Online auction fetches record-setting price for Miller Brittain painting
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Loading... - Mandy Hill
- 28 Jan 2022
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An online auction has set a new record for an oil painting by renowned Saint John artist Miller Gore Brittain.
When the week-long auction closed on Sunday night, Figures on the Beach sold for $330,000.
"It's wonderful to see … that Canadians are appreciating Miller Brittain," said Liz Isaac, an antique appraiser who worked on the auction with Mario Brideau of Citadel Gallery Auctions.
For the last couple of years, the two have worked with the estate of Miller Brittain's daughter, Jennifer, who had a large collection of her father's work. Miller Brittain died in 1968.
Isaac said many of the pieces, including Figures on the Beach, had been in storage for many years.
"And it's a beautiful painting," she said. "It's so pleasant. It's figures on a beach and it's a mother and a child and a beach ball. It's beautiful."
Isaac said they've tried to offer a variety of Brittain's work in a series of online auctions over the last two years.
"It just seemed like the right time for this one," she said.
The sale attracted active bidders from all across Canada
"There were definitely Saint Johners bidding," Isaac said, but "when it got down to it," the bidding war was between two bidders from outside the city.
By the time the virtual gavel signalled the end of bidding, the final price tag was $330,000. Add to that a 10 per cent "buyer's premium" and the total paid was $363,000, which, Isaac said is a Canadian record for a Miller Brittain oil painting.
Isaac and Brideau were very careful not to reveal anything about the buyer, saying only that the person is Canadian and the purchase is not their first Miller Brittain.
"They are collectors," said Isaac, "and not only of Miller Brittain."
"Collectors are extremely private when it comes to — especially a painting of that value," said Brideau.
When asked if the painting would be staying in New Brunswick, Isaac said, "It's very possible that the painting could stay local, yes."
The director and CEO of the Beaverbrook Art Gallery in Fredericton said it doesn't matter whether Figures on the Beach stays local.
"Here's an artist who should be seen across the globe," said Tom Smart, who wrote a book about Miller Brittain. Read More...
