Pine blanket box with interior painting of the ship "Margaret Marshbanks". (Credit: Elizabeth MacLeod)
Nearly 200 pieces of art will be available for collectors as part of an online action this fall, including three Miller Gore Brittain oil paintings. Brittain, who died in 1968, was born and raised in Saint John and is considered one of Canada’s most accomplished painters. His paintings are known for depicting realistic scenes of every day Saint John life.
Antique appraiser Liz Isaac, from Liz Isaac & Citadel Gallery Auctions, explained high-quality Brittain paintings are rarely on the market because most of his paintings are in museums, corporate collections, or are privately owned.
“He’s Saint John’s son, he’s New Brunswick’s son, he’s a Canadian son and yet his calibre of work has always been compared to the best of the best,” said Isaac, adding each of the paintings are from a different period of Brittain’s work.
The paintings are Sidewalk Madonna (1940), Gold Drum (1954), Girl in Yellow With Tall Sunflower (1965), which came from a private estate. A fourth Brittain painting, Space (1964), is also for sale. The last Brittain painting on the market was sold by Citadel Gallery for $120,000 in 2017.
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- Miller Gore Brittain’s Sidewalk Madonna (1940) (Credit: Elizabeth MacLeod)
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- Miller Gore Brittain’s Gold Drum (1954) (Credit: Elizabeth MacLeod)
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- Miller Gore Brittain’s Girl in Yellow With Tall Sunflower (1965) (Credit: Elizabeth MacLeod)
The auction shifted from being held at the Trade Centre to online due to COVID-19. Isaac wasn’t sure at first about the lack of a live audience, but an online art auction held in July had a positive reception.
Citadel Gallery owner Mario Brideau added they could reach a larger audience of people across Canada online and through digital marketing they have been able to target specific markets.
Deichmann pottery of a woman’s head (1938) (Image: Elizabeth MacLeod)
“Most major auction houses have been doing some of their work online in the last five to eight years with their online sales and in-house sales and now everything is online,” she said, with Brideau adding that at their last online auction, young collectors participated and starting to collect art.
Examples of artwork in the auction include paintings by Fred Ross, John Little and Jack Humphrey, Deichmann pottery and wooden masks by Ned Bear in addition to Brittain’s paintings.
“There’s something in the auction for everyone because there is something in every price range,” said Isaac. “You can buy a piece of original art for $100 that’s very acceptable and well done.”
The auction will last from September 28th to October 4th and live viewings of the auction lots are available at the Citadel Gallery.
