Two century-old paintings by Victoria's Emily Carr fetched almost $260,000 at a Sotheby's auction in Toronto Tuesday.
Canal in Brittany and Woman Knitting - both tracking back to her 1910-11 trip to France - sold for $140,500 and $117,500, respectively.
Both works by the late Victoria artist had pre-auction estimates of between $125,000 and $175,000.
Meanwhile, a lack of competitive bidding meant headlining works by two renowned Canadian artists failed to find buyers.
A painting by influential Ontario artist Tom Thomson, which depicted winter in Algonquin Park, was estimated at $750,000 to $1 million, but couldn't secure a buyer.
A highly touted work by Group of Seven painter Lawren Harris (Street in Barrie, Ont.), which was estimated to sell for between $900,000 and $1.2 million, also went unclaimed by the end of the night.
Sotheby's Canada's Managing Director Linda Rodeck said the failure of the two top lots to find buyers was more of a disappointment than a surprise.
"There's not much room at the top of the bidding pyramid and while the presence of just two capable bidders can result in record prices, the absence of two bidders can lead to a different outcome," she said.
"I view the lack of bidding tonight for these lots as an opportunity lost. Both Thomson and Harris are scarce commodities and both of our star lots were beautiful examples of what each artist is renowned for."
