Strolling down Elk Avenue in historic Crested Butte, Colorado, one wouldn’t expect to find one of the west’s largest collections of antique art prints and lithographs.

The Lucille Lucas Gallery collection includes over 200,000 antique prints and original signed Salvador Dali lithographs. The depth and variety of its collection suggests its New York City roots, and the eclectic tastes of the artist and printmaker owner, Lucille Lucas.

The gallery has a loyal following. Longtime customer Michael Cyrus says he hasn’t found another gallery that equals the experience of the Lucille Lucas Gallery, “It is truly an artful experience with a breadth of collections that extend from nostalgia to meaningful collector pieces. What makes visiting the gallery so enjoyable is Lucille’s ability to tell a story across the algorithm of the body of art.”

Lucille’s father, Sidney Lucas traveled from Hungary to Paris and eventually to New York City in the 1920s with the ambition of making fine art accessible to everyone. Through his publishing company, the Paris Etching Society, Lucas published over nine million etchings, lithographs, serigraphs, wood block prints, and reproductions. He became Salvador Dali’s first North American publisher in the early 1960s. Lucille’s mother, Phyllis, started one of the largest antique print galleries in New York City.

Not surprisingly, with Lucille’s love of the west, she expanded the gallery collections to include vintage and local photography, classic ski and bicycle posters, western art, and the works of regional and contemporary artists.

With a doctorate related to art, Dr. Paul Hooge has for years enjoyed browsing the gallery’s archives. For him, the gallery is a place the community can come together to discuss art. With specific interests in the history of skiing, photography, and Native American anthropology, Paul Hooge has found a number of pieces for his collections, and even swapped for some. “The gallery makes an intellectual contribution to the community. There is such instructional value in prints such as those dating from the Napoleonic invasion of Egypt. There is something for everyone in the gallery from a $25 print on up,” Paul adds.

Gallery patron, New York and Crested Butte resident, Don Noble recommends Lucille Lucas and her staff as totally conscientious and reliable. “I have even called the gallery for advice when buying art at other galleries. Lucille is a great person to share a cup of coffee with.” Don recommends her to local and new homeowners to help arrange and hang art because of her appreciation for her clients’ preferences and each home’s unique décor. “On a number of occasions I have gone to clients’ homes and taken pieces from their existing collections which they were no longer pleased with, and by redesigning their placement and lighting have renewed the owners’ enjoyment of their collections,” added Lucille.

Adam Freed, a local painter with oil canvases at the gallery says, “There can’t be even a handful of galleries in the country with an inventory of such staggering depth and variety.” Lucille admits that people have been known to spend their entire vacation exploring the gallery’s collections.

The Lucille Lucas Gallery is recognized as an important art destination for locals, visitors, and discriminating collectors. It is well worth exploring. Begin by finding them on the web at www.lucillelucasgallery.com. Better yet, plan a trip to Crested Butte.