Alice Callahan Auction House and Gallery is now open in the original Wellington Mall offering unique art pieces from around the world to collectors both near and far.
Managing Director Ed Muller said the company moved in last December, mostly to have a place to store and display the items before they are sold online.
“Ninety-eight percent of my sales on retail are on Ebay, and I needed a place to store my paintings,” Muller explained. “The auction business is growing, and I use it for a pickup and drop-off location, too.”
The auction house and gallery is family owned and is licensed, showcasing more than 400 pieces of art at the Wellington location.
“We supply a service unlike any other business,” Muller said.
Muller noted that they are not operating a consignment store; they charge a flat 25 percent fee for selling your item or artwork. The item is yours, until it is sold. And if you change your mind and no longer want to sell your item, it is returned to you.
Each month, Alice Callahan Auction House holds an online live auction through LiveAuctioneers (www.liveauctioneers.com), with 22 million subscribers. The February auction will take place on Saturday, Feb. 25, and the link can be found on their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/webuyestates.
For those lucky enough to live in the community, they’re welcome to come to the gallery to peruse the unique street art, sculptures, contemporary art, museum art and more from around the world.
All kinds of hard-to-find artwork covers the walls of the store, with many unique items. Sellers present Muller with unique pieces. For example, right now, he has an 18th century dresser that belonged to a monk in Portugal, a 1920s ice box in pristine condition and several horse statues.
“We’re one of the biggest sellers of Highwaymen art, and we have the largest private collection of Francis Bacon paintings,” Muller said.
They also have artwork from Salvador Dalí, Marc Chagall, Picasso, Alexander Calder, Purvis Young and Van Gogh.
The pieces at Alice Callahan come from all over, and they offer free pickups.
“We liquidate items quickly, securely and painlessly,” Muller said. “We work with estates, we work with trusts, we work for a lot of kids who inherit things and just want to liquidate them. This is the purpose that we have.”
With a strong emphasis on customer service, Muller said, they help clients discretely utilize their services.
“We treat our clients like family,” said Claudia Zepeda, president of the company.
Sellers are welcome to drop off their items with Muller at the mall location, and buyers are able to conveniently pick up their new pieces of art.
“We created Alice Callahan not just to honor my late grandmother,” Muller said, “but to be able to give back to our community. With each sale, we give a percentage to a charity or an organization to help those in need. While I look after the day-to-day operations of the company, during the day my wife works at a local high school as a mental health counselor, and twice a week she volunteers with counseling victims of domestic violence at a local organization.”
Zepeda lends her talents at Park Vista High School.
“Our goal is to create a positive impact within our community and to help sellers turn their items into treasures,” Muller said.
The gallery is located at 12794 W. Forest Hill Blvd., Suite 8A. For more information, visit www.alicecallahanestates.com or call (561) 337-8844. Find them on eBay at www.ebay.com/usr/alice_callahan_estate_sales.
