Original oil paintings by Canadian Group of Seven artists Alexander Young Jackson (1882-1974) and Franz Johnston (1888-1949) scored top lot honors in an online-only Canadiana & Folk Art auction held Feb. 12 by Miller & Miller Auctions Ltd., based in New Hamburg, Ontario, Canada. The 376-lot auction posted a robust gross of $415,714. Prices quoted in this report are in Canadian dollars and include an 18-percent buyers premium. The oil-on-panel by Alexander Young Jackson, titled St. Lawrence South Shore Village (ca. 1945), measuring 10.5-by-13.5 inches, was the auctions top lot. It sailed past its high estimate of $28,000 to bring $47,200. The painting exhibited vibrant color and detail and had gallery labels on the back for Klinkhoff in Montreal and Thielsen in London, Ontario. The oil-on-board rendering by Franz Johnston, titled The Battlement, Lake of the Woods, measured 13-by-10.5 inches and sold within estimate for $25,960. It was a rare example, with strong brush strokes and content typical of The Group Impressionism. Johnston resigned from the Group of Seven in 1924 as his style evolved more toward realism. The auctions categories included folk art, furniture, art, tools, Canadiana, architectural items, vintage toys, pottery and stoneware, and textiles. Also featured was part two of the Marty Osler collections. Part one, held in April 2021, was led by a selection of decoys, fishing reels and rods, many by Hardy Bros. of England. Part two focused primarily on Canadiana and decorative arts. Folk art proved to be a huge attraction, said Ben Lennox of Miller & Miller Auctions Ltd., who added 23 of the top 30 lots blew past their high estimates, supported by high water marks being established for Canadian and American folk artists such as Edmond Chatigny, Joe Norris, Joseph Sleep, Everett Lewis (the husband of Maud Lewis), Purvis Young and Howard Finster. The anticipation and excitement leading up to the sale was evident by strong pre-bidding and electric chatter on social media, Lennox pointed out. That chatter continued post-sale as buyers eagerly expressed their joy and pride in being able to obtain items from the Osler collection that can now grace their own collections of merit. Plans are underway for part three. Internet bidding was facilitated by LiveAuctioneers and the Miller & Miller website (www.MillerandMillerAuctions.com). A total of 554 registered bidders placed 8,585 bids. Telephone and absentee bids were also accepted. Sculptures by Edmond Chatigny (Canadian, 1895-1992) included a farm scene sculpture, made in Quebec, ca. 1970, showing a farmer in a plumed hat plowing with a pair of oxen, while multiple birds and flowers lined the field, mounted on a platform base, 19.5 inches tall ($15,340), and a large bird sculpture, also made in Quebec, ca. 1970, depicting a bird in brown paint with white and green splotches, mounted on a square stool base, 30 inches tall, which realized $8,260. A watercolor-on-paper of a Quebec Village by Marc-Aurle Fortin (1888-1970), diminutive at just 10-by-12 inches (sight), painted ca. 1925, showing a double-spired church with the Quebec hills in the background, finished at $9,440, while an oil-on-board painting of a fishing village by Joe Norris (Prospect Harbour, Nova Scotia, ca. 1980), boasting strong colors typical of Norriss work and in the original Joe Norris frame with painted flowers, commanded $12,980. Outsider Art was led by a large (48-by-24 inch) painting-on-plywood by Purvis Young (1943-2010), of a cityscape often seen in Youngs works, which can be found in collections like the Smithsonians National Museum of African American History and Culture. It sold for $5,605. A painting of white daisies on green stems in a brown pot by Jimmy Lee Sudduth (1910-2007), an artist who rarely used brushes, preferring his fingers instead, signed Jim Sudduth, sold for $4,425. A ca. 1870 allegorical walking stick or resurrection cane (Abitibi County, Quebec), exhibiting a classic blend of traditional Native and Christian imagery such as a twisting snake, a turtle, tree of life, stars, animals, fish, a crucifix and a rooster, realized $4,130. Two oil-on-board paintings by the renowned Group of Seven artist Manly Edward MacDonald (1889-1971) were offered, including Log House, signed lower left, ($4,130), and an oil-on-board by Everett Lewis (1893-1979), the aforementioned husband of Maud Lewis, showing two oxen with a young girl wearing a yellow sweater and blue skirt, holding a whip, ca. 1975, signed and framed, $5,310. An oil-on-masonite painting by maritime folk artist Joe Sleep of a red and yellow bird surrounded by flowers with a yellow house with a green roof in the receding background, titled Yellow House, signed and dated 1977, realized $5,310. Also, an oil-on-canvas of Niagara Falls from the upper bank to the lighthouse by the pavilion hotel, painted by M. F. Holloway in 1850, sold for $3,540. For further information, email info@millerandmillerauctions.com.