1912 sketch from J.E.H. MacDonald fetches $230,000 at auction
TORONTO — A 1912 oil sketch by Group of Seven member J.E.H. MacDonald sold for $230,000 at auction on Tuesday night, including a 15 per cent buyer’s premium.
“Tracks and Traffic” was among several notable works up for sale at Consignor Canadian Fine Art’s fall auction. It had a pre-sale estimated value of between $200,000 and $250,000 not including the buyer’s premium.
“Tracks on Traffic” provides a glimpse of what Toronto looked like more than a century ago, depicting a scene from the Harbourfront neighbourhood during the industrial period.
MacDonald and Lawren Harris were close friends and the pair often painted together in Toronto. “Tracks and Traffic” was created months after the two artists met in late 1911 and eight years before the Group of Seven was formed.


