The president of Canadian Consignor Fine Art, Rob Cowley, stopped by the Muse offices a few days back to show off some Maud Lewis originals and talk about the upcoming appraisal event happening here in St. Johns. We asked him about his career, the art scene in Atlantic Canada, and the process of appraising paintings.
Mr. Cowley’s company is based in Toronto and specializes in art auctions, holding about twelve of them every year. Their building is actually located across the street from the world famous Art Gallery of Ontario. Robert’s been in the business for twenty years, and he knows a ton about Canadian artists and their pieces.
“We located an A.Y Jackson here last year that was valued at 70-90 thousand dollars”.
Robert Cowley, President of Canadian Consignor Fine Art
Part of his job includes travelling the country, holding free events where the public is welcome to bring in art pieces they have lying around their house (with a limit of three pieces a person) so that Robert can appraise them and tell people what they’re worth. When asked what he expects to find in St. John’s, he revealed that there have actually been very valuable pieces discovered here in the past.
“We’ve found works by the group of seven here before. We located an A.Y Jackson here last year that was valued at 70-90 thousand dollars. There’s a lot of astute collectors here in the city… Although you find a bit of everything here you do find a heavy contingent of Newfoundland artists like David Blackwood and Anne Meredith Barry. Also other Atlantic Canadian artists like Maude Lewis – so we find a fair bit.”
Like the A.Y Jackson piece mentioned above, Robert noted that many people may have expensive works of art lying around their house that they are looking to get rid of as they downsize. Some of these pieces, when not evaluated – simply discarded by the owner to make room in their house – end up sitting at a Goodwill or Value Village. His evaluation sessions this week will hopefully stop incidents like this from occurring.
He’ll have his hands full with this task; the session is fully booked, with a new client receiving an appraisal every fifteen minutes for eight hours. “It’s a very busy, long day” he stated. He’ll be doing this solo at the MUN Signal Hill Campus Wednesday from 10:00 – 4:00.
People can also submit photos of their art digitally to Robert through his company’s website, www.consignor.ca. He can appraise art this way for people who may not have been able to make it to the fully booked event.
“[Group of Seven] paintings sold in the last few years have gone for over 12 million dollars.”
Robert Cowley, President of Canadian Consignor Fine Art
When asked about differentiating prints from originals in regards to photos of paintings, he remarked that it isn’t much of a challenge. “We can tell if it’s a significant artwork,” he said jokingly. “If we had an image of the Mona Lisa, we usually will know that it’s a print.”
Having a painting appraised is a pretty substantial financial opportunity for some Canadians, especially considering that the service is free. “The Group of Seven”, a collective of prominent Canadian painters, produced many works in the early twentieth century that are worth significant amounts of money and sometimes find their way into the homes of everyday people. When asked about how much “Group of Seven” paintings are worth, Robert said that the values can vary.
“An original painting by the group of seven, if it’s a work by Franz Johnston, who is a member that left – and it’s a later work – a small painting by him could sell for three or four thousand dollars. Although other [Group of Seven] paintings sold in the last few years have gone for over 12 million dollars. So the range is immense.”
Where individual members of the group are concerned, “Lawren Harris tends to be the most valuable. Probably the most revered of the Group of Seven. Some of the later members are of a little less value.” Robert added that subject matter and period are important indicators of appraising these pieces as well.
When [Maud Lewis] was an active artist, people would send her five or ten dollars in exchange for a painting.
Apparently there are general trends in the art market and in consumer interest right now that effect the price of paintings as well. Post-War art is in fashion these days, especially abstract painters from the fifties, sixties, and seventies. These paintings also tend to fit modern decor. “People are looking for rarity and quality right now”.
Although most of his high-end finds tend to be in central Canada, Robert’s company finds a lot of great work in Newfoundland and St. John’s. He noted that, per capita, there are a ton of great pieces discovered across the province considering the population difference between this island and other locations. When asked what his most surprising or exciting appraisal was, he had a few stories to tell.
He described a time when someone had brought in five paintings to be appraised. Four were cheap copies worth next to nothing. Dejectedly, the man offered a fifth and final painting, expecting it to be yet another dud. “He was almost embarrassed to pull it out”.
The painting was of a boy in the snow trying to catch two rabbits. The caption on the piece read “he who tries to catch two rabbits will catch neither”. Robert thought that the client was joking with him; this painting was an original from the renowned artist William Kurelek. The man had bumped into Kurelek at a neighbours house and befriended him, which eventually led to them coming into the possession of the piece. They had no idea how valuable it was, or who Kurelek even was. The painting was valued at around 12 thousand dollars and sold for near 50 thousand dollars at an auction.
Maud Lewis is another Canadian artist whose works are highly valuable. When she was an active artist, people would send her five or ten dollars in exchange for a painting. Those same paintings now sell for ten to fifteen thousand dollars, with interest in her work increased following the release of a biopic based on her life recently.
Robert brought two originals to the office for us to see, and they were amazing.
“We found a lot of Maud Lewis’ in the states, because so many people on the eastern seaboard were travelling to Nova Scotia. So many Americans would come for vacation and buy her work when they were there” Robert noted.
Although most works by major Canadian artists stay in the country, he once had to fly to Australia to pick up a group of seven piece that would’ve been insanely expensive to ship. He described the necessary shipping accommodations to include an armoured truck driven by a single courier wearing protective gloves. “It would’ve cost tens of thousands of dollars”, he said. So instead he was able to make a trip out of it and pick the piece up himself.
Here at home, the art market in Atlantic Canada is in good shape. “Right now, when you look at Atlantic Canada, the maritimes, and Newfoundland, David Colville is one of the most valuable artists at auction. His work is sold in excess of a million dollars. Chris Pratt’s major works sell for six figures. Colville, Pratt, and Blackwood’s prints are some of the most popular in Canada. A print by David Blackwell just sold for just under 80 thousand dollars.”
Robert managed to offer some career advice for people looking to get involved in his field as well, suggesting that an Art History degree would be beneficial (Robert has a theatre background, however, and learned most of what he knows by working in the business). “Typically when we’re hiring, we’re looking for individuals who have a background related to Canadian art and customer service”.
On the importance of customer service skills, he added that “many clients who are dealing with us are encountering the art world for the first time. If someone inherits a painting tomorrow, and decides to sell it, it will likely be the first time they even think about talking to an auction house or talking to a gallery. And so we have to keep that in mind.” Robert spoke of the reputation that art specialists have garnered in movies and television as “snooty and scary to deal with”, but says that it’s not really like that.
One challenge that appraisers face is the presence of “fakes” in the world of art trading. Robert admitted to having run into a few fake pieces during his career, but added that the people getting their art appraised are usually not even aware that they are in the possession of something that is not wholly authentic. “Some of them pass through families. And no one realizes that until they get to us, and then we do research. It doesn’t happen often.”
Although appointments are fully booked at the Signal Hill Campus this week, you can catch Robert Cowley and Canadian Consignor Fine Art next time they’re in town to get your art pieces evaluated by a seasoned expert.
His company’s website is available at https://www.consignor.ca/.