Horatio Walker
Horatio Walker
1858 - 1938
AWCS CAC NAD RCA RI RSC SAA
Horatio Walker is best known for his paintings of rural Canadian life, particularly his images of Île d’Orléans, Quebec. He first visited the region in 1870 while accompanying his father on a business trip. Walker’s painting changed very little over the years and the artist almost always worked under the same conditions using the same principles, and his paintings displayed nostalgia for the countryside.
Walker was born in Listowel, Ontario and showed a proficiency for drawing from a young age. At the age of 15, Walker moved to Toronto and began to work at Notman-Fraser photographic studios, where he met Homer Watson, who became a lifelong friend. In 1876, Walker settled in Rochester, New York, where he worked as a photographer and hand-tinted photographs until 1885. Walker first visited Europe in 1882, where he was greatly influenced by the Barbizon painter Jean-François Millet and the Dutch artists of The Hague School. Walker emulated the peasant subject matter of The Hague School paintings in his scenes of habitants in the Quebec countryside. In 1883, Walker rented a studio in Quebec City and engaged the Montross Gallery in New York as his dealer. He moved to New York in 1885, but continued to spend his summers in Quebec. In 1900, Walker’s work was included in an exhibition at the Art Association of Montreal alongside the paintings of the famed Maris brothers of The Hague School.
That same year, Walker moved to London to expand his market. He lived there until 1905, but continued to return to the Île d’Orléans, which eventually became his primary residence. By 1907, Walker held prominence as Canada’s most famous artist, having found success both nationally and internationally. The Canadian Art Club in Toronto championed Walker’s work, and in 1915, Walker replaced his friend Watson as the club’s president. The following year he received an honorary degree from the University of Toronto.

Beginning in the 1920s, collectors such as Louis-Athanase David and C.J. Simard began to collect Walker’s paintings, as they felt that his work was an authentic cultural statement and part of the national heritage. Walker’s oil Oxen Drinking, 1899, was one of the first major purchases of the National Gallery of Canada, and it was acquired for $10,000, an enormous sum at that time.
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The Ice Cutters, Île d’Orléans by Horatio Walker sold for $87,750
Horatio Walker
The Ice Cutters, Île d’Orléans
6 1/4 x 9 3/8 in, 15.9 x 23.8 cm
circa 1904
oil on paper on board
Estimate: $35,000 - $45,000 CDN
Sold for: $87,750 CDN (premium included)
Spring 2011 - 2nd Session on Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Moonrise, A Canadian Pastoral by Horatio Walker sold for $43,250
Horatio Walker
Moonrise, A Canadian Pastoral
28 1/4 x 38 in, 71.8 x 96.5 cm
oil on canvas
Estimate: $40,000 - $60,000 CDN
Sold for: $43,250 CDN (premium included)
Important Canadian Art on Thursday, November 25, 2021
Sunset Over a Snowbound Pasture by Horatio Walker sold for $16,520
Horatio Walker
Sunset Over a Snowbound Pasture
28 x 38 in, 71.1 x 96.5 cm
oil on canvas
Estimate: $15,000 - $25,000 CDN
Sold for: $16,520 CDN (premium included)
Fall 2015 - 2nd Session on Thursday, November 26, 2015
The Woodcutter, Horse and Sled, Winter by Horatio Walker sold for $16,100
Horatio Walker
The Woodcutter, Horse and Sled, Winter
14 1/2 x 18 1/2 in, 36.8 x 47 cm
oil on canvas
Estimate: $7,000 - $9,000 CDN
Sold for: $16,100 CDN (premium included)
May 2006 - 3rd Session on Saturday, May 27, 2006
Plowing the Field by Horatio Walker sold for $12,650
Horatio Walker
Plowing the Field
11 x 16 in, 27.9 x 40.6 cm
oil on panel
Estimate: $5,000 - $7,000 CDN
Sold for: $12,650 CDN (premium included)
Fine Canadian Art Fall 2005 on Thursday, November 24, 2005
First Snow, Île d'Orléans by Horatio Walker sold for $12,500
Horatio Walker
First Snow, Île d'Orléans
17 x 13 in, 43.2 x 33 cm
oil on canvas on board
Estimate: $10,000 - $15,000 CDN
Sold for: $12,500 CDN (premium included)
Canadian, Impressionist & Modern Art on Wednesday, May 29, 2019
The Wood Gatherers by Horatio Walker sold for $9,360
Horatio Walker
The Wood Gatherers
24 x 18 in, 61 x 45.7 cm
oil on canvas
Estimate: $7,000 - $9,000 CDN
Sold for: $9,360 CDN (premium included)
February 2014 - 2nd Session on Thursday, February 27, 2014
Siesta by Horatio Walker sold for $8,260
Horatio Walker
Siesta
18 x 26 1/8 in, 45.7 x 66.3 cm
oil on canvas
Estimate: $8,000 - $10,000 CDN
Sold for: $8,260 CDN (premium included)
May 2014 - 4th Session on Saturday, May 31, 2014
Retour des noces by Horatio Walker sold for $6,900
Horatio Walker
Retour des noces
16 x 21 1/2 in, 40.6 x 54.6 cm
charcoal on paper
Estimate: $4,000 - $5,000 CDN
Sold for: $6,900 CDN (premium included)
Fine Canadian Art Fall 2006 on Friday, November 24, 2006
Evening, Ile d'Orleans, Quebec by Horatio Walker sold for $6,490
Horatio Walker
Evening, Ile d'Orleans, Quebec
28 1/8 x 38 1/8 in, 71.4 x 96.8 cm
oil on linen
Estimate: $7,000 - $9,000 CDN
Sold for: $6,490 CDN (premium included)
November 2015 - 4th Session on Saturday, November 28, 2015