Canadian artist’s work is setting sale records after his death – here’s why everyone’s after a Matthew Wong original

Canadian artist Matthew Wong, who killed himself in October, created about 1,000 works. This week one bought in 2018 for US$22,000 was sold for US$1.5 million

Art experts say his works have been ‘nearly impossible to obtain’, thanks to strong demand, and that ‘remarkable things have been happening around his work’

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Matthew Wong’s career was just taking off at the time of his death last year. Demand for his work has only grown since, with one of his pieces, “The Realm of Appearances”, selling for US$1.5 million at auction this week, having been bought for US$22,000 two years ago. Photo: Sotheby’s

Published: 10:15pm, 2 Jul 2020Updated: 5:53am, 3 Jul 2020

Paintings by a Canadian artist who killed himself at the age of 35 in October are setting records this auction season.

At his New York solo debut two years ago, Matthew Wong’s new works sold for US$22,000. When one of those canvases returned to the market on Monday at auction house Sotheby’s, it fetched US$1.5 million excluding fees, with 59 registered bidders from 16 countries in pursuit.

More works are hitting the block: auction house Phillips is offering a painting and a watercolour by Wong on Thursday at its marquee auctions in New York, and another painting next week in Hong Kong.

Wong’s career was just taking off at the time of his death, with another solo show a month away and the billionaire Lauder family (which founded Estée Lauder) among his burgeoning collector base. The demand for his melancholy landscapes, often featuring a tiny, solitary human figure, has only grown since.

Matthew Wong outside his solo show at Karma in New York in 2018. Photo: courtesy of Matthew Higgs

While his show at art gallery Karma in New York proceeded as planned in November, no works were released for sale, according to Brendan Dugan, the owner of the gallery, which represents the Wong estate.

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