The bids have begun to fly at a Toronto auction where 27 pieces from Hudson’s Bay‘s art collection are being sold.
So many art lovers, historians and those wistful about the fall of Canada’s oldest company showed up that the Heffel Fine Art Auction House ran out of seats and some bidders had to gather at the sidelines.
Auction house head David Heffel says the items being sold today are not just an honour to auction off but a privilege to own because they embody a legacy deeply woven into the Canadian fabric.
He got the bidding underway with canvases painted in oil by W.J. Phillips, an artist who was a fixture of calendars HBC produced and distributed for free at its department stores and trading posts from.
The first of the Phillips pieces auctioned off sold for $37,500, well over the $15,000 to $25,000 value it was first assigned. The painting shows men trudging along an Alberta riverfront and tied to several boats in the water they are helping to steady.
The second, “Hudson’s Bay Company York Boats at Norway House,” sold for $130,000 which Heffel said was a record for a Phillips painting.
Later in the auction, Heffel will sell a painting of Morocco from Winston Churchill and another of Yonge and King streets in Toronto by Frederic Marlett Bell-Smith.
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.
A look at how much the 27 items from Hudson’s Bay sold for
“Tracking on the Athabasca,” Walter Joseph Phillips, 1934 (estimate: $15,000 to $25,000) – Sold for $37,000
“Hudson’s Bay Company York Boats at Norway House,” Walter Joseph Phillips, 1928 (estimate: $15,000 to $25,000) – Sold for $130,000
“Chief Trader Archibald McDonald Descending the Fraser, 1828,” Adam Sherriff Scott, circa 1942 (estimate: $7,000 to $9,000) – Sold for $300,000
“Governor Douglas Leaving Fort Langley,” George Franklin Arbuckle, 1957 (estimate: $6,000 to $8,000) – Sold for $27,500
“McLoughlin Welcomes the Americans, Fort Vancouver, 1834,” Charles Fraser Comfort, 1935 (estimate: $10,000 to $15,000) – Sold for $27,500
“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) – Sold for $35,000
“Hearne Builds Cumberland House, 1774-1775,” George Franklin Arbuckle, 1951 (estimate: $6,000 to $8,000) – Sold for $50,000
“Last Dog Train Leaving Lower Fort Garry, 1909,” Charles Fraser Comfort, 1927 (estimate: $10,000 to $15,000) – Sold for $100,000
“Ambassadress of Peace,” George Franklin Arbuckle, circa 1952 (estimate: $8,000 to $12,000) – Sold for $85,000
“Red River Carts Leaving Fort Garry, 1863,” Adam Sherriff Scott, 1927 (estimate: $6,000 to $8,000) – Sold for $70,000
“Troops at Upper Fort Garry, 1846-48,” Adam Sherriff Scott, circa 1945 (estimate: $6,000 to $8,000) – Sold for $60,000
“Discovery of the Coppermine River by Samuel Hearne,” Frank Hans (Franz) Johnston, circa 1922 (estimate: $10,000 to $15,000) – Sold for $70,000
“Trading Ceremony at York Factory, 1780s,” Adam Sherriff Scott, circa 1954 (estimate: $6,000 to $8,000) – Sold for $80,000
“The Spring Fur Brigade Leaves Lachine,” George Franklin Arbuckle, circa 1946 (estimate: $6,000 to $8,000) – Sold for $80,000
“Radisson and des Groseilliers Trading with Indians at Rupert House, 1671,” Lorne Holland Bouchard, 1968 (estimate: $4,000 to $6,000) – Sold for $42,500
“Barnston and Ballantyne at Tadoussac, 1846,” Charles Fraser Comfort, 1941 (estimate: $10,000 to $15,000) – Sold for $475,000
“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) – Sold for $40,000
“Trading with a Hudson’s Bay Company Ship, 17th Century,” George Franklin Arbuckle, 1955 (estimate: $6,000 to $8,000) – Sold for $180,000
“Dr. John Rae Meets with Eskimos (Franklin Expedition),” Charles Fraser Comfort, 1949 (estimate: $10,000 to $15,000) – Sold for $140,000
“Samuel Black at Finlay River,” John I. Innes, 1929 (estimate: $6,000 to $8,000) – Sold for $50,000
“Lights of a City Street,” Frederic Marlett Bell-Smith, 1894, (estimate: $100,000 to $150,000) – Sold for $575,000
“Rear Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson,” William von Moll Berczy, 1807-1808 (estimate: $70,000 to $90,000) – Sold for $100,000
“Battle of Trafalgar,” William von Moll Berczy, 1807-1808 (estimate: $70,000 to $90,000) – Sold for $110,000
“Marrakech,” Sir Winston Churchill, circa 1935 (estimate: $400,000 to 600,000) – Sold for $1.3 million
“Three Hudson’s Bay Company Ships in the Thames (King George, Prince Rupert, Sea Horse),” Francis Holman, 1771 (estimate: $6,000 to $8,000) – Sold for $375,000
“Christmas at Morgan’s” Adrien Hébert, circa 1936 to 1937 (estimate: $40,000 to $60,000) – Sold for $210,000
“Bay Watch,” Charles Pachter, 2011 (estimate: $15,000 to $25,000) – Sold for $150,000