Legendary: The Collection of Torben V. Kristiansen

At HEFL we are incredibly honoured to present the collection of Torben Christensen this spring. Torben was a legendary figure in the Canadian art world. He was a dealer in Vancouver here but he sold blue-chip Canadian art and he also sold blue-chip international work. Torben's story is very interesting. He started off as an airline purser and was bringing paintings back from Europe and selling them in Canada here in Vancouver. He bought the Art Emporium, one of the oldest art galleries in Vancouver. His gallery was just up the street here on Granville Street. Torben and our father Kenneth G. Hefl were friends. My dad went to his wedding and he was a mentor and a colleague and a friend of HEFL. The legendary Torben Christensen estate is one example of many estates that HEFL has been honoured and entrusted to bring to market. Other notable estates that have been sold by HEFL including the artist Lauren Harris, the artist Bruno Molinari and other notable and important Canadian and international art collections. I could say many a thing about the man, the dealer, the friend, Torben Christensen. One thing is for sure that he was a quintessential bon vivant art dealer. A parody of a profession yet rigorous and disciplined in his pursuit of the art he loved and he cherished. Torben had an incredible eye. When he came into our previews he would pick out certain works, certain Lauren Harris's or Rhea Pelton. He would explain and pontificate why one painting was more important than another and his comments were always bang on. Torben was very charismatic. You can see why he was a successful art dealer. Lauren Harris's Mountain Experience is arguably Harris's most important abstract paintings and it's obviously a painting that Torben wanted to keep because he's owned this painting since 1976. He knew the value of his paintings and he liked to keep his paintings over a long period of time. One of the legendary paintings in the collection is the 1949 Jean Paul Rhea Pelton. In the history of HEFL we've only ever had one 1949 oil on canvas by Jean Paul Rhea Pelton. 49 canvas by Rhea Pelton is very rare in the market. Most of them are in museums or private collections that just they won't come for sale. HEFL fully understands the responsibility and fiduciary duty in offering works through a public market for an estate. It's not uncommon for HEFL to be approached by an art collector in their process of their estate planning and at times we are often even listed in the will to provide the roadmap and assistance to their loved ones and their beneficiaries for bringing their great collection to the art market. The thing that impressed me most about him was his conviction in his own judgment and irreverence if you will and a healthy disregard for the opinion of others. I shall miss him not only as an art dealer but as a cherished friend.