Vancouver Art Gallery auction raises close to $1m

A $140,000 Jeff Wall photograph helped a Vancouver Art Gallery auction raise funds for new exhibitions

A Jeff Wall photograph was the top lot at Vancouver Art Gallery's annual art auction in the Canadian city on February 18.

The local artist's Steves Farm sold for $140,000, with the proceeds funding exhibitions and educational programmes at the gallery.

The work depicts a field in the suburbs of Vancouver, and is one of Wall's earliest panoramic landscapes.

According to the gallery, it marks an "important juncture" in the artist's career as he "begins to explore the documentary photograph".

"It's very special to have the opportunity to have the major work by someone like Jeff Wall," the gallery's Carolyn Jack told Vancouver's News1130 radio station.

"There's some pretty keen Jeff Wall collectors."

Wall's piece was joined by artworks by a range of established international artists, including Roy Arden, Edward Burtynsky, Robert Davidson, Rodney Graham, Ken Lum, Landon Mackenzie, Gordon Smith and Ian Wallace.

It is not always necessary to head to auction to get your hands on fine works of art by big names.

Paul Fraser Collectibles currently has several superb artworks for sale, including an original signed sketch by the Spanish surrealist Salvador Dali, available for just £18,000 (approx. $28,000).

Salvador Dali's original signed sketch

The work is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity from the Galerie St Tropez, stating that it originates from the collection of his wife, Gala Dali. She is thought to be the subject of the work.

The Vancouver auction raised the gallery close to $1m, slightly down on the $1.2m achieved a year previously.

We will bring you more news from the world's art auctions throughout the year.

Recent and related articles

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·  Lucian Freud's Eli print of a prostrate dog 'fetches' World Record price at Christie's | 16 February 2012

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Images: Vancouver Art Gallery