In 2001, a couple from Ontario went to a second-hand market organized in a private garage. Inside, they found a painting of a landscape of Okanagan Lake that they decided to buy for $200. However, second-hand items always bring surprises and, just like a library worker came across a surprising bookmark, the couple were surprised when, six years later, they discovered the true value of that work which they had found by chance.
When they wanted to put the painting up for sale, an expert identified it as one of the works of the artist EJ Hughes, a renowned Canadian painter with works dedicated to the land and seascapes of British Columbia. After its identification, the painting, titled “Okanagan Lake”, It was sold for 402,500 Canadian dollarsthat is, approximately 250,049 euros.
All because of its author, Edward John Hughes, better known as EJ Hughes. The artist, born on February 17, 1913, dedicated much of his career to capturing the landscapes of British Columbia and Canada in a fairly representative style. After his death, on January 5, 2007, his paintings, which had been sold for a few dollars, appreciated, selling for hundreds of thousands of Canadian dollars.
He was a war artist for the Army during World War II.
He received his training between 1929 and 1935 at the Vancouver School of Applied Art and Design. There he received classes from great professionals such as JWG MacDonald and Frederick H. Varley. However, with the outbreak of World War II, He had to pause his career as an artist to enlist as an artilleryman of the Royal Canadian Artillery, according to the National Gallery of Canada website.
Although the war could not completely keep him from his passion, he became the official war artist of the Army and worked in Canada, Great Britain and the Aleutian Islands. In this period he was especially active capturing daily images of soldiers and battles. So much so that in 1,600 of his works are on display at the Canadian War Museum.
It was not until 1946 that he decided to return to Vancouver and resume his career as a natural landscape artist. Such was her talent that she received the Emily Carr scholarship and began to be part of the Canadian Group of Painters. At this stage he continued applying detailed observation that he had learned during his period as a war artist, giving a special touch to his paintings.
He had financial problems during his career
He first settled in Shawnigan Lake with his wife, Fern, where he began capturing the nature of British Columbia and Canada. It was then that, in an interview with CBC, he uttered one of his most famous phrases: “Nature is wonderful… I feel that when I paint, it is a form of worship.” Despite this, at this time He had financial problems due to the difficulty in selling his works..
His career did not begin to take off until the appearance of art dealer Max Stern, who decided to visit Hughes to check the quality of his works. He ended up convinced of the Canadian artist’s ability, going so far as to buy all of his paintings for $500. A financial support that It was very useful to continue with his artistic career.
The revaluation of his works would come over the years. The Ontario couple who purchased his painting “Okanagan Lake” for 200 Canadian dollars were unaware of the value it would achieve after the artist’s death. Achieving the sum of 402,500 Canadian dollars just six years later. However, this has not been the highest price that his creations have reached, since the so-called “Entrance to Howe Sound” sold for 4.8 million Canadian dollars.