SO, WHAT'S IT WORTH?
Work should command hefty price
December 5, 2009
John Sewell
SPECIAL TO THE STAR
Q: We've had this F.S. Coburn painting in our family for many years. It measures 51 by 66 centimetres (20 by 26 inches). It's clearly signed and dated 1927. There's also a bronze metal plate on the frame that bears his name.
Carla, Vaughan
A: Frederick Simpson Coburn (1871-1960) was a successful artist whose work was so popular it sold well even during the Great Depression, when many other artists were struggling to sell theirs.
He was born in Melbourne, Que., and studied at the Arts and Crafts School in Montreal, as well as in Paris, Berlin, London and New York, and he eventually became a member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts.
His parallel success as an illustrator enabled him to travel to pursue his fine art studies. This painting is typical Coburn. He's best known for these winter paintings, many involving horses and logging scenes, and set in the Laurentian Mountains and the Eastern Townships of Quebec. These paintings were especially popular – back then and now.
Canadian art has reportedly fared quite well throughout the recent economic downturn, and I suspect your painting would command somewhere in the region of $17,000.
Toronto Star