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Clars Auction Gallery got its start in the auction business
in 1948 with Harvey Clar. Mr. Clar grew up in Oakland. He played
on a baseball team at Oakland High and at one time had considered
a career in professional sports because he was an outstanding
athlete. This love of sports has continued through-out his life.
At both ages 60 and 65, he was the top racquetball player in
the world. Even in golf, he has a very low handicap.
At the age of 18, he began conducting industrial auctions
– starting with machine, wood-working, and automobile
repair shops, sometimes with partners and sometimes on his
own. His skill and reputation grew over the next couple decades.
In addition to conducting a wide variety of commercial and
industrial auctions, as well as the occasional estate filled
with personal property, he developed an expertise in appraising
and auctioning automobile dealerships. The major car manufacturers
would utilize his services throughout the Western United States
when a dealership was closing, moving, or changing ownership.
The demand for his services in appraising and auctioning
personal property, such as fine art, furniture and jewelry,
also continued to grow. Mr. Clar and his wife Donna established
their first auction gallery in 1971 in Oakland, California,
replacing an older auction house that had recently closed.
The gallery’s reputation for knowledge and experience
in handling quality estate property has continued to grow
over the last thirty plus years. It is now one of the largest
auction houses in the Western United States and works with
buyers and sellers both throughout the United States and worldwide.
The majority of its clients, however, are located in Northern
California. In mid-2004, the gallery began offering simultaneous
internet bidding, in conjunction with the live auction, on
many of its lots through eBay.
Harvey Clars Auction Gallery conducts monthly two-day estate
auctions of 1500-2000 lots at its North Oakland location.
Between three and five thousand people attend the auctions
and previews, with many thousands more viewing the lots online.
In 1996, Harvey Clar sold the estate auction gallery business
to Redge A. Martin. Mr. Martin also grew up in Oakland. He
has a Bachelor’s Degree from Cornell University and
a Masters Degree in Business Administration from the University
of California, Berkeley. After graduate school, he worked
for Ford Motor Company, Dole Foods, and Butterfield &
Butterfield. Mr. Martin continues to be President of the Gallery,
as well as being one of the main auctioneers and appraisers.
Harvey Clar continues to appraise and conduct auctions of
industrial and commercial property.
Other key personnel in the auction gallery are as follows:
- Redge Martin - President
- Carole Martin - Vice President Operations
- Melanie Lee - Director of Operations
- Martin Willis - Furniture & Decorative Arts Appraiser, Auctioneer
- Mark Petersen - Furniture & Decorative Arts Specialist
- Ashaki Johnson - Furniture & Decorative Arts Specialist, Auctioneer
- Phyllis Kao - Furniture & Decorative Arts Specialist
- Nora Desruisseaux - Fine Arts Specialist
- Morgan Wadsworth - Fine Arts Coordinator
- Meredith Rogers - Fine Arts Coordinator
- Gloria Garaventa - Asian Art Specialist
- Joyce Kwong - Asian Art Coordinator
- Debbie Johansen - Fine Jewelry Coordinator
- Lillian Roberts - Fine Jewelry Assistant
- Patricia Powlesland - Controller
- Laura Decker - Director Online Services
- Ivan Lee- Director of Creative Services
- Anna Wierzbicka - Photographer
- Susan Flaherty - Online Auction Services
- Natalie Ewing - Office Administration
- Lavelle Woods - Floor Supervisor
- Donald Brigham - Property Logistics
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