Portrait of Queen Elizabeth II by Andy Warhol at the Haffle auction. | Catch My Job

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In 1982, art dealer Andy Warhol wrote to Queen Elizabeth II’s personal secretary stating that he wanted to model the outfits of the Queens of Great Britain, Denmark and the Netherlands.

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The answer was relatively quiet.

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“While the Queen does not wish to obstruct Mr Warhol’s course,” Sir William. Hazeltine writes “The Queen probably didn’t dream of offering any opinions. about this concept.”

Warhol wasn’t asked to sit actually with the Queen. He was interested in mass-market pop culture. He took the famous photograph taken by Peter Grugeon in 1975 and remade it into four colorful silkscreen prints.

The Warhol Royal Edition comes in two editions, the regular 40 images and the 30 image versions sprinkled with Warhol glass shards known as “diamond dust”.

Diamond dust paintings often bring in more money because they are truly sparkling. This week, Vancouver residents can visit one of them in person at the Heffel Gallery art auction preview.

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The preview runs through Oct. 24, although the auction takes place Nov. 24 at the Park Hyatt Hotel ballroom in Toronto.

This Warhol silkscreen portrait has been reproduced extensively. But seeing the large size (39 x 31 inches) and vibrant colors of the Warhol silkscreen printing in person is pretty good.

“The scale is pretty amazing,” said Robert Heffel, who runs the auction with David. his brother said “He really captured the beauty of the queen. It was an amazing sight.”

The queen seemed pleased with the results. Warhol’s art dealer sent a photograph of a silkscreen print to Buckingham Palace in 1985, and her secretary Haseltine wrote back to thank them for the photo. “Which His Majesty is very pleased and interested to see.”

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She also bought a Royal Edition diamond dust set for her personal collection.

The demand for the image of the queen has increased since her death.

“There are four portraits of the Queen from the Royal Edition,” Heffel said, he said the most wanted was blue. “One of the Royal Blues sold at one of the international auction houses in London in September for £550,000, which at the time was the equivalent of $800,000 Cdn.”

Estimated values ​​of the prints at Haffle are $500,000 to $600,000. The print comes from a local collector who bought it in 1990 and was once owned by Bob Rennie. It’s two Hors de Commerce prints, which means that it is not for commercial or resale, Hors de Commerce prints are often given by artists as gifts. and can be accumulated in their own right

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There were 87 lots at the Nov. 24 auction, with a pre-auction estimate of $12 million to $17 million.

The big ticket item is the Lawren Harris Canvas, House In The Ward, Winter Painting No. 1, painted in 1924.

It is valued at $2 million to $3 million and depicts a city of a woman walking past a red-brick house on a street in Toronto after a snowfall.

David Heffel felt this reflected the optimism and energy in Toronto after World War I. he likes impusto (thick painting) in different parts of the canvas

“It was almost like ice-cream snow,” he said. “In the east there were huge blizzards and blizzards. And when the weather is clear and you walk out the next morning, it’s really quiet. This painting is very peaceful.”

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There are many more impressive Harris paintings on sale. including small sketches Two images from his popular Rocky Mountain and Arctic range.

from Lake Berg Night is a classic Harris portrait of the snow-capped and majestic Robson Mountain. with glaciers flowing into the lake. Arctic Sketch XV depicts mountains on an island. swirling clouds above The deep blue water rose in the opposite direction below.

“He discovered his footsteps in the Rockies in 1928-29, then he went to the Arctic in 1930,” says Robert Heffell. “He achieved spiritual simplicity in his paintings. The awe-inspiring simplicity that leads us to the heavenly philosophy (concept) when you meditate and feel cheerful.”

Two 12 x 15-inch oil sketches cost about $700,000 to $900,000, but easily soar past the $1 million mark.

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