DIRK SOULIS AUCTIONS is a family run business recognized as a mid-west leader in the marketing of Fine Art, Antiques and Rare Collector’s items.
Dirk and Sue Soulis own and operate the business from their 15,000 square foot auction facility east of Lee’s Summit Missouri in Lone Jack. Auctions are conducted there and at the Overland Park Convention Center. On occasion, special events are conducted on-site. Each auction is a nationally advertised, catalogued event with bidders and buyers participating from around the world.
For Dirk, the evolution to a career in the Fine Arts auction business began while he was attending college in 1984. He eventually worked his way through school buying and selling at local shows and auctions, while also working the ring for two Fine Art and Antiques auctioneers.
By 1991 he was completing college at Central Missouri State University, running his Antique shop and exhibiting at vetted antique shows in Atlanta, Chicago, New York, Nashville, and Brimfield (Massachusetts). The Antiques business was now his full time occupation, and the brokering of important objects for others was becoming more and more a part of that business. This included a sale to the Philadelphia Museum of Fine Art and the arrangement of major works being sold through prominent auction houses.
In 1997 Dirk designed and built Great Plains Gallery, a 15,000 square foot auction facility east of Lee’s Summit Missouri in Lone Jack, and conducted his first auction. Since then he’s promoted hundreds auctions specializing in Fine Art, Antiques and Rare Collector’s items, cataloging tens of thousands of objects, and building a valuable clientele database.
In May of 1999 he conducted one of the very first live Internet bidding auctions ever held anywhere, and sold an oil painting by Herbert Dunton for $49,875, an auction record for the artist at that time. Since then, Dirk Soulis Auctions has sold millions of dollars in Art and Antiques to buyers from all over the world.
In January of 2003, Dirk and his wife Sue presented the estate of the artist Robert MacDonald Graham (1919-2003) at the Overland Park Convention Center, the first Ebay Live Auction ever held in the Mid-west. Even now, Dirk Soulis Auctions remains the mid-west leader in the billion dollar-a-year live Internet auction industry.
Since 2003, Dirk Soulis Auctions has conducted more than 110 gallery auctions that were simultaneously broadcast live over the Internet - cataloging over 34,000 lots and posting more than 175,000 color images (statistics as of January 10, 2010 per Liveauctioneers.com). As a result, millions of dollars have been sold to more than 5000 buyers from around the world. At last count, prior to the transition from eBayliveauctions.com on December 31 of 2008, Dirk Soulis Auctions has maintained an approval rating of 99.6% buyer satisfaction.
In 2004, they brought the 1.5 million-dollar Greg Warren estate from Denver to Kansas City. Bidders from around the world participated, including three countries represented in the sales room. Several record prices were realized.
In 2005, Dirk discovered several hundred works by a previously unlisted illustration artist named Lloyd Rognan. As a result of Dirk’s research, promotion and presentation, Lloyd’s works are now included in serious collections and inventories around the country and he’s listed among American artists as an important illustrator. Also, the sale of these works has provided his widow with some financial security. Visit Askart.com to learn more about Lloyd Rognan and read the artist’s biography.
In 2005 Dirk and Sue purchased ESTATE SALES BY OUIDA, Kansas City’s oldest firm handling some of the city’s most prestigious estates. Dirk and his staff worked with and trained under Ouida Roach and her daughter Kathy Jordan prior to purchasing the firm. Their range of services in estate settlement is complete and comprehensive, providing individuals and fiduciaries with total support throughout this process. The ‘estate sale’ method of dissolution (where items are sold through a fixed-price sale held within the home) can be a viable alternative to the auction marketing method. Often, a little of each approach is a good strategy for maximizing the value of an estate.
In 2006 the Soulis firm took it one step further by expanding their range of services to include the marketing of Real Estate along with Personal Property. Dirk maintains a real estate license in both Missouri and Kansas. His broker, Mayo Auction and Realty, specializes in the marketing of Real Estate through the progressive, accelerated and successful approach of competitive bidding.
The year 2007 was one of continued growth with the promotion of several major collections including Antique Motorcycles and Automobiles, Historic Period American Indian arts with Pre-historic Artifacts and a number of Art and Antiques collections. The year ended with the three-day Stuart Wyeth Campbell estate auction, moved to the KCI Expo Center from St. Joseph, Missouri. World record prices were achieved as bidders from 32 countries participated. Modern marketing strategies brought over 10,000 hits to the online auction catalog.
In 2008 Dirk Soulis Auctions added live audio and video capability to their live Internet bidding technology platform. They also acquired additional land for facility expansion. Opportunity knocked and the KANSAS CITY TOY AND DOLL SHOW, founded in 1976 by the Condray family was purchased by Dirk and Sue and is now promoted twice a year alongside the Soulis' own 200 booth promotion, the KANSAS CITY ANTIQUES AND COLLECTIBLES SHOW. Four times a year they fill the 43,000 square foot exhibit hall on the campus of the Metropolitan Community Colleges' Business and Technology center near I-435 & Front Street at 1775 Universal Avenue in Kansas City, Missouri.
Dirk and Sue are also the promoters of KANSAS CITY’S ANTIQUES & COLLECTIBLES SHOW, hosting seven Antiques shows per year.
Services
Over 20 Years of Personal Experience In Full Service Estate Liquidation: Appraisals – Auctions - Estate Sales - Fair Market Evaluations - Complete Estate Purchase
Auctioneers To: Families, Attorneys - Banks - Museums – Major Estates
Full time auctioneers specializing in professional catalogued auctions of Fine Art, Antiques and Rare Collectibles
Expertise and resources to maximize any situation.
Vigorous promotion campaigns that utilize direct mail, email, Internet web sites, collector’s club lists & publications, illustrated ads in trade publications, printed catalogs, profusely illustrated online catalogs, traveling previews, press release and more to reach the appropriate market for Fine Art, Antiques and Rare Collectibles.
Tasteful and attractive promotion, presentation and display that serves as a tribute to the collector
Complete insurance coverage - protecting the client from start to finish
Professional service with empathy and respect for the client and their family.
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