E.J. Hughes’ painting ‘Coastal Boats Near Sidney, BC’ donated to ECUAD by Peter Brown
Local philanthropists Peter and Joanne Brown made a whopping donation to Emily Carr University this week.
Purchased for $1.14 million in 2011, E.J. Hughes’ 1948 painting Coastal Boats Near Sidney, BC was recently appraised at $1.8 million and will find a perfect new home at Emily Carr. Hughes graduated from the Vancouver School of Decorative and Applied Arts which became Emily Carr U, so it's a bit of a homecoming.
Brown founded Canaccord Financial which became "the largest independent investment dealer in Canada". This is the second donation his family has made to ECU, the first being one that helped get their new Great Northern Way campus built. Peter also served as an honorary co-chair for the capital campaign.
“As an art donor, I want to ensure that works of art will go to places where they can be viewed by interested people, rather than ending up in storage,” Brown stated in a release. “E.J. Hughes’ Coastal Boats Near Sidney, BC was my favourite piece in the collection and ranked amongst his half dozen top paintings. Both this piece and Emily Carr and Friends by Joe Fafard are iconic British Columbia. Emily Carr University is the perfect home for them where they can inspire and be seen.”
Renowned Canadian painter Jack Shadbolt once referred to Hughes as “the most engaging intuitive painter of the B.C. landscape since Emily Carr”. You can find more of his work HERE, and if you're in the market for some art you can purchase prints of this same painting starting at $1,300.
