It Was A Very Good Year, Eh?

Canada’s art auction houses had a banner year in 2005, with CAN$46 million in combined profit brought in from sales of Canadian art. “This was almost a 40 per cent jump over last year’s total, and affirmation that the boom in the resale art market that started in the mid-1990s is still going strong, with no ‘market correction’ seeming to loom in the foreseeable future. As usual, it was the painters of wood and water, mountain and sky, horse and sleigh who commanded the highest prices. Yes, more collectors are buying more works by post-Second World War artists — but in most instances the prices paid for a substantial Jack Bush, Michael Snow, Paul-Emile Borduas or Greg Curnoe are less than what these artists may have received when their works were first sold on the primary market.”