Breitbard Williams Fine Art Opens In Dallas’ Design District — Combining Consultancy Services With a Traditional Gallery

Nearly two decades ago, Stephanie Breitbard realized that no one was selling art the way that she wanted to be sold to. The traditional gallery model felt elitist and tasted stale. What she wanted was to see lots of art from lots of artists so that she could figure out what she liked. So, the Harvard Business School graduate innovated, launching Stephanie Breitbard Fine Art in 2007. Successfully operating two galleries in the San Francisco Bay Area, she recently expanded her reach by co-founding a new gallery and art consulting firm, Breitbard Williams Fine Art (BWFA), with Dallas-based James Williams.

Located in the Dallas Design District, BWFA offers a relationship-based approach to selling art, a priority Dallasites seek when investing.

The secret to BWFA’s sauce? The duo masterfully integrates the art consultancy experience with a fine art gallery space. BWFA’s robust menu of services includes an in-home consultation where the team gets to know their client first.

Breitbard Williams Fine Art’s expertise “lies in curating the home environment, helping clients find meaningful works by collectible artists and placing them throughout the home to create a compelling narrative with the other artwork, décor, and architecture.”

A Firsthand Experience With Breitbard Williams Fine Art

After inquiring about their services, I recently invited Breitbard and Williams to my home to try the experience firsthand.

I am, undoubtedly, the opposite of Breitbard’s typical Palo Alto client. Her client roster includes high-net-worth Silicon Valley tech executives who purchase sprawling homes with giant walls they hire her to fill. On the other hand, I live in a colorful 1961 mid-century modern home that’s brimming with collected trinkets.

The duo toured my home and read me like a book. Having just met me, they quickly zeroed in on what makes me me. They measured and took photographs of walls begging to be adorned. As soon as we sat down to chat, Breitbard pulled out her iPhone.

“I know who you’re going to be obsessed with,” she said. Breitbard showed me the Instagram account of an artist who uses found pieces of needlepoint that she wraps around objects like rotary telephones. She was right; I was obsessed. “I need one,” I said.

The gallery doesn’t represent that particular artist; so what? In my opinion, the art advisory service distinguishes Breitbard Williams Fine Art. If they don’t have *it,* they can help you get it… even if it needs to be commissioned. “We become personal shoppers for our clients,” Brietbard says.

I ventured next to visit the BWFA gallery in person. Their light-filled, 5,200-square-foot gallery in the Design District presents a rotating selection of artwork from more than 50 mid-career to blue-chip contemporary artists. (Editor’s note: I learned the term “blue chip” that day. I can’t wait to casually interject it at a dinner party soon!)

Works on display range from intricate graphite illustrations of Oreo cookies from Soojin Kim, a large-scale dyed wool installation of “Misty Mountains” from Lauren Williams, and a magnanimous painted ash wood sculpture by Jeremey Holmes that reminded me of a curled ribbon. As we toured the space, Breitbard and Williams pointed out pieces they thought I’d like. Agreeing that my own collection lacked photography, I felt particularly drawn to the Landon Nordeman faceless fashion photography that featured scenes from the Met Gala.

The BWFA team mocked up images of favorite pieces on the walls of my home. (It came as no surprise that the Nordeman photograph looked killer above the bed in my primary bedroom.) Their services even include in-home delivery and complimentary installation for clients to see how they like a particular piece in their space before committing to purchase. “Bringing the art over is part of the experience,” Williams says.

Dipping one’s toes into the fine art world often feels intimidating, but BWFA’s structure and priorities remove those barriers. They quite literally bring art to you! I never felt insecure about not having the proper vocabulary to talk about art. Breitbard and Williams just wanted to know how the pieces made me feel. No right or wrong answer.

It’s no wonder the duo doesn’t have one-time clients. As Breitbard says, “We turn new collectors into art addicts.”

Consider me hooked!

Schedule an appointment to tour the Breitbard Williams Fine Art gallery by emailing info@bwfagallery.com.