The Directors of Bonhams are delighted to announce the appointment of Perry Tung as a specialist and auctioneer to Bonhams Canada. Perry joins the company with immediate effect.

Perry will be assisting Jack Kerr-Wilson, the President of Bonhams Canada, in gathering items for the Canadian sales as well as sourcing goods for sales elsewhere in the Bonhams Group.

Perry Tung has worked in the art world since 1998, having completing a BA (Hons) degree in Fine Art History and English Literature and post-graduate course in Cultural Management. Over the past nine years, Perry has been at Ritchies Auctioneers and Appraisers. Starting as a porter, within six years he had become Assistant Director and auctioneer in the Canadian Art department later rising to Director of International Art and Auctioneer to Toronto office, managing the bi-annual International Art and select Canadian Art auctions. In addition, Perry has been an enthusiastic volunteer with various charitable organisations, assisting in running charity auctions throughout Toronto.

President of Bonhams Canada, Jack Kerr-Wilson, says: “We are thrilled to welcome Perry Tung to Bonhams Toronto office. He comes with a wealth of knowledge and experience and will significantly strengthen our team.”

www.bonhams.com/canada

Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers announced the closing of the acquisition of the auction business and certain assets of Martella Auction Company, Inc., an agricultural and industrial equipment auctioneer based in Tipton, California.

As part of the agreement, Ritchie Bros. will lease Martella’s 65-acre auction site to conduct unreserved public auctions. Jeremy Martella, former principal of Martella Auction Company, has been named as Ritchie Bros.’ Area Manager for its Tipton site.

“We are very pleased to have closed the acquisition of Martella Auction Company and we welcome Jeremy Martella and his team to the Ritchie Bros. family,” said Peter Blake, Ritchie Bros. CEO. “As our new Area Manager for our Tipton auction site, Jeremy brings with him a wealth of expertise and experience in California’s auction business that will serve us well in strengthening our presence in both the industrial and agricultural equipment markets there.”

The addition of the Tipton site will mark the third auction site operated by Ritchie Bros. in the state of California. Ritchie Bros. conducts up to five unreserved public auctions annually at its permanent auction sites in Sacramento and Los Angeles.

The Company will conduct a Grand Opening unreserved public auction at its Tipton site located at 16140 Highway 99 in Tipton on Friday February 12, 2010 starting at 8:00 a.m. The auction will feature agricultural and industrial equipment and trucks. Each item will be sold to the highest bidder, with no minimum bids or reserve prices. The auction will coincide with the World Ag Expo being held 10 miles north of the Tipton auction site in Tulare, California.

Equipment consignments are being accepted for this sale; owners interested in selling their equipment in the February 12th auction can contact the Tipton auction site at +1.559.752.3343 to make arrangements.

About Ritchie Bros.

Established in 1958, Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers (NYSE and TSX: RBA) is the world’s largest industrial auctioneer, selling more equipment to on-site and online bidders than any other company in the world. The Company has over 110 locations in more than 25 countries, including 39 auction sites worldwide. Ritchie Bros. sells, through unreserved public auctions, a broad range of used and unused industrial assets, including equipment, trucks and other assets utilized in the construction, transportation, agricultural, material handling, mining, forestry, petroleum and marine industries. The Company maintains a web site at www.rbauction.com and sponsors an equipment wiki at www.RitchieWiki.com

Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers conducted a CA$58 million (US$54 million) unreserved public auction at its Edmonton, Alberta auction site last week (December 10 & 11, 2009), bringing the total 2009 gross auction proceeds generated by that site to CA$392 million (US$344 million) – the most equipment ever sold at one Ritchie Bros. auction site in one year.

Ritchie Bros. (www.rbauction.com), the world’s largest industrial auctioneer, conducted 10 other unreserved auctions last week, including the Grand Opening auction at its new permanent auction site in Polotitlan, Mexico and a US$20 million auction at its permanent auction site in Olympia, WA (December 10 & 11).

EDMONTON, AB – More than 4,600 people from 18 countries registered to bid on more than 3,500 equipment items sold at the unreserved Ritchie Bros. auction in Edmonton on December 10 & 11. Bidders from outside Alberta purchased CA$23 million of equipment (US$21 million, or 39 percent).

“We conducted a record six auctions at our Edmonton site this year to meet the needs of our customers,” said Jake Lawson, Ritchie Bros. Regional Manager. “We helped thousands of people with equipment to sell, and thousands of bidders who were looking to buy. Our customers rely on us because we create a fair, open, global marketplace at our unreserved auctions. We had a wonderful lineup of late model equipment in this auction; the large selection and the fair, unreserved bidding process brought people from afar and helped return good prices for our sellers. Prices appear to have firmed up and there’s a good degree of optimism in the market.”

OLYMPIA, WA – More than 2,800 unique on-site and online bidders from 24 countries participated in the US$20 million auction conducted by Ritchie Bros. in Olympia, WA on December 10 & 11, 2009. Online bidders purchased US$7 million of equipment and trucks (32 percent), setting a new site record for online purchases.

“Online bidding is a great option for our customers,” said Rob Giroux, Ritchie Bros. Regional Manager. “It gives them the ability to bid on and buy equipment from our auctions all over the world, but most people still prefer the experience of attending the auction: inspecting the equipment, meeting with their colleagues and seeing each item as it’s sold. We had a huge crowd here at the auction site despite the inclement winter weather. In the end, our ability to attract large global on-site and online bidding audiences drives strong returns for our consignors.”

Dave Shoemaker and Gary Remlinger, partners in Earth to Earth Construction, sold close to a million dollars of heavy equipment in the Olympia auction. This was their first time selling through Ritchie Bros.

“We’ve still got jobs going on, but work is slower due to the economy so we decided to downsize our fleet,” said Mr. Shoemaker. “Mike Esser, our Ritchie Bros. representative, walked us through this process from start to finish and gave us a great deal of comfort going into the auction. He was personal, professional and sincere, and he worked so hard on our behalf. He didn’t sign the deal and then forget about us; we developed a relationship. And on auction day we ended up doing far better than we expected. We are very happy with the results.”

————————————————————————- Edmonton Olympia (Dec. 10 & 11, 2009) (Dec. 10 & 11, 2009) ————————————————————————- Gross auction CA$58 million US$20 million proceeds (GAP) (US$54 million) ————————————————————————- GAP from online bidders CA$18 million US$7 million (US$17 million or (32 percent) 31 percent) ————————————————————————- Unique bidders (on-site and online) 4,600+ 2,800+ ————————————————————————- Lots sold 3,500+ 2,100+ ————————————————————————-

POLOTITLAN, MEXICO – Hundreds of bidders from 10 countries, including 29 Mexican states, joined local dignitaries and a large crowd of interested onlookers at the multi-million dollar Grand Opening auction at Ritchie Bros.’ new permanent auction site in Polotitlan, Mexico on December 8, 2009. Equipment in the auction was sold to buyers from as far away as Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Italy.

About Ritchie Bros.

Established in 1958, Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers is the world’s largest industrial auctioneer, selling more equipment to on-site and online bidders than any other company in the world. The Company has over 110 locations in more than 25 countries, including 39 auction sites worldwide. Ritchie Bros. sells, through unreserved public auctions, a broad range of used and unused industrial assets, including equipment, trucks and other assets utilized in the construction, transportation, agricultural, material handling, mining, forestry, petroleum and marine industries. The Company maintains a web site at www.rbauction.com and sponsors an equipment wiki at www.RitchieWiki.com.

On December 13, 2009, Westbridge Fine Art Auction House, located in Vancouver, BC, Canada, will host its Important Canadian & International Works Of Art Auction live online with Artfact Live!. In this exciting sale, Westbridge Fine Art Auction House will offer more than 100 lots of important Canadian and International works of art. A Karoly Brocky, Hungarian, Portrait Of A Woman is the top estimated lot, requiring a minimum bid of $5,000 and expected to sell between $7,000-$9,000.

If you can’t join the live auction action in Vancouver, BC, Canada, on December 13, visit Artfact.com to login or register free to bid live online at this exceptional auction. To research similar Important Canadian & International Works Of Art auctions and view over 55 million auction price results, including previous results from Westbridge Fine Art Auction House, visit http://www.artfact.com

Ritchie Bros. officially opened its new 60-acre permanent auction site in Grande Prairie with a two-day unreserved public auction on November 24 & 25. The new auction site is more than double the size of the site it replaced and features the second-largest Ritchie Bros. auction building in the world, with space for the Company’s proprietary Virtual Ramp, as well as a 30,625 square foot refurbishing facility. For the first time ever, Grande Prairie bidders could stay indoors, out of the cold, for the entire auction and see each item as it was sold: mobile equipment was driven over a ramp in front of the auction theater and photos of stationary items were projected onto a large Virtual Ramp screen.
More than 3,300 people from 23 countries registered to bid on over 2,220 items for the construction, agriculture, transportation, oilfield, mining and other industries being sold in the auction. Of the CA$41 million (US$38 million) of equipment sold, almost CA$7 million (US$7 million, 17 percent) went to bidders from outside Canada.

Bonhams Sale of Canadian Art on 30th November made a total of CAD $1,046,670 with 86.5% sold by value.

Top picture in the sale was Lot 223, a James Wilson Morrice (1865-1924) titled `On the March in France, circa 1918.’ It stormed past its pre-sale estimate of CAD $80,000 -120,000 to make CAD$204,000.

The Canadian landscape painter JW Morrice was the inspiration behind the alcoholic poet Cronshaw in Somerset Maugham’s Of Human Bondage. Morrice is widely considered to be the first great Canadian painter, if also an archetype for the booze-drenched bohemians of the Belle Époque.

A man of independent means, he trained as a lawyer in Montreal before leaving Canada for Paris. There he spent the better part of his working life and came into association with the likes of Maugham, Matisse, Gauguin and Clive Bell. Despite briefly abandoning France at the outbreak of hostilities, Morrice was commissioned by Lord Beaverbrook to capture scenes of the Great War for the House of Commons in Ottawa.

In 1918 he travelled to numerous sites in France in order to make sketches for this commission, one of which is this preparatory study that would eventually be realised as the canvas titled Canadian Troops at the Front, now in the Montreal Museum of Fine Art.

The sale attracted global interest, attested to by the substantial number of bids from overseas. These confirm the view that the art market is in fine health despite the recent turbulence in the financial sector. In particular Silver and Jewelry performed strongly.

Speaking after the sale, Jack. Kerr – Wilson, President of Bonhams Canada said: “Against a backdrop of the worst recession since the 1920s, Canadian Art has once again demonstrated its lasting appeal. There was huge interest and some very strong prices with one or two new world records achieved for Canadian artists.

Fifteen masterworks from the collection of Helen E. Band estate brought in a combined $10,494,024, and with the other 84 lots in Heffel’s second session of Fine Canadian Art, totaled $17.5-million. The first session featuring Canadian Post-War and Contemporary Art that occurred between 4 p.m. and 6:05 p.m. brought in $3.3-million. The two sessions combined totaled $20.8-million – the second highest total for a Canadian fine art auction. This sale also set a record for the most million dollar paintings in one Canadian auction with five works.

Heffel set the record for the highest-grossing Canadian fine art auction in Spring 2007 with a $23-million sale in what was considered the height of the art market. This $20.8-million Fall 2009 sale is the second highest fine art auction in Canadian history.

“A sale like this in a recovering art market is phenomenal,” says David Heffel, principal of Heffel Fine Art Auction House. “To have four Lawren Harris paintings each exceed a million dollars is a reflection of the quality of the work in the Band estate. It was an honour for us to represent this unprecedented and historic consignment.”

The cover lot, Lawren Harris’ “The Old Stump, Lake Superior”, became the most valuable Group of Seven painting in Canadian history when it sold for $3,510,000 (all prices include a 17 per cent buyers premium) to a buyer sitting near the front of the crowded ballroom in Toronto’s Park Hyatt Hotel.

The largest Harris painting in the sale, the 32-1/2 by 40-1/4 inch, oil on canvas, “Houses, St. Patrick Street” went for $2,808,000. The two Harris iceberg images, both 12 by 15 inches, oil on boards painted in 1930 went to the same bidder. The pair sold for a combined total of $2,632,500.

Other notable pieces in the Band estate included Group of Seven member A.Y. Jackson’s canvas “North Shore, Lake Superior”, which sold for $626,500. Frederick Varley’s “Nude on a Couch” went for $585,000 and a stunning 9 by 8 inch B.C. Binning abstract “Atomic Fountain” went for three times its high estimate at $55,575. A Henry Moore bronze sculpture, “Maquette for Figure on Steps”, sold for $198,900.

“It was only five months ago in our spring auction when we set a record of three million dollar-plus paintings in one auction. In this evening’s sale, it was exhilarating to sell five paintings for more than a million dollars in a span of 20 minutes,” says Robert Heffel, principal of Heffel Fine Art Auction House.

The other big painting of the night was Tom Thomson’s masterpiece “Early Spring, Canoe Lake”. The 8-1/2 by 10-1/2 inch oil on panel sold for a record $2,749,500. This was one of eight works from an anonymous Canadian philanthropist who donated the proceeds from the sale of his collection to various Canadian charities, including The Nature Conservancy of Canada. His eight works totaled $3,350,880.

Another early Tom Thomson work, “Autumn, Algonguin Park “sold for $380,250. Other noteworthy pieces included David Milne’s “Bronx Park,” 1913 which sold for $280,800. Emily Carr’s “Arbutus Trees” sold for $198,900 and her Skidegate image went for $234,000.

Highlights in Heffel’s first session of Canadian Post-War and Contemporary Art included the sale of a 42 by 32 inch abstract oil by Paul-Emile Borduas, “Arabesque”, which sold for $338,750. Another oil on canvas by Borduas, Allegro furioso, sold for $144,400. E.J. Hughes had a painting that sold for $245,700 and set a record for a drawing.

In the two sessions, 24 paintings exceeded the $100,000 mark and 26 records were set.

The complete list of the top 10 paintings from the two sales and the list of new Canadian fine art records follows below. High resolution images of the top paintings are available upon request.

In total, the Fall Auction featured 210 Canadian works. Information on the pieces and artists can also be found at www.heffel.com.

New Price Records Set in Heffel Fine Art’s Two Sessions on November 26, 2009
These are the 26 new price records set at Heffel’s Post-War & Contemporary Art and Fine Canadian Art auction today. All prices include the 17 per cent buyers premium added to the hammer price.

James Williamson Galloway (Jock) MacDonald
Lot 002 – Cross and Recross / Color in Stained Glass
New record: $15,210

Alexander Colville
Lot 006 – Study for Stove
New record: $49,725

Oscar Cahén
Lot 008 – Untitled
New record: $40,950

Sorel Etrog
Lot 023 – Circus
New record: $49,725

Hortense Mattice Gordon
Lot 032 – Nirvana
New record: $15,210

Charles Gagnon
Lot 035 – Intersection
New record: $105,300

Lise Gervais
Lot 036 – Les jeux controptiques opus 6
New record: $21,060

Lise Gervais
Lot 040 – Sans titre
New record: $29,250

Betty Roodish Goodwin
Lot 041 – Shoes for a Long-Distance Runner
New record: $6,435

Raymond John Mead
Lot 046 – Painting
New record: $64,350

Christopher Pratt
Lot 047 – Black Boat, Study for Launching Greyling
New record: $18,720

John Geoffrey Caruthers Little
Lot 051 – Une journée d’été, avenue Coloniale vers Duluth, Montréal
New record: $55,575

Edward John (E.J.) Hughes
Lot 058 – Museum Ship, Penticton, BC
New record: $46,800

Joseph Hector Yvon (Joe) Farad
Lot 75 – Auguste
New record: $55,575

Takao Tanabe
Lot 077 – Chilcotin 6 / 89: The Way to Farewell Canyon
New record: $43,875

Mashel Alexander Teitelbaum
Lot 091 – Untitled
New record: $23,400

Maxwell Bennett Bates
Lot 093 – Reception
New record: $49,725

Ted Harrison
Lot 098 – Mountains of Hope
New record: $40,950

Daphne Odjig
Lot 100 – Rhythm of the Northern Lights
New record: $55,575

Samuel Borenstein
Lot 102 – Street in Ste-Agathe
New record: $76,050

Alexander Colville
Lot 106 – Study for Elm Tree at Horton Landing
New record: $38,025

Molly Joan Lamb Bobak
Lot 108 – Grain Boats at English Bay, Vancouver Harbour
New record: $32,175

Robert Wakeham Pilot
Lot 205 – The Ferry Landing, Quebec
New record: $64,350

Tom Thomson
Lot 223 – Early Spring, Canoe Lake
New record: $2,749,500

Emily Carr
Lot 238 – Klee Wyck Ceramic Bowl
New record: $32,175

Lawren Stewart Harris
Lot 240 – The Old Stump, Lake Superior
New record: $3,510,000

Top Ten Paintings Sold – Heffel Fine Art’s two sessions – November 26, 2009

Below is a list of the top 10 highest selling paintings from Heffel Fine Art’s Post-War & Contemporary Art auction and the Fine Canadian Art auction combined. All prices include the 17 per cent buyers premium added to the hammer price.

Lot 240 – Lawren Harris – The Old Stump, Lake Superior – $3,510,000
Lot 237 – Lawren Harris – Houses, St. Patrick Street – $2,808,000
Lot 223 – Tom Thomson – Early Spring, Canoe Lake – $2,749,500
Lot 241 – Lawren Harris – Iceberg, Baffin’s Bay North — $1,521,000
Lot 242 – Lawren Harris – In Buchanan Bay, Ellesmere Island — $1,111,500
Lot 235 – Frederick Varley – Nude on a Couch – $585,000
Lot 245 – A.Y. Jackson – North Shore, Lake Superior – $526,500
Lot 263 – Tom Thomson – Autumn, Algonguin Park – $380,250
Lot 280 – J.E.H. MacDonald – Sunset, Waldmere Farm, Muskoka – $339,300
Lot 074 – Paul-Émile Borduas – Arabesque – $315,900

Image: Lawren Harris, “The Old Stump, Lake Superior”, became the most valuable Group of Seven painting in Canadian history when it sold for $3,510,000

John C. S. Lau, President and Chief Executive Officer of Husky Energy (TSX: HSE) is pleased to announce the discovery of additional oil resources in the White Rose area.

The North Amethyst E-17 well was drilled in the fall of 2008 to delineate the Ben Nevis Avalon Formation (the producing formation at White Rose) and to explore the potential of a second, deeper horizon called the Hibernia Formation. The Hibernia Formation encountered 55 metres (net) of high quality, oil-bearing reservoir containing an estimate of discovered PIIP (Petroleum-Initially-In-Place) of 30 to 85 million barrels (best estimates of 60 million barrels) of light crude oil. Initial studies indicate that these resources could be developed from the recently installed satellite infrastructure at North Amethyst.

The Hibernia Formation resources are in addition to those discovered in the main White Rose pool in the 1980’s where oil flowed from the Hibernia Formation in the E-09 well. New analysis of the well data is very encouraging. The E-09 discovery contains an estimate of discovered PIIP of 100 to 250 million barrels (best estimate of 170 million barrels) of light crude oil. These resources will continue to be evaluated and appraised by additional drilling prior to finalization of development options.

“These results are very exciting and suggest that significant additional potential exists within the White Rose area,” Mr. Lau said. “This potential will be further evaluated in our ongoing program of development drilling and near field exploration in the Jeanne D’Arc Basin.”

Mr. Lau added, “to compliment this strategy, Husky and its partner have been successful in acquiring the NL09-1 parcel of land in the CNLOPB 2009 land sale. This parcel is adjacent to Husky’s existing land holdings in the North Amethyst area, and will allow Husky to expedite its assessment of the potential of the Hibernia formation in the region.”

Husky Energy is the operator of the White Rose oil field, and holds a 72.5 percent working interest while Suncor Energy holds the remaining 27.5 percent working interest. Husky Energy holds a 68.875 percent working interest in the North Amethyst satellite field with Suncor’s working interest at 26.125 percent and Nalcor Energy’s working interest at 5 percent.

Husky Energy is an integrated energy and energy-related company headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Husky Energy is a publicly traded company listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol HSE.

Williams & Williams (www.williamsauction.com), the premier brand in real estate auction, on behalf of the City of Pontiac, Michigan, announced today the auction for the Pontiac Silverdome was won by a family-owned real estate company based in Toronto, Canada with a high bid of $583,000. The winning bidder plans to refurbish the Stadium and utilize it for men’s Major League Soccer and women’s professional soccer teams. The successful bidder’s name is not being released until final details are worked out and the sale closes.

Fred Leeb, the Emergency Financial Manager for the City of Pontiac, stated, “I view these results as a success because:

We recognized the problem and made the tough decision to base the sale on reality rather than dreams of higher sale prices and procrastination.
The Silverdome will now be in the hands of professionals who can devote their time to transform this high-profile property into a vital asset instead of enabling it to continue to languish as an empty facility. Any improvements will be for the benefit of Pontiac because the property, of course, will stay in Pontiac, the property isn’t moving anywhere.
The ongoing maintenance cost of $1.5 million/year will be eliminated and the property will go back on the tax rolls.
The City Staff will go back to working on our extremely successful union negotiations, cost reduction efforts, revenue improvements and other positive aspects of our turnaround that is already underway.
Pontiac will become more prominent as a great place for new business due to its favorable business climate and the host of tax incentive programs that are available in very few cities in the entire country.”
“This future-focused investment is good news for the City of Pontiac and is an exciting step forward for the community, City and State,” continued Leeb. “It was our goal to sell the Silverdome by the end of the year and relieve the City of its annual financial burden of $1.5 million to maintain the Dome. Williams & Williams did an amazing job marketing and attracting global buyer interest in this property. We couldn’t have asked for a better partner in this effort.”

Williams & Williams designed and executed a worldwide, multi-media advertising and publicity campaign that attracted interest from 84 countries and generated over 150 inquiries from potential buyers. We knew that it was going to be very tough so we reached out globally to find a creative buyer group that probably would have to look beyond the typical entertainment venue, apartment complex, or shopping center concepts.

According to Dean Williams, Chairman and CEO of Williams & Williams, “We feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to find a new steward for the Silverdome on behalf of the City of Pontiac and the State of Michigan. There was interest from around the world in this property and, of all of the possible outcomes and uses, we are pleased the Dome will build on its past and be revitalized as a major sports venue.”

About Williams & Williams

Tulsa, Oklahoma-based Williams & Williams, the premier brand in real estate auction, is a global and multi-platform auctioneer driven by core values of free market competition, transparency and stewardship. Williams & Williams offers auction services throughout the United States and serves thousands of individual clients and the U.S.’s largest financial and investment firms and government agencies. (www.williamsauction.com)

On November 24, 2009, Waddington’s, located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, will host its Joyner Canadian Fine Art Auction Auction live online with Artfact Live!.

In this impressive sale, Waddington’s will offer more than 270 lots of fine art. A Mary Evelyn Wrinch, O.S.A., A.R.C.A., Lake Of Bays is the top estimated lot, requiring a minimum bid of $20CAD and expected to sell between $1,500CAD-$2,000CAD.

If you can’t join the live auction action in Toronto, Ontario, on November 24, visit Artfact.com to login or register free to bid live online at this exceptional auction. To research similar Canadian Fine Art auctions and view over 50 million auction price results, including previous results from Waddington’s, visit http://www.artfact.com and search the industry’s leading past prices database.