Walker's Fine Art & Estate Auctioneers

Walker’s – The Corporate History

William Scott Walker, the founder of our family owned & operated company, was born in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1910. In 1929 William’s uncle Peter Fyfe offered him an entry level position with his firm, Fyfe’s Antiques whereupon he would start his apprenticeship at their antique shop in Vancouver, B.C. According to Fyfe “The streets in Canada are paved in gold”. So Bill left home, after attending Edinburgh University and joined the company only to have the great depression of 1929 hit just a few months after his arrival. Although gold was something of a myth during these trying times William realized that this business was his calling and he found solid footing in Canada.

His apprenticeship duties included traveling from coast to coast, coordinating the handling, promotion & sale of monthly antique shipments from the UK. For sixty years Fyfe’s were to send hundreds of thousands of objects in the form of complete auctions of period furniture, fine British & European art and decorative accessories to major cities in Canada & the US including Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, London, Winnipeg, Calgary, Vancouver & Seattle, Washington.

In 1937, having chosen Ottawa as his home & with a passion for the arts, Bill founded “W.S. Walker Auctioneer”. While establishing his firm he relied on the close, existing relationship with Fyfe’s. Ottawans, in an active market with varied tastes, were highly receptive to the catalogued fine art & antique auction shipments. The client base expanded rapidly and William was well respected for his gentlemanly demeanor, code of ethics & good humour. Until 1942, these popular sales and local estate auctions were conducted with maturing experience and enthusiasm. But due to the inherent dangers of transatlantic shipping during the war years, antique deliveries were put on hold. William volunteered for service with the Canadian forces and remained on active duty until leaving as Captain at war’s end in 1945.

Upon his return, William reopened the firm as both a retail antique gallery & auction house, with headquarters on Laurier Avenue, Ottawa and then later with expanded premises on Somerset Street. During the late 1940 & ‘50’s a number of prolific sales were conducted. Most notably, the auction of the Booth estate which was awarded to Walker’s after having been pursued by firms across Canada & the US. This monumental, single owner collection included wedding gifts & property from the Lois Booth marriage to Erik Frederik Christian Alexander, Crown Prince of Denmark. These major works by 19th artist Fantin Latour, Barbizon school, English Impressionism, signed 18th French furniture, Ming porcelain & palace carpets took three months to catalogue and 5 complete days to sell. Many trend setting prices were realized. During the late 1950’s and the first part of the next decade, Walker’s also conducted sales in Montreal for Fyfe’s antiques as their bi-monthly shipments would arrive.

It was during these sale preparation that William was introduced to Charles MacKenzie; a Scottish cabinet marker who had newly arrived in Ottawa. Charles began with Walker’s at the Booth auction and remained an active & lively component in the company for decades. He is also well known as a professional antique furniture restorer & wildlife artist. Charles remained with Walker’s until his retirement in 2004 and was so devoted to our firm that during this 48 year association, he did not miss one auction.

The Fyfe antique shipments, our ability to set record prices for rare art & the patronage of Ottawa’s society and political personalities helped to secure Walker’s reputation as trusted and able estate auctioneers.

During the 1960 Walker’s conducted such notable sales as the complete collection of the Roxborough & Lord Elgin Hotels and collections of many distinguished Ottawa residents. As the company grew in scope & reach William’s son Peter joined the firm, marking the begin