Selling fine art is John Webster’s business but it doesn’t take long to discover that there’s more on John’s mind than money when it comes to art.

Passion precedes most of what he does at Webster Galleries Inc., a 10,000-square-foot space filled with the eclectic works of more than 80 Canadian painters and sculptors.

That passion, combined with a keen eye for quality, a hard nose for value and a soft spot for the reality of the struggling creative spirit, has kept Webster and his wife Lorraine in the art-selling business in Calgary for more than 22 years.

John Webster and wife Lorraine of Webster Galleries are surrounded by famous musicians created by Pat Keenan.

It’s a vocation for this fiesty Brit who cut his teeth collecting Inuit art in the 1970s and has honed an eye for fresh, marketable talent.

“I’m working with more than an artist – I’m working with a real, live person,” says Webster, describing his mentoring of a young sculptor who needed help with supplies to continue his work.

Today that sculptor, Sean McNamee, has a show of his detailed soapstone carvings in Webster’s second-storey gallery space, alongside the work of several other top Canadian artists.

“This is local art of international stature,” says Webster, studying the play of light and shadow on a perfectly wrought peony.



“I just love good art – but there is a huge gulf between creating art and selling it. I am a person who sells fine art.”

Webster says he has created a community of artists who sell regularly in his gallery. Unlike some galleries that mount shows by a constantly changing collection of painters, there is continuity in this space.

“We work as a team of people – six of us run the gallery – and the artists are part of that team,” he says. “I don’t take on an artist unless I can promote them all year.”

As a result, you will often find small collections of work by painters or sculptors set up like miniature shows in the gallery. If you follow or collect a particular artist’s work, you will always find it at Webster Galleries.

In fact, there is a team of artists that works with Webster daily, including Réal Fournier, the gallery’s painter-in-residence who creates his whimsical and colourful canvasses right on the premises.

“We’re trying to add that human element to the way that fine art is shown and sold,” he says.

Webster Galleries is also a comfortable and approachable space for the art buyer, whether you’re a new or seasoned collector. The huge gallery, a renovated warehouse space on two levels, invites browsing and lingering.

Webster says he detests the hard sell when it comes to art, whether he’s dealing with an average home owner or a well-heeled corporate buyer.

“With the web, we are selling nationally and internationally. But it’s a slow, considerate sale. We give our clientele time to work with a piece, time to think about it and see it again.

“There are no forceful sales.”

The gallery contains a wide variety of work – from large mountain landscapes and important Inuit carvings to whimsical ceramic figures and intricate sketches. Webster follows a simple maxim: “We can guarantee quality, but we don’t dictate taste.”

It’s fun to wander through the big space to admire the collected works.

There are Gwen Hughes’ comical pigs lounging in cowboy duds, and Pat Keenan’s lifelike characters shooting pool or strumming the double bass.

The exquisite watercolours of painter Phyllis Ljuden-Elderkin hang near the rich, powerful landscapes of Rob Zeer, and there is a massive bounding bear and a pair of elegant narwhales, carved sleekly in stone by igloolic artist Mark Totan.

There’s a positive energy that art brings the viewer. Webster says he’s seen dreary office workers come to life when suddenly surrounded by lively works of fine art.

“The colour and energy that fine art brings into an office affects the movement and energy of the people in that office,” he says. “It instantly raises morale.”

Webster uses every chance he gets to promote the work of his artists. He’ll hang fine art in an executive show home or let a buyer take a painting home for a week on approval. He keeps a rotating show in the Panorama Restaurant at the top of the Calgary Tower, and will even e-mail his clients photos of every piece available by any artist.

There is a complete custom framing business within the gallery, with two professionals to frame the gallery’s fine art or your own pieces. The gallery space can also be rented for private functions.

It’s all about getting the right piece of art into the right person’s hands, at the right price.

“A successful gallery has to be selling work at fair market value, and that has to stand the test of time,” he says. “But as long as the quality is there and the feeling is working with your soul, then you have a match.”

And when the match is made, it’s heaven all around. “I do believe I have the vision for this business,” he says, “but the biggest thrill is handing the artist that cheque and saying, ‘We did it!’ ”

For consultation, appraisals or sales, visit Webster Galleries at 812 11 Ave. S.W., Calgary, call 403.263.6500 or visit www.webstergalleries.com