O'Gallerie — Local services in Portland

I bought and sold through O'Gallerie years ago when the father ran the business.The years that I both bought and sold there I dealt with Dale (the father) and Peter who were the real merit of the company. In conversations with Dale somewhere around 2006 I explained that having had Tom come to my home was completely disappointing. Dale assured me he would handle things even though he had been trying to retire. He held on in hopes that his son Tom would stop being a problem and did so for the entire year after we spoke about Tom. At that time I have to say Dale and Peter were exceptional. Tom O'Grady was not. Every thing you see in the reviews about him are true. He lies, manipulates, misrepresents and then tells the consignor or buyer that it is entirely their fault that he cheats them. I learned how to do business in Manhattan with world class names and the heart of all of this is to know your field thoroughly and remain honest. Dale had that but his son Tom is the opposite. I have appraised on both the East coast and the West coast and never ever have I had someone outright lie to me about the pieces I represented, until Tom. I brought two invaluable items to him this past year and he immediately dismissed one as a fake even though it came from the private collection of Warren Earle Cox the most respected art collector in America in the 20th century. The other he tried to tell me was practically worthless at possibly 100 to 150 dollars. This is for something I know would sell at a mid level auction gallery like O'Gallerie value of 5,000 to 7,000 dollars . He told me he could buy my item online for a fraction of the 100-150 dollars. I suggest people do what he says he does. Buy the 5,000 item he says he can get online for under 100 dollars and avoid him entirely. It is not only a shame that he is dragging his entire family down with him but honestly I dont know how he still has a license to do business. Whats worse is the level of shame he brings to the O'Grady name. In my opinion this business should have been run by Patrick who is honest to a fault and knows his way around every aspect of the business. Tom should only ever be allowed be the showman at the actual auctions. He should never be allowed to represent the company he is Portland's answer to Trump, all bluster and lies while providing people with an uneasy feeling that the things most promoted are most likely the actual fakes. i know I will never buy from them again and would only risk selling there if Tom...

I have bought from O'Gallerie for the past 10 years spending in the 10K's When I went to sell a very expensive piece that I had bought from them, they were confident they could sell it. In the first auction, they misrepresented the piece saying it was missing keys and the corner cabinet was locked, on top of damage on the top. None of this was true. I was then accused of saying these things by Tom, who was blatantly at fault for the misrepresentation in the printed catalog! We tried another auction where it failed to sell and I was told to pick up my piece or they would take it. I tried for weeks to call and pay the storage fees, but Peter refused to take calls, or answer emails. When I went to another auction house to see if they could sell it for me they refused as it was bought at O'Gallerie. They would not touch it. Tom has now sold my piece, for pennies on the dollar and I did not sign or authorize the sale. I am now pursing with my attorney. He said it is in the fine print, but of course, he refused to admit or correct the initial issue of misrepresentation. They also use people in the audience to drive prices higher, which is how I paid so much for the piece in the first place (hindsight). They have ripped me off more than once. Buyer beware!!! Seller Beware!! They are not reputable nor do they consider you a client but just a way to make money off. They are not ethical or have ethical business practices. Every other auction house in the country will not touch a piece from this auction house and that is from direct information from the auction houses. Tell me how you sell a $5K corner cabinet for...

BEWARE DONT THROW YOUR FINE ART* ITEMS AWAY BY GIVING IT TO THESE* PEOPLE!! I have been in fine art auction houses all over the world!! I HAVE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE THIS!!! I Have been a picker and fine art collector and dealer of fine art painting for almost 30 yrs. I recently took in over 60 listed artists painting to be auctioned by them. They lost some of my painting then found them, they GROSSLY underestimated the value of all my painting.My painting didnt even sell for their .underestimated values! They told me painting had forged signatures when they have been authenticated by multiple apraisers, they gave me appraisals on painting that had other auction values of 10s of thousand for 200 dollars. that sold in their auction for 80 dollars. The auctioneer running the auction slammed his hammer and closed multiple items while there were still bids, either in the room or online. of which happened to me twice. The Auctioneer actually said that one of my paintings artist largest collection came from Elmer's pancake house. now who would want to own a painting that's in a pancake house. oddly enough this painting happened to be the least valuable of my collection, and sold for the most of anything I brought in, even after the auctioneer said that Elmer's pancake had the largest collection of his painting. All said and done they told me they were gonna pay me 4400 for all 60 painting, after they took their 30+%. paintings that I paid as much as 3000 for a single painting. I DONT KNOW HOW THEY STAY IN...