Today we’d like to introduce you to Pam Massar.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Pam. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
The Dutch Art Gallery is truly a family affair. My husband’s (Hans) late parents, Ben and Ann Massar, started the business over 53 years ago and our son Nic (3rd generation) is currently one of our talented custom frame designers. Hans and his two other brothers worked in the gallery while attending college. All three became local Dallas attorneys. Hans and I are the current owners. The company name does not stem from what we offer, but from our family history.
Ben Massar grew up in Holland and at 14 years old was selling fresh produce door-to-door. This grew into owning his own brick-and-mortar grocery store in Delft, Holland, The Netherlands with his wife, Ann. When the Massar family immigrated to the United States, Ben decided to shift his business focus to culture. Instead of selling perishable goods, he wanted to offer “works of art that can be enjoyed for a lifetime”. Ben had a passion for art and dabbled in painting, but his true talent lay in his ability to find and offer quality art. He also saw there was a high demand for custom framing for these pieces and incorporated this service into the business as well. Over the years, our inventory has varied from European masters hand-picked by Ben on regular trips overseas to jewelry and museum replica pieces. We currently offer original artwork by local and national artists across all mediums and styles.
When Ben and Ann retired in 1990, I took over managing the gallery. Since I have years of design and framing experience, I personally assist customers, along with my staff, in choosing the perfect framing option to fit both what is being framed and the environment where it will hang. Many of our staff are also artists themselves and bring their trained eye into the framing process.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
At one time the family owned three other gallery locations. One in the Adolphus Hotel and two others in Park Cities and Richardson. The flagship gallery began in a lean 1,500 square-foot space and later occupied 10,000 square feet of the shopping center. The family later downsized to its current 7,000 square-foot space in Lake Highlands. With 9\11 and the economy changes we’ve seen, a lot of people in the art industry phased out or shut down their businesses. It wasn’t easy by any means, but we hung in there. We believe it’s the gallery’s loyal customer base that has helped it weather the tough economic times. We have learned not to be resistant to change. This means keeping pace with the ever-changing art world and offering more contemporary works such as brighter, bolder pieces.
Please tell us about The Dutch Art Gallery.
We have two distinct parts to our business that naturally fit together, the fine art gallery and the custom framing.
On the framing side, we will frame anything. That’s not an exaggeration. We are experts in shadowbox framing and have been presented with some very unique challenges over the years. Recently a client brought in a Bible and bonnet that had belonged to his Grandmother. She would always read Bible verses to him when he was growing up. These were to be shadowbox framed, but in a manner where he could easily access the Bible. Apparently my mind decided to work on the problem while I slept. I woke up in the middle of the night with the perfect design. Another recent, large shadowbox project that we are particularly proud of was for the parents of a University of Texas baseball player. It contained a bat, glove, baseball, jerseys, photos, tickets and more. All of this is framed in an archival manner, so no damage is done to the objects. We specialize in conservation and archival framing; museum quality framing. We’ve framed baby shoes, baptismal gowns and all things graduation and wedding, but also World War II frogman masks, antique guns and swords, elevator panels, and 3-D artwork. Learning the stories behind these objects from the customers and being able to give them a beautiful way to display these personal objects in their homes is one of the highlights of our business. We’ve also taken materials, like barnwood, brought in by a client and designed custom frames using it and have repaired beautiful molding on antique frames by creating a mold from scratch to match. We see framing itself as an art form.
Our art gallery is comprised of local and national talent, primarily original works. The subject matter is extensive and runs from very traditional to abstract. There is truly something for every taste. We also have themed, juried shows in the Spring and Fall. In our most recent show, “The Sound of Color”, artists were asked to base their entries on a song or song lyric and explain the connection. In the previous themed show, “Do You See What I See?” artists had to incorporate a hidden element or meaning into their work. We always look forward to the wide range of artist interpretations to each theme. These themed shows are popular with our clients and the local community. Special gallery artist solo shows along with artist demonstrations are also part of our regular schedule. Our First Thursday Events, where we stay open late from 6-8pm the first Thursday of every month, can vary in theme. It might be a solo show opening or a time to bring in a framing project at a discount. We are looking into art-themed movie nights in the future.
We’ve been working on some big changes. We recently launched a new logo design and new website. We want our clients to get to know the artists on a more personal level and have begun artist spotlight interviews. We also want to share the wonderful stories behind our framing projects and are working to add those online along with lots of framing inspiration. We continue to keep updated on trends and styles on the framing side and we strive to make the experience a fun event for our clients.
Contact Info:
- Address: 10233 E Northwest Hwy, Ste. 420
Dallas, Texas 75238 - Website: http://dutchartgallery.net
- Phone: (214) 348-7350
- Email: Pam@dutchartgallery.net
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dutchartgallery
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DutchArtGallery
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/dutch-art-gallery-dallas
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