A new auction house has launched in Saint John.

Sibling gallerists, Sarah and Caleb Jones, owners of Jones Gallery Contemporary Art + Projects, have opened the Jones Auction House at their location on Prince William Street.

The auction house will specialize in contemporary and historical Atlantic Canadian artwork.

Curator Sarah Jones mentioned the gallery is now accepting consignments for their inaugural auction coming up this fall.

“We don’t have the fall dates announced yet. We’re just waiting to make sure that we have the right collection built up, then we will announce the dates,” said Sarah.

“We’ll then have a viewing for about a week at our gallery location, and then the auction will go live online, and that will be available for about a week.”

However, later on, they may implement a combination of live and online auctions, said Sarah.

“Art is kind of not the spur of the moment sort of purchase, so we have a lovely software that we’re using that’s clean. well-presented, and user friendly,” mentioned Sarah.

After announcing their new feature, Sarah mentioned they have heard an overwhelming response from the public.

“People have been approaching us and asking us to value some interesting objects that they have had in their family or home for generations, important works of art that haven’t been in an auction or for sale for decades.”

Caleb, the director of Jones Gallery and Jones Auction House, is one of only three appraisers in Atlantic Canada who qualified through the International Society of Appraisers (ISA).

He is also trained and tested in the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP).

With that in mind, and the auction house open, clients will now be able to keep and sell their work in the Maritimes, instead of leaving to another market.

“Often our clients ask us for advice about downsizing or selling parts of their collection. I usually have to recommend auction houses in Toronto or New York,” mentioned Caleb in a statement.

“It’s hard to see important works of Atlantic Canadian art leave the region. So we wanted to create a professional auction house here, one that appropriately researches, documents, and supports significant works of art.”

Sarah added the first auction will feature rare work by Nova Scotia artist Maud Lewis.

In May, a Maud Lewis painting sold at an Ontario auction for a record price of $350,000.