Expert art logistics and storage
For over 20 years King & Wilson has been moving art locally, interstate and overseas.
We expertly manage and coordinate art transport to almost any destination throughout Australia and overseas, and pride ourselves on offering a world-standard service.
With a dedicated team of trained art handlers and industry professionals, as well as specialist equipment and facilities, we are best positioned to meet your art moving needs.
Supporting the arts
We are actively engaged with the art community and regularly extend either in-kind support or cash sponsorship to organisations, galleries and exhibitions.
Sponsorship recipients include:
- Art for Science - Murdoch Childrens Research Institute
- Artspace Sydney
- Australian Centre for Contemporary Art (Exhibition Supporter of the Influential Australian Artist Series exhibition, and an annual Supporter of ACCA)
- Gertrude Contemporary Artists Spaces
- Jewish Museum of Australia
- Kaldor Public Art Projects
- Melbourne Art Fair Foundation
- Next Wave Festival
- Perth Institute of Contemporary Art (PICA)
Our Customers
We are proud to assist the following commercial galleries, public institutions, museums and art auction houses:
Our Team
Our specialist fine art team are highly qualified and experienced in moving a range of fine art objects.
Our branch managers both have extensive experience in international art forwarding, packing and handling. Patrick Epstein in Melbourne has 14 year’s total experience, while Craig Lee Winser in Sydney is University of NSW College of Fine Arts graduate with more than 4 years experience working with regional and commercial galleries including Coffs Harbour Regional Gallery and Chalkhouse Gallery Sydney.
Our art handlers all have several years experience, with most being trained fine art practitioners who have also worked as gallery installation technicians, studio assistants or framers.
Andrew Wilson
Managing Director, Victoria
Andrew is a fourth generation director of King & Wilson. He joined the King & Wilson management team in 1999 and succeeded as Managing Director in 2001.
Andrew's background is in university management and he holds degrees in both arts and economics. Andrew's interest in the visual arts means he is a regular attendee and supporter of contemporary art exhibitions and events throughout Australia.
Andrew regularly travels overseas to strengthen and develop agent relationships and to benchmark King & Wilson's operations against world's best practice.
Our History
King & Wilson was founded in 1907 by Archibald Wilson as a Melbourne based parcel service involving members of the King family and Wilson family. In 1909, they extended their services to offer furniture removals as well. The business had depots in Collins Street in the city of Melbourne as well as the suburb of Malvern. Removals were undertaken using horse drawn furniture pantechnicons.
Maintaining the business during the war years was difficult, as many drivers were lost to the war. Despite this, the business survived and continued to prosper with the demand for storage leading the firm to establish storage repositories in Armadale and Caulfield.
In 1920, Archibald Wilson took control of the business by buying the King family out of their share in the company. It was at this time that King & Wilson decided to cease operating the parcel express and instead focus on removals and storage.
Like many firms, King & Wilson experienced difficulty keeping the business afloat during the 1930s depression. King & Wilson continued to operate during this challenging time by cutting costs and reducing the work loads of their employees, as this was seen preferable to firing staff. The company even purchased a local wood and coal supply business to help the continuity of work.
Interstate expansion
In the 1940s the company purchased a long distance van and commenced interstate work. By the 1950s the company had invested in a fleet of long distance vans and continued to grow their interstate businesses. This surge in demand led King & Wilson to invest in a new storage facility in the suburb of Dandenong, in south-east Melbourne. The Dandenong warehouse and depot was subsequently expanded up throughout the 1960's and 70's as the demographic centre of Melbourne moved further and further east.
The modern era
The period 2000-2006 saw significant changes in the King & Wilson business model as it experienced rapid sales growth and increased its share of the Melbourne market. The company also commenced operations in Sydney and moved back into the international removals market. It also significantly developed its fie art logistics services division, which had previously only serviced auction house clients and smaller commercial galleries. Investment in climate controlled vehicles and storage facilities enabled the company to extend its service offering to institutional clients.
In 2003, a decision was made to sell the company's historic Melbourne head office site in High Street, Armadale and consolidate this office and the Dandenong warehouse into a single large facility in the east of Melbourne. A 150,000 square metre site in Mt Waverley was selected and the business relocated there in 2003.
In response to demand from its Sydney based clientele the company commenced operations in Sydney in 2001. A partnership with a local moving company (The Bay Removal Co) allowed King & Wilson to enter the Sydney marketplace primarily servicing interstate and international clients. The Sydney office and depot was based in the inner Sydney suburb of Alexandria. This business partnership continued for several years until 2004,when The Bay Removal Co brand was retired completely. In 2005, King & Wilson was sold by Graeme Wilson to his son Andrew Wilson and Chris Dash from The Bay Removal Co. In 2006, the Sydney operation moved from Alexandria to a much larger site in the inner western suburb of Ermington. The establishment of the Ermington branch has positioned the company's Sydney based resources at a level which rivals the more established Melbourne branch and has allowed for a significant increase in international and domestic moving services.
Acquisitions
In July 2008, after more than 15 years of close AMG agent relations, King & Wilson acquired the Holbrook Removals business in Canberra. Located in the suburb of Hume, this new branch built upon King & Wilson's range of services to include a greater focus on interstate and international moving, particularly in the corporate market in the ACT and surrounding areas.
Another key acquisition occurred in 2009, when King & Wilson purchased the Sydney based fine art logistics business, Essential Art Services from John Kaldor AM. This provided King & Wilson with a separate and established art transport and storage base in Sydney and led to the formation of the stand alone business unit - King & Wilson Essential Art Services.
King & Wilson's management and staff are justifiably proud of the contribution our company has made to the modern Australian moving industry. We continue to invest in the latest technologies, equipment and training and our attention is very much focused on the future. We look forward to our next century of service.
