The most prized pieces from the famed Hudson’s Bay Company art collection are going under the hammer today in Toronto, drawing excitement from art lovers, historians, and Canadians reflecting on the fall of the 355-year-old retail giant.
Heffel Fine Art Auction House is hosting the high-profile live auction in Yorkville, where 27 exceptional paintings will be offered to new owners. Leading the collection is a 1935 oil-on-canvas masterpiece of Marrakech by former British prime minister Winston Churchill. Showing women resting in the shade of palm trees, the painting is expected to draw bids between $400,000 and $600,000.
Other remarkable works include an 1894 scene of a rainy day at Yonge and King in downtown Toronto by Frederic Marlett Bell-Smith, and two early wartime paintings by William von Moll Berczy, one of Toronto’s founding figures. The remaining collection features over a dozen historically rich works by artists such as W.J. Phillips, George Franklin Arbuckle, and Frank Johnston. Many were originally commissioned for Hudson’s Bay calendars distributed freely between 1913 and 1970, capturing pivotal moments from both the company’s and Canada’s history.
Auction house president David Heffel has described the sale as a “watershed moment,” noting that retailers rarely build art collections of this scale anymore—and even fewer make it to public auction. He expects intense competition from in-person bidders as well as thousands of online viewers watching from across Canada and worldwide.
Heffel says today’s selection represents “the cream” of Hudson’s Bay’s 4,400-piece collection, making it likely to draw the highest bids. The remainder of the company’s artworks and artifacts will be sold through a series of online auctions extending into next year.
The first online auction wraps up next month, featuring historic point blankets from as early as 1900, portraits of former HBC governors, and other significant Canadian art—much of which has already received bids.
Not included in today’s sale is the historic 1670 royal charter that founded the Hudson’s Bay Company. The company is expected to seek court approval later this week to allow its adviser, Reflect Advisors, to auction the charter separately. The Weston and Thomson families have already agreed to open bidding at $18 million, with a pledge to donate the document to four major Canadian institutions—the Archives of Manitoba, the Manitoba Museum, the Canadian Museum of History, and the Royal Ontario Museum—should they secure it.