A Winston Churchill painting sold for the highest price yet for art once owned by the defunct Hudson’s Bay Co., earning $1.3 million at a Toronto auction Wednesday.

The 1935 oil work, a Marrakech scene gifted to HBC by Churchill’s wife, had been expected to sell for between $400,000 and $600,000.

The Yorkville sale drew a packed room and heavy online interest, with several works soaring past estimates. A Frederic Marlett Bell-Smith streetscape valued at up to $150,000 went for $575,000, and a W.J. Phillips piece set a record for the artist at $130,000.

The strong bidding is welcome news for HBC, which is trying to raise cash after filing for creditor protection and shuttering all stores. The retailer owes creditors $1.1 billion and has been relying on asset sales to pay down its debt.

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