Emily Carr
Emily Carr
1871 - 1945
BCSFA CGP
Emily Carr is one of Canada’s greatest artists, best known for her paintings of west coast native villages and forest and seashore landscapes.

Born in Victoria in 1871, early studies took her to San Francisco and London.

Her interest in coastal villages began with a visit to a Nootka reserve at Ucluelet in 1899 and led to subsequent visits to native coastal villages in 1908, 1909 and 1910. In 1910, Carr travelled to France to study, and her exposure to the artistic milieu there opened up a new world of colour and light.

Back in British Columbia in 1912, Carr made an important sketching trip to native sites at Alert Bay, Skeena River and the Queen Charlotte Islands, deeply committed to capturing the native people and the villages with their powerful totem poles.

Carr was ahead of her time on the coast, and her struggle to survive resulted in very little painting from 1913 until the pivotal year of 1927, when she was visited by ethnologist Marius Barbeau and Eric Brown, director of the National Gallery. Her work was subsequently exhibited in an historic west coast show in Ottawa, and when she traveled to it, she met prominent fellow artists such as Lawren Harris, with whom she formed an inspiring friendship.

Carr visited native sites again in 1928 and 1930, and sketching expeditions into her beloved forest continued - to the west coast of Vancouver Island and Port Renfrew, as well as locations near Victoria. Carr’s great inspiration captured the very essence of BC forest with its energy and mystery.

More public recognition came with a solo exhibition at the Art Gallery of Ontario in 1937, and the first of annual solo exhibits at the Vancouver Art Gallery began in 1938.

Also well known for her writing, Carr won a Governor General’s award for her first book Klee Wyck.
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The Crazy Stair (The Crooked Staircase) by Emily Carr sold for $3,393,000
Emily Carr
The Crazy Stair (The Crooked Staircase)
43 3/8 x 26 in, 110.2 x 66 cm
circa 1928
oil on canvas
Estimate: $1,200,000 - $1,600,000 CDN
Sold for: $3,393,000 CDN (premium included)
Fall 2013 - 2nd Session on Thursday, November 28, 2013
Cordova Drift by Emily Carr sold for $3,361,250
Emily Carr
Cordova Drift
30 x 36 in, 76.2 x 91.4 cm
oil on canvas
Estimate: $2,000,000 - $3,000,000 CDN
Sold for: $3,361,250 CDN (premium included)
Canadian, Impressionist & Modern Art on Wednesday, December 01, 2021
Tossed by the Wind by Emily Carr sold for $3,121,250
Emily Carr
Tossed by the Wind
32 1/8 x 27 1/4 in, 81.6 x 69.2 cm
1939
oil on canvas
Estimate: $1,200,000 - $1,600,000 CDN
Sold for: $3,121,250 CDN (premium included)
Canadian, Impressionist & Modern Art on Wednesday, June 23, 2021
Street, Alert Bay by Emily Carr sold for $2,401,250
Emily Carr
Street, Alert Bay
32 x 23 3/8 in, 81.3 x 59.4 cm
1912
oil on canvas
Estimate: $2,000,000 - $3,000,000 CDN
Sold for: $2,401,250 CDN (premium included)
Canadian, Impressionist & Modern Art on Wednesday, November 20, 2019
Swirl by Emily Carr sold for $2,341,250
Emily Carr
Swirl
27 x 22 3/4 in, 68.6 x 57.8 cm
1937
oil on canvas
Estimate: $1,000,000 - $1,500,000 CDN
Sold for: $2,341,250 CDN (premium included)
Canadian, Impressionist & Modern Art on Wednesday, June 23, 2021
Wind in the Tree Tops by Emily Carr sold for $2,164,500
Emily Carr
Wind in the Tree Tops
36 1/2 x 21 1/4 in, 92.7 x 54 cm
circa 1936
oil on canvas
Estimate: $900,000 - $1,200,000 CDN
Sold for: $2,164,500 CDN (premium included)
Spring 2009 - 2nd Session on Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Alert Bay (Indian in Yellow Blanket) by Emily Carr sold for $1,681,250
Emily Carr
Alert Bay (Indian in Yellow Blanket)
34 1/2 x 14 1/2 in, 87.6 x 36.8 cm
oil on canvas
Estimate: $1,000,000 - $1,500,000 CDN
Sold for: $1,681,250 CDN (premium included)
Canadian Impressionist & Modern Art on Thursday, November 23, 2023
Eagle Totem by Emily Carr sold for $1,638,000
Emily Carr
Eagle Totem
24 x 18 in, 61 x 45.7 cm
circa 1930
oil on canvas
Estimate: $600,000 - $800,000 CDN
Sold for: $1,638,000 CDN (premium included)
Spring 2012 - 2nd Session on Thursday, May 17, 2012
Forest Light by Emily Carr sold for $1,534,000
Emily Carr
Forest Light
21 1/2 x 18 1/2 in, 54.6 x 47 cm
circa 1931
oil on canvas
Estimate: $400,000 - $600,000 CDN
Sold for: $1,534,000 CDN (premium included)
Spring 2015 - 2nd Session on Wednesday, May 27, 2015
Singing Trees by Emily Carr sold for $1,261,250
Emily Carr
Singing Trees
21 x 17 in, 53.3 x 43.2 cm
circa 1935
oil on canvas
Estimate: $500,000 - $700,000 CDN
Sold for: $1,261,250 CDN (premium included)
Canadian, Impressionist & Modern Art on Wednesday, June 01, 2022