David Dee Fine Arts

Today we are going to fill you in on a little neighborhood secret. Hidden on the corner of 1700 E and 1300 S, nestled above the OneOEight restaurant, is an art gallery. You’ve probably driven or walked by it more than a thousand times on your way to Harmon’s, Jolley’s or Eggs in the City without even noticing the discreet lettering on the door.

This gallery without a sign, is the only dealer of historical, pre-21st century Utah and Intermountain art between Kansas City and San Francisco. David Dee and his group are appraising, acquiring and selling works of our region’s most acclaimed artists: Maynard Dixon, LeConte Stewart, James T. Harwood, Frank Anthony Smith, Don Olsen, and Minerva Teichert to name a few. Art collectors from all over the country, and world, stop by Dee’s offices to view his collection.

Dee, former director of the Utah Museum of Fine Arts, opened shop in the Yalecrest neighborhood almost four years ago in 2014. He raised his family in the Yalecrest area, and liked the idea of moving back to a walkable, historic neighborhood. “Galleries, are mostly moving away from large brick and mortar spaces,” he explains, “Our clients these days find us through either online galleries or they have been working with us for many years to expand their collections.”

The process of educating and advising clients is of the utmost importance to Dee and his associate Jenny Klekas. Dee emphasizes how anyone can begin a collection at almost any price level. “We want to work with experienced collectors who are interested in curating a legacy, and new collectors who are interested in buying their first print, and learning about its legacy.”

“Many clients now look at art online. It is a fine starting point, but you only seeing a name and an image. You are missing the story, the historical details, the information that defines the value and the importance of the art. For instance, we had a gentleman walk in with a LeConte Stewart the other day. LeConte was a prolific painter, especially later in his life, but his work is valued much differently depending on when it was done and the quality of the work.The advice of a good dealer is critical.”

This holiday season we invite you to stop by David Dee Fine Arts. Discover something new about a Utah artist, or an art period applied to Utah landscape. Dee has remarkable stories about each piece in his gallery: intriguing tales about artists, musings on the interpretation of landscape, details regarding technique and application, and the history of the hands who have touched it and the walls on which it has hung. There is an antidote to the holiday rush in this gallery: studying the brushstrokes of Utah’s rich cultural legacy and the bygone landscapes of our state’s towns, mountains and valleys. The works of our region’s historical artists ground us in the past and give us pause to consider the legacy we are creating for future generations.

For more information, and to view their extensive online gallery, visit David Dee Fine Arts.