TORONTO - A star piece at a Sotheby's auction has failed to sell, despite soaring recent prices for Canadian art.
The dynamic painting by Jean-Paul Riopelle -- a large abstract work featuring his distinctive palette-knife style -- drew hefty bids from the floor and the phone but topped out at $1.7 million.
That figure was short of the reserve price set aside for the masterwork, which Sotheby's had expected would sell for between $2 million and $2.5 million at the Toronto sale.
Riopelle expert Jean-Paul Valentin says those estimates were likely too high, despite Riopelle's immense popularity among private collectors.
Sotheby's Canada president David Silcox says he expects to receive offers from private collectors in coming days.
Despite the disappointing outcome for the Riopelle, the art world has experienced soaring sales of late.
The Heffel auction in Vancouver last week sold more than $21 million, trouncing a pre-sale estimate of $16 million.
The Sotheby's sale, in conjunction with Ritchies, features 227 lots with a presale estimate of between $9.6 million and $13.4 million.
Works include pieces by David Milne, the Beaver Hall Group, and an abstract piece by Harris that had sat forgotten in a collector's basement for some 40 years.
