Calgary’s Three OTBP Art Auction Houses

In Calgary, the arrival of fall means it is art auction season again! Cowtown is home to not one but three major art auction houses, each with a range of auctions from October through to June. 

And yes, all three have off-beat locations - two are located on the “wrong side” of the CPKC and LRT railway tracks and the other is just off Deerfoot Trail.

Levis Fine Art Auctions & Appraisals

Levis Fine Art Auctions founded by Doug Levis in 1992, and now owned and managed by Cheryl Sonley and Andrea Lowe is located at 1739 - 10 Avenue SW next to the CPKC railway mainline corridor and the elevated LRT rail line in the Sunalta neighbourhood. (Doug still lives nearby and often wanders in to see what’s happening).

The dark grey building gives no indication of the colourful experience awaiting for visitors inside. Yin fact, you could easily miss it.  Wander in the side door and you are immediately engulfed in art.

For each auction Cheryl and Andrea’s team create a fun salon-style exhibition (150+ artworks) in their intimate exhibition space (the size of a main floor mid-century house) as well as up the stairs to the second floor storage area. There is literally art everywhere, all sizes, shapes and styles creating a fun bohemian sense of place. Bonus – allows visitors to better envision how the artworks will look when they get home.

Levis used to host live auctions at Mount Royal University, but when COVID came along they decided to conduct all their auctions online. So successful they never went back to live auctions.

Levis has a variety of auctions including an annual Indigenous Art Auction, Estate Auctions and several fine art auctions where you will often find historic art by iconic Western Canadian artists, mixed with contemporary art.  Expect to find works by artists like Illingworth Kerr, Ted Godwin, Marion Nicoll, Maxwell Bates, John Snow and others.

Everyday Tourist Tip:  Go for the art but stay for the goodies.  Yes, during the preview week before the auction they sweet treats for you to enjoy while you browse. And don’t be surprised if Kyle, Andrea’s dog greets you at the door.

Link: LevisFineArtAuctions

Heffel Fine Art Auction House

Heffel Auction House started as a commercial art gallery in 1978 in Vancouver, when Kenneth G. Heffel, an industrialist and art collector, opened a gallery in a heritage building on Vancouver’s South Granville Gallery Row.  Today, sons David and Robert carry on the family business which shifted in 1995 to become a live auction house and today combines both live and online auctions.

By 2004, Heffel was Canada’s leading auction house and has expanded to have offices and exhibition space in Ottawa, Toronto, Montreal and Calgary.  In 2016, Heffel hosted the highest grossing art auction in Canadian History selling 200 artworks and grossing over $42 million.

Two years later, Heffel was ranked among the top 10 auction houses in the world by the prestigious publication, Art + Auction. Heffel routinely offers works of Canadian masters like Riopelle, the Group of Seven, Joe Fafard, Emily Carr, David Blackwood and Alex Colville.

Live auctions are held in Toronto in May and November with online auctions held monthly featuring artworks of important Canadian and international artists.

In Calgary, Heffel opened a chic preview space in a boutique warehouse building at 220 Manning Rd. NE (just off the Deerfoot Trail, but you must get to it from Barlow Trail) with an awesome view of Calgary’s skyline and the Rocky Mountains. The space is perfect for previewing sculpture, painting and drawings of all sizes with its high ceiling and both large and intimate exhibition spaces.  You would swear you are in a gallery in London or New York City it is that chic.

Link: Heffel

Hodgins Art Auctions

Hodgins is Calgary’s oldest auction house dating back to 1983. Hodgins Art Auctions Ltd. holds the auction record for many of Canada’s finest artists including Ernest Lindner at $35,200 and Alan Collier at $19,800. They have also sold several high profile artists' estates including the estate of well-known Calgary artists, Janet Mitchell and Stanford Perrott, former Head of the Alberta College of Art and Design.

Hodgins is in an older warehouse district adjacent to the South LRT and CPKC railway tracks at 4115 - 7005 Fairmont Dr SE. It is in a new warehouse building space with 20+foot ceilings that allow for true salon-style exhibitions with artworks hung from floor to ceiling for their previews. 

FYI: Hodgins shares the space with Hall’s Auction Services which specializes in antiques, collectibles, fine jewellery and collectable wind and spirits.

Link: Hodgins Art Auctions

Calgary: A Visual Art City

While Calgary may struggle to become a recognized “Music City”, it already is a major “Visual Art” city with five public/institutional art galleries – Glenbow, Contemporary Calgary, Illingworth Kerr Gallery (at the Alberta University of the Arts), Nickel Galleries (at the University of Calgary) and Esker Foundation Gallery.  Add to that, Calgary is home to 30+ private art galleries and several visual art group spaces (e.g. Alberta Society of Artists, Burn Visual Art Society and Alberta Printmakers).  In addition, the City Center is home to 100+ public artworks and 100+ murals. And there is an annual Gallery Walk and Artists Studio Tour.

And, just outside the city on its west side sits the Kiyooka Ohe Arts Centre’s Art Park and on the southside the Leighton Art Centre.  Wait there is more - Calgary is also home to the headquarters of Galleries West (Est 2002) an online magazine featuring Canada’s most comprehensive source of exhibition previews and reviews, as well as auction house sales summaries and gallery listings.

Last Word

If you are visiting Calgary, no matter what time of the year, make time for a visual art adventure or two.