A rediscovered portrait of Prince Rupert, long attributed to the studio of Anthony van Dyck and later to Jacob Huysmans, sold for CA$217,250 ($153,000) at Heffel Fine Art Auction House’s Spring Sale on May 21, more than double its low estimate. New research identified the work as by Peter Lely, court painter to King Charles II. The painting had belonged to the Hudson Bay Company for centuries and was part of a court-approved sale of the company’s collection following its 2024 bankruptcy. The 80-lot sale also saw a record for E.J. Hughes’s "Coastal Boats Near Sidney, BC" (1948), which sold for CA$5.7 million ($4.1 million), and strong results for Group of Seven artists Arthur Lismer, A.J. Casson, and Lawren Harris.
The sale matters because it demonstrates continued confidence in the top end of the Canadian art market, particularly for rare, museum-quality works with significant historical provenance. The rediscovery and reattribution of the Lely portrait highlights the ongoing scholarly work that can dramatically increase an artwork’s value, while the Hudson Bay Company’s bankruptcy and subsequent collection dispersal marks a major shift in institutional art holdings in Canada. The record for Hughes and strong prices for Group of Seven artists underscore sustained collector demand for canonical Canadian painters.