Skip to content
Gianguan Auctions moves

Gianguan Auctions moves to new Manhattan location

Tom Hoepf
Tom Hoepf
Kwong Lum outside the new location of Gianguan Auctions at 39 W. 56th St. in Manhattan. Image courtesy of Gianguan Auctions
Kwong Lum outside the new location of Gianguan Auctions at 39 W. 56th St. in Manhattan. Image courtesy of Gianguan Auctions

 

NEW YORK – When the owners of Gianguan Auctions were notified last fall that the Madison Avenue building they had occupied for a decade had been sold and their rent was going to skyrocket they scrambled for a new location.

“We were very lucky,” said Mary Ann Lum, who with her husband, Chinese-born artist Kwong Lum, owns the auction company. They were able to find a new location 15 blocks away at 39 W. 56th St., between Fifth and Sixth avenues, and moved their business in late November, in time for their December auction.

“We just made it. We were very lucky,” said Mary Ann Lum.

“It’s a typical New York story. The new owner wanted to raise the rent to six times what it had been,” she added, predicting that soon  only chain stores will be able to afford to do business in Manhattan.

 

A view of the gallery at Gianguan Auctions. Image courtesy of Gianguan Auctions
A view of the gallery at Gianguan Auctions. Image courtesy of Gianguan Auctions

 

She describes Gianguan Auctions’ new home as one floor of a five-story Neo-Classic brownstone that is closer to the central part of the city.

“The rest of the building is occupied by doctors,” said Lum.

While this long-standing auction house showcases Chinese works of Art, the real specialty is traditional painting and calligraphy, dating from the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties.

To contact Gianguan Auctions email info@gianguanauctions.com or phone 1-212-867-7288.

Gianguan Auctions moves