Long-time auctioneer Arthur Clausen was still dealing in antiques two days before his death April 30 at the age of 77.
The St. Albert resident's life-long passion and love for antiques and learning about history never left him, despite a seven-year-battle with pulmonary fibrosis, which left him bed-ridden.
"Art was buying right to the end and phoned me at an auction on the Saturday before his death, making bids. I think once you start dealing in antiques, it's in your blood," said long-time friend and business associate Brad Ward of Ward's Antiques and Auctions.
For some 40 years Cathie and Art Clausen lived in St. Albert and worked together in their Edmonton-based business, Arthur Clausen Auctioneering and Antiques. Eventually their sons Michael and Steven, who are both auctioneers joined them and the company name changed to Arthur Clausen and Sons Auctioneering and Antiques. Cathie also took auctioneering courses and took the podium at sales, but it was Art's expertise that always led the way.
"He had so much product knowledge that he could always shine a little light on an object and make it interesting," Ward said.
Art and Cathie met and married in 1959 in Radium, B.C. Their diary notes of those days are poignant, because on the day they met, both wrote the same thing, "Love at first sight!"
At the time Art was working as a surveyor for Parks Canada and Cathie was teaching school. Later the couple moved to Calgary where Art studied industrial arts at SAIT and later still he went to university to get an education degree.
The Clausens’ three children, Kirstin, Michael and Steven, were born during those years in Calgary and, with their family growing, Art supplemented his income by buying and selling rare books and sterling silver.
"He would haunt book stores and antique stores and estate sales in Calgary and then on the weekend he would boogie up to Edmonton to sell the rare books. That, and selling sterling silver, put him through university," Cathie said.
Art made friends easily and he met an older gentlemen in Calgary who had purchased a train boxcar full of books during the Depression. Art sat with the older gentleman and spent hours poring over his collection until he learned which books had value and which ones were best left on the shelf.
Cathie knew that their antique-dealing days were set the day Art came home with a set of very rare books, instead of the suit he had set out to buy that day when he left the house.
"He had $100 and he was supposed to buy a suit for his graduation. Instead he came home with a set of books called Picturesque Canada. They were beautiful big-volume, soft-covered, leather-bound books. We eventually sold them for a 1,000-per-cent profit," she recalled.
By the time the Clausens moved to St. Albert in 1971, antique dealing had taken over as the family's main source of income. The couple opened a small antique store for a time and later were involved in a number of different partnerships before settling in 1975 into their own shop on 118th Avenue.
Cathie learned never to get too attached to the beautiful furniture that graced her home.
"It became a joke as we would sell the dining room table and a few weeks later, another table would come to replace it," she said.
Art was consulted as an antique expert by both the Alberta and Saskatchewan provincial governments. He served as an antique expert on the What's It Worth Antiques and Collectibles Road Show and for more than 40 years he helped countless families learn the value of their heirlooms. He also donated his time as an auctioneer at several events, especially those that were historically based.
"He never passed up the opportunity to auction at a historical event or to give lectures," Cathie said.
Though Art's lifelong study of antiques was all absorbing, he still made time every Thursday to meet with a group of friends to play poker.
"Art had a passion for what he did and he had fun no matter what," said friend Gary Chanin, who played poker with Art, but also, as a collector himself, often attended Clausen's auctions.
"When people went to his auctions they learned a lot more than they thought they were going to learn. He was a teacher by profession and he never stopped teaching," Chanin said.
Ward agreed, adding that he often teased Art about this need to share the stories about the items that were being auctioned.
"He liked history and he had to tell the story about things. That's where the excitement came. We teased him that he was so slow when he was selling, but in reality, we all enjoyed those stories," Ward said.
A final fairwell for Arthur Clausen is planned for May 28 from 3 to 6 p.m. at the Italian Cultural Centre. Thoughts and tributes may be sent to [email protected].
