Churchill’s Moroccan painting among works in Hudson’s Bay auction

A painting of a sunny day in Morocco by former British prime minister Winston Churchill, an 1894 depiction of downtown Toronto by Frederic Marlett Bell-Smith and several pieces from one of Toronto’s founders are among the artworks Hudson’s Bay Co. will auction next month.

The 27-piece catalogue, released Thursday by Heffel Fine Art Auction House, offers the public its first look at the historic retailer’s prized collection, much of which has remained hidden since the company filed for creditor protection and shuttered all its stores earlier this year. The sales aim to help repay creditors as Hudson’s Bay winds down its operations.

Churchill’s oil painting Marrakech headlines the sale, carrying an estimated value between $400,000 and $600,000. The work depicts women standing in the shade of palm trees under Moroccan sunlight and was gifted to the company around 1935, following one of Churchill’s painting holidays in North Africa.

Bell-Smith’s Lights of a City Street, valued at $100,000 to $150,000, portrays Yonge and King streets glistening after rain and is described by Heffel as “the most significant work by the artist ever to come to auction.” The painting has previously been shown at the National Gallery of Canada, the Art Gallery of Ontario and the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.

Two early 19th-century canvases by William von Moll Berczy, one of Toronto’s founders, are also listed. The works — Battle of Trafalgar and Rear Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson — measure nearly seven feet tall and are valued between $70,000 and $90,000 each.

The catalogue also features more than a dozen paintings commissioned for Hudson’s Bay’s annual calendars between 1913 and 1970, including works by W.J. Phillips, George Franklin Arbuckle and Frank Johnston, depicting scenes from the company’s and Canada’s history.

The most contemporary piece is Bay Watch, a 2011 pop-art-style oil painting by Charles Pachter featuring Hudson’s Bay’s iconic stripes and a moose, valued at $15,000 to $25,000.

“This is a historic moment,” said David Heffel, president of Heffel Fine Art Auction House. “For the first time, collectors can carry forward a piece of Canada’s legacy.”

The works will be displayed in Toronto from Nov. 11 to 18, with a live auction scheduled for Nov. 19. Additional items, described by Heffel as “ephemera” — including HBC point blankets, coins, retail antiques and collectible toys — will be sold online between Nov. 12 and Dec. 4.

Not included in the auctions is Hudson’s Bay’s royal charter, the 1670 document that established the company and granted it vast control over Indigenous relations and the land that became Canada. The company is expected to seek court approval later this month to auction the charter, with conditions ensuring the winning bidder donates it to a public institution.

Artifacts believed to be of Indigenous origin, along with thousands of items previously donated to the Archives of Manitoba and the Manitoba Museum, are also excluded from sale.