Miller & Miller's Oct 9 & 11 Auctions Featured Post-war Canadian Folk Art, Early Canadian Furniture

By Author: Ben Lennox
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Three original paintings by the acclaimed Canadian folk artist Maud Lewis (1903-1970) combined for $92,360; an 1859 marine watercolor by famed folk artist Captain Alexander McNeilledge (1791-1874) brought $24,780; and a monumental three-piece plant stand from Jacobi Pottery from Waterloo County, Ontario fetched $8,260 in three sessions of auctions held on two days (October 9th and 11th) by Miller & Miller Auctions, Ltd.

All prices quoted here are in Canadian dollars and include an 18 percent buyer’s premium.

A Post-War Canadian Folk Art auction was held on Thursday, October 9th, that featured 90 lots of folk art. A Canadiana session that began on Saturday morning, October 11th, contained 359 lots, highlighted by the Louise and late Robert Levesque collection; and an evening session held later that day comprised a tidy 34 lots and showcased the David and Karen Jacobi Collection.

“The common elements to these sales were items being fresh to the market, pieces coming from old collections and pieces that had been previously documented in publications,” said Ben Lennox of Miller & Miller Auctions, ...
... Ltd. “These elements created excitement leading up to, and during, the sales.”

Mr. Lennox added, “We witnessed feverish bidding across all three sales, with many rare and unique items exceeding estimates. The market continues to see strength in better and best pieces. Since Canadiana encompasses a broad range of collecting categories, it creates a wave in the collecting community as we work to ensure we have a strong offering across those categories.”

The Maud Lewis paintings were all sold in the October 9th session. They included Bear River Autumnn Scene, a circa 1960 oil on beaverboard work that’s a rare serial image and considered one of her masterpieces ($38,350); White Cat, an oil on Masonite from circa 1965-66 depicting Maud’s cat “Fluffy” ($33,040); and Ox and Cart, an early 1960s oil on beaverboard ($21,240).

Following are additional highlights from the auctions, ones in which 919 registered bidders combined to place 13,614 bids. Nearly all lots were sold, and 68 percent of the top 50 lots across all three sales exceeded estimate. Overall, the auctions grossed $866,061. Online bidding was via LiveAuctioneers.com and the Miller & Miller website (www.MillerandMillerAuctions.com).

The October 9th session featured paintings by notable Canadian artists from 1950 to the present, many of them curated to include artists from Quebec, Ontario and the Maritime Regions. A 1987 enamel on plywood coastal scene by the Lower Prospect, Nova Scotia artist Joe Norris (1925-1996), titled Summer Cove, Flowers in Bloom, in an adorned white frame, finished at $23,600.

An acrylic on canvas by the British-born Canadian artist Ted Harrison 1926-2015), titled Dawson City Evening (1987), encapsulated the spirit of Canada’s North with a depiction of a wildly beautiful Yukon sky, signed and titled ($17,700). Also, a 9-foot-wide pencil and marker on paper banner by Halifax, Nova Scotia artist Joe Sleep (1914-1978), titled Fish Trawlers, Sailboat and Marine Life, signed and dated (“Joseph Sleep 1977”) lower edge, garnered $7,080.

The morning session on October 11th was led by Captain Alexander McNeilledge’s marine watercolor and ink painted in 1859 in Nanticoke, Ontario (near Port Dover). The diminutive work – just 5 ½ inches by 7 ½ inches, minus the frame – was signed lower right and contained a lengthy inscription on the back, addressed to “Mrs. John English from Capt. Alex McNeilledge”.

Also that session, an early 18th century Quebec, French Regime Louis XIII armoire in very good condition, in an old brown paint with the left side in original red, 52 inches tall by 53 ½ inches wide, made from butternut, rose to $14,160; while an 18th century early Quebec “bonnetiere” – a single-door, six-panel armoire in old black paint over the original oxidized dark blue paint, with a paneled back, original shelves and restored cornice molding – commanded $11,210.

A first quarter 20th century Nova Scotia merganser decoy pair – both painted wood, the 6-inch-tall by 17 ½-inch wide hen and the 5 ½-inch-tall by 17-inch-wide drake having original paint with a rich patina and oxidation, breezed to $11,800. Also, an early 20th century pipe tomahawk with original ash handle and carved mouthpiece, 23 inches long, brought $10,620.

The October 11th Canadian Historical Pottery auction featured items consigned by descendants of Jacobi Pottery of Waterloo County, Ontario, which operated from 1874-1905. There were many amazing Jacobi pieces up for bid, but one was a standout: a monumental three-piece plant stand, nearly 30 inches tall, boasting a spectacular glaze with heavy green and brown mottling over a peach color base. It was amazing the museum-quality set ever survived at all ($8,260).

A Jacobi Waterloo creamer, meanwhile, the rare small form, 3 ½ inches tall with extraordinary glaze, checked all the boxes for the winning bidder who purchased it for $3,245: glaze, form, rarity, condition and size. Also, an outstanding Adam Bierenstihl (Bridgeport, Ontario) miniature pitcher with a fabulous cream-colored glaze with brown and green mottling, marked on the bottom in pencil, “Canada, Made Around 1883”, just 2 ¾ inches tall, changed hands for $3,245.

To watch a brief YouTube video showing some of the Canadiana highlights, please click here: https://youtu.be/HTdPdbn5DPA

Miller & Miller Auctions’ calendar of upcoming online-only auctions includes the following:

Oct. 25: Historic, Collector & Sporting Firearms, featuring the collection of Lorenz Werkmeister
Nov. 6: Luxury Watches
Nov. 15: Gas, Oil & General Store Advertising, featuring the Jason Patzer collection
Dec. 6: Petroliana & Historic Advertising, featuring the Norm West collection
Dec. 7: General Store & Soda Advertising

To learn more about Miller & Miller Auctions, Ltd. and the firm’s upcoming auctions, visit www.MillerandMillerAuctions.com.