Heffel Announces Fall Live Auction Led by Landmark Riopelle Painting

• Jean Paul Riopelle's landmark 1953 canvas Brumaire leads the November 18 auction with an estimate of $1.5 million to $2 million
• Major works by Emily Carr, Lawren Harris, A.Y. Jackson and Paul-Émile Borduas highlight the exceptional fall offering
• Paintings from distinguished international collections, including works held privately for generations, make their auction debut

TORONTO, Oct. 20, 2026 /CNW/ -- An outstanding selection of Canadian and international art, including major works by Jean Paul Riopelle, Emily Carr and the Group of Seven, will take centre stage at Heffel Fine Art Auction House's fall sale on November 18, 2026. Bringing together paintings from distinguished private collections around the world, the highly anticipated sale from Canada's leading auction house offers collectors an opportunity to acquire works with remarkable histories, sterling provenance and lasting cultural significance. The auction will take place in two sessions, Post-War & Contemporary Art and Canadian, Impressionist & Modern Art, at Heffel's Toronto saleroom, with international participation through its Digital Saleroom.

Brumaire (1953), a landmark canvas from Jean Paul Riopelle’s celebrated mosaic period leads Heffel’s November 18 fall live auction, with an estimate of $1.5 million to $2 million.

Emily Carr, Alert Bay (with Welcome Figure), a rare canvas painted circa 1912, is an important highlight of Heffel’s fall live auction, taking place November 18, 2026.

Leading the auction is Jean Paul Riopelle's Brumaire (1953), a landmark canvas from the artist's celebrated mosaic period, estimated at $1.5 million to $2 million (all estimate values are in Canadian dollars). Painted at a defining moment in Riopelle's career, the work represents the artistic ambition and innovation that propelled him to international prominence. Its appearance at auction coincides with the opening of Espace Riopelle --Michael Audain Pavillon at the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec this fall, a major milestone in the artist's legacy that Heffel is proud to support in its role as Presenting Partner.

"What makes this auction particularly exciting is the exceptional quality of the works and the collections they come from," said Robert Heffel, Vice-President of Heffel Fine Art Auction House. "Many of these paintings have been treasured in private collections for generations, and it is a privilege to bring them to auction. We look forward to sharing these remarkable works with collectors this fall."

Highlights from the Heffel auction include:

• Jean Paul Riopelle, Brumaire (1953) -- Among the finest examples of Riopelle's work to come to auction in recent years, Brumaire showcases the artist's mastery of the palette knife and his extraordinary use of colour. The painting was exhibited in his first American solo exhibition, at the Pierre Matisse Gallery in New York in 1954 (est. $1,500,000 – 2,000,000).
• Emily Carr, Alert Bay (with Welcome Figure) (circa 1912) -- Painted following Carr's studies in France, this rare early canvas reflects her modernist vision and her engagement with the cultural landscapes of British Columbia's coast. The work was featured in the touring exhibition Emily Carr: Fresh Seeing -- French Modernism and the West Coast and is included in important literature on the artist (est. $1,000,000 – 1,500,000). Partial proceeds from the sale of this work will benefit the Audain Art Museum in Whistler, BC.
• Paul-Émile Borduas, Empâtement (1957) -- A striking example of the artist's celebrated Black and White period, the painting is offered from the collection of renowned Quebec lyricist and songwriter Luc Plamondon. Its impeccable provenance traces back to the director of London's Arthur Tooth & Sons gallery, who acquired it directly from the artist in 1957 (est. $300,000 – 500,000).
• Important examples by Jack Bush -- Two exceptional canvases from the collection of renowned Boston collector Lewis Cabot, who shared a personal friendship with Bush. Red Pink Cross (1973) was included in the artist's major retrospectives at the Art Gallery of Ontario and National Gallery of Canada, and Double Road Mark (1970) is the largest painting from its rare series remaining in private hands (each est. $125,000 – 175,000).
• Jean Paul Riopelle, La brise geint (1957) -- Coming to market after nearly 70 years in the same German family collection, this richly coloured painting shares striking similarities in palette and composition with Garden (1957), a centrepiece of the inaugural exhibition of Espace Riopelle --Michael Audain Pavillon, opening this month. Previously handled by Galerie Jacques Dubourg in Paris and exhibited in Germany in 1958, La brise geint has a distinguished international history (est. $400,000 – 600,000).
• Major works by Lawren Harris -- Making its auction debut is Mountain, Winter, a striking later composition that was gifted by Harris and his wife within the family and held by his descendants until now (est. $350,000 – 450,000). Highlights also include two Rocky Mountain paintings from Harris's Group of Seven period, Mount Leah, Maligne Lake (1924) and Cathedral Mountain from the Opabin, Mountain Sketch XVII (circa 1926) (each est. $250,000 – 350,000).
• William Kurelek, I Knew How the Clouds Arise (1969) -- This quintessential large-scale winter scene was reproduced on the cover of the catalogue for Kurelek's first retrospective, at the Edmonton Art Gallery in 1970 (est. $200,000 – 300,000). A second important work, Wiener Roast on My Father's Farm (1974), from his celebrated The Happy Canadian series, captures a joyful family gathering drawn from the artist's own memories and retains its intricate original frame made by Kurelek (est. $100,000 – 150,000).
• A.Y. Jackson, Northern Landscape (circa 1939) -- This impressive large-scale canvas depicts the colourful hills of Ontario's La Cloche region, a favourite painting destination of the Group of Seven artist. Consigned from an American private collection, the work was once owned by Keith MacIver, a close friend and painting companion of Jackson (est. $300,000 – 400,000).

Heffel Fall Auction Schedule
To give collectors and enthusiasts from across Canada an opportunity to view these works, the collection is being previewed in four cities leading up to the auction.

• Calgary: October 2 – 4, Heffel Gallery (220 Manning Road NE, Unit 1080)
• Vancouver: October 14 – 18, Heffel Gallery (2247 Granville Street)
• Montreal: October 29 – November 2, Galerie Heffel (1840 rue Sherbrooke Ouest)
• Toronto: November 10 – 16, Heffel Gallery (13 Hazelton Avenue)

The auction will take place on November 18, 2026, at Heffel's Toronto saleroom. In addition to in-person bidding, the sale will be broadcast live at Heffel.com and remote bidding options will be available.

• Post-War & Contemporary Art – 5:00 pm ET
• Canadian, Impressionist & Modern Art – 7:00 pm ET

The live auction catalogues, details and registration information are available at www.heffel.com.

About Heffel Fine Art Auction House
Since 1978, Heffel has connected passionate collectors across the world with outstanding works of art, with sales of more than $1 billion. Heffel is renowned for its expertise in effectively managing and handling the sale of works from estates, institutional collections, corporate collections and private collections, serving as trusted experts for navigating the complexities of art collections with precision and care. Notable results include the 2016 sale of Lawren Harris's Mountain Forms for $11,210,000 -- the record for any Canadian artwork ever sold at auction -- as well as Jean Paul Riopelle's Vent du nord for $7,438,750 in 2017. With galleries and support facilities in Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal and Calgary, Heffel has the most experienced team of specialists in Canada and provides premium client service to both sellers and buyers internationally.

SOURCE Heffel Fine Art Auction House

For additional information and images, or to schedule an interview, please contact: Justine Nichol, [email protected], 604-789-4359