superior Sketch for $653,000.
A 1962 artwork by female automatist Marcelle Ferron also set an auction record at the live event. The untitled canvas sold for for $1.35 million, almost six times its high estimate.
