Art lovers, historians and those wistful about the fall of Canada’s oldest company are expected in Toronto today, where the most valuable pieces in Hudson’s Bay’s art collection will hit the auction block.
Heffel Fine Art Auction House will host a live sale in the tony Yorkville neighbourhood this afternoon to find new homes for 27 paintings owned by the shuttered, 355-year-old department store.
The star of the auction is expected to be an oil on canvas painting of Marrakech by former British prime minister Winston Churchill. The 1935 piece depicting women standing in the shade of palm trees in Morocco has an estimated value between $400,000 and $600,000.
Other highlights include a Frederic Marlett Bell-Smith painting from 1894 of pedestrians strolling rainy Yonge and King streets in Toronto and two early 19th-century, wartime pieces from William von Moll Berczy, one of the founders of the city.
Rounding out the group of paintings are more than a dozen works by artists including W.J. Phillips, George Franklin Arbuckle and Frank Johnston. Most of the paintings depict moments in the company’s and Canada’s history. They were commissioned for calendars HBC produced from 1913 to 1970 and distributed for free at its department stores and trading posts.
Auction house head David Heffel has said the sale is a “watershed moment” because retailers seldom amass such valuable collections anymore and when they do, they don’t usually make it to market.
In an interview with The Canadian Press in October, he said he was anticipating “unprecedented interest, competition and participation” in the HBC sale from a live audience and thousands more he expected to be watching online.
“It’s going to be exciting in the ballroom, but we’ve also beefed up our broadcasting pipe because we anticipate we’ll have a record number of viewers across Canada and around the world,” he said.
Heffel considers the items slated for the live auction to be “the cream” of HBC’s collection of 4,400 artifacts and thus, he said, they are likely to fetch the most money.
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His company will be selling the collapsed retailer’s remaining pieces in a series of online auctions stretching well into next year.
The first concludes next month and includes point blankets dating as far back as 1900, portraits of former HBC governors as well as Canadian and fine art. So far, all the blankets and most of the art have garnered bids.
Excluded from the auctions is the royal charter that established HBC in 1670. HBC is expected to ask a court on Friday to let its financial adviser Reflect Advisors auction off the document later this month.
The Weston and Thomson families have both agreed to start the bidding at $18 million. If they are successful, they will donate the charter to the Archives of Manitoba, the Manitoba Museum, the Canadian Museum of History, and the Royal Ontario Museum, which will all share the document.
A look at the 27 items from Hudson’s Bay hitting the auction block
“Tracking on the Athabasca,” Walter Joseph Phillips, 1934 (estimate: $15,000 to $25,000)
“Hudson’s Bay Company York Boats at Norway House,” Walter Joseph Phillips, 1928 (estimate: $15,000 to $25,000)
“Chief Trader Archibald McDonald Descending the Fraser, 1828,” Adam Sherriff Scott, circa 1942 (estimate: $7,000 to $9,000)
“Governor Douglas Leaving Fort Langley,” George Franklin Arbuckle, 1957 (estimate: $6,000 to $8,000)
“McLoughlin Welcomes the Americans, Fort Vancouver, 1834,” Charles Fraser Comfort, 1935 (estimate: $10,000 to $15,000)
“Governor George Simpson Welcomed by James Douglas, Fort St. James, B.C., 17th September 1828,” Adam Sherriff Scott, circa 1931 (estimate: $4,000 to $6,000)
“Hearne Builds Cumberland House, 1774-1775,” George Franklin Arbuckle, 1951 (estimate: $6,000 to $8,000)
“Last Dog Train Leaving Lower Fort Garry, 1909,” Charles Fraser Comfort, 1927 (estimate: $10,000 to $15,000)
“Ambassadress of Peace,” George Franklin Arbuckle, circa 1952 (estimate: $8,000 to $12,000)
“Red River Carts Leaving Fort Garry, 1863,” Adam Sherriff Scott, 1927 (estimate: $6,000 to $8,000)
“Troops at Upper Fort Garry, 1846-48,” Adam Sherriff Scott, circa 1945 (estimate: $6,000 to $8,000)
“Discovery of the Coppermine River by Samuel Hearne,” Frank Hans (Franz) Johnston, circa 1922 (estimate: $10,000 to $15,000)
“Trading Ceremony at York Factory, 1780s,” Adam Sherriff Scott, circa 1954 (estimate: $6,000 to $8,000)
“The Spring Fur Brigade Leaves Lachine,” George Franklin Arbuckle, circa 1946 (estimate: $6,000 to $8,000)
“Radisson and des Groseilliers Trading with Indians at Rupert House, 1671,” Lorne Holland Bouchard, 1968 (estimate: $4,000 to $6,000)
“Barnston and Ballantyne at Tadoussac, 1846,” Charles Fraser Comfort, 1941 (estimate: $10,000 to $15,000)
“The Council of the Northern Department of Rupert’s Land, Meeting at Norway House, June 21, 1836,” Charles Fraser Comfort, circa 1934 (estimate: $6,000 to $8,000)
“Trading with a Hudson’s Bay Company Ship, 17th Century,” George Franklin Arbuckle, 1955 (estimate: $6,000 to $8,000)
“Dr. John Rae Meets with Eskimos (Franklin Expedition),” Charles Fraser Comfort, 1949 (estimate: $10,000 to $15,000)
“Samuel Black at Finlay River,” John I. Innes, 1929 (estimate: $6,000 to $8,000)
“Lights of a City Street,” Frederic Marlett Bell-Smith, 1894, (estimate: $100,000 to $150,000)
“Rear Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson,” William von Moll Berczy, 1807-1808 (estimate: $70,000 to $90,000)
“Battle of Trafalgar,” William von Moll Berczy, 1807-1808 (estimate: $70,000 to $90,000)
“Marrakech,” Sir Winston Churchill, circa 1935 (estimate: $400,000 to 600,000)
“Three Hudson’s Bay Company Ships in the Thames (King George, Prince Rupert, Sea Horse),” Francis Holman, 1771 (estimate: $6,000 to $8,000)
“Christmas at Morgan’s” Adrien Hébert, circa 1936 to 1937 (estimate: $40,000 to $60,000)
“Bay Watch,” Charles Pachter, 2011 (estimate: $15,000 to $25,000)
