Prominent antiques dealer and appraiser Reyne Hirsch is the new owner of the Dallas Auction Gallery and aims to attract a younger generation of buyers to collecting antiques and fine art.
Hirsch was already co-owner of the nearby Patrick Jones Gallery, specializing in contemporary and modern art, when she received a tip that the previous owners of the Dallas Auction Gallery were planning to close their doors. “It was right down the street from our gallery and at a price point that worked for me,” she said.
Founded by Scott and Kathi Shuford in 2002, the Dallas Auction Gallery hosted auctions of fine art and antiques for over 20 years. Past auctions have included sales of Asian antiquities, Hermès Himalayan crocodile Birkin bags, investment-grade diamonds, and significant works of American art. The auction house eventually expanded its reach by offering online auctions that brought international bidders.
Under her leadership, Hirsch plans to continue offering a range of services, including appraisals, estate liquidations, and live and online auctions of fine art, antiques, jewelry, timepieces, and ceramics.
The Dallas Auction Gallery’s team includes experts in a range of areas, including fine art, Asian antiques, 20th-century design, and jewelry.
“My goal is to build on the near quarter of a century reputation of the auction house and make it a premier destination for art and antiques not only in the Southwest but in the United States,” she stated.
While maintaining the traditions of the auction house, she said she plans to modernize by adding new categories of offerings to appeal to younger buyers. These categories include urban/street art, works of rising artists, couture and street apparel, and 21st-century design.
Reyne Hirsch.
Hirsch is a native of Houston. Her interest in collecting antiques drew her to New York, which had a different vibe from her hometown. “I started going to antiques shops and buying.” She developed expertise in various areas, including 20th-century decorative arts, antique timepieces, fine art, and jewelry.
As a result of that expertise, she was an on-air appraiser for 13 seasons on PBS’s popular series Antiques Roadshow. She was also a guest appraiser on the History Channel’s series American Pickers.
Hirsch has more than two decades of experience appraising and dealing antiques and art. She authored a catalog of American and European glass at the Dayton Art Institute (2003), contributed to Antiques Roadshow Collectibles by Carol Prisant and Adventures at the Auction by Leslie Hindman, and wrote about investing in Tiffany for an edition of Warman’s Antiques and Collectibles. She has also produced two books on collecting wristwatches for Krause Publications.
Hirsch, who divides her time between Dallas and Houston, is continually expanding into new areas, including developing original television programming and using broadcast media and social media to connect with a national fan base of collectors.
For more information, visit the website (www.dallasauctiongallery.com).
Originally published in the May 2024 issue of Maine Antique Digest. © 2024 Maine Antique Digest
