Two paintings by Cornelius David Krieghoff that had been hidden in a British attic for nearly 80 years will be auctioned by Bonhams in Toronto next week.

Autumn in West Canada by Cornelius David Krieghoff was one of two paintings a British family found wrapped in newspaper in their attic. (Bonhams)Bonhams said the paintings — Autumn in West Canada, Chippeway Indians and In the Mountains below Quebec, North Shore, French Canadians in Early Winter — were owned by several generations of a family in Devon.

They had been wrapped in newspaper and are "in near-perfect condition," the auction house said.

In the Mountains, a winter scene of a horse-drawn sleigh against a mountain backdrop, is a circular oil painting that the auction house estimates will sell for $60,000 to $80,000.

Autumn in West Canada shows First Nations people sitting around a fire beside a large rock and has an estimated price of $100,000 to $150,000. Both are in their original frames.

The paintings were last appraised in 1950, when they were thought to be worth about $150.

Quebec Farm by Group of Seven painter A.Y. Jackson will be sold Dec. 2. (Bonhams)

Krieghoff was born in Amsterdam in 1815 and lived in the United States and Montreal before settling in Chicago, where he died at the age of 56 and is buried. He is best known for his paintings of Canadian landscapes and Canadian outdoor life.

The Bonhams Toronto auction, scheduled for Dec. 2, also includes two paintings by the late Norval Morrisseau, estimated to sell at $2,000 and $3,000, and an A.Y. Jackson, Quebec Farm, with an estimated price of $30,000 to $35,000.

With files from the Canadian Press