NEW YORK, NY- The eagerly-awaited new Manhattan gallery and offices of Heritage Auction Galleries opened at 445 Park Avenue (at 57th Street) on Wednesday, September 1, 2010.

The expansion of Heritage, the world’s third largest auction house, into the New York City market comes at a time when many major auction firms are contracting. The Dallas-based firm also opened a Beverly Hills, California gallery and salesroom earlier this year.

“The New York City area is home to many of the top collectors and collections, and the center of the art and antique market,” said Greg Rohan, President of Heritage. “It’s a perfect fit with our increasingly expanding services, and the best possible place for us to serve the art and high-end collectible needs of our clients. I can think of nowhere else we'd rather be opening a new gallery right now than right in the heart of Manhattan's auction district.”

"Heritage is distinguished by its superb sales catalogs, unequalled online resources for buyers and sellers and transparency in how we do business. We have a non-stop auction rotation that features the very best across 30 categories including rare coins, collectibles, fine art, jewelry, comics, movie posters, rare wine and much more," explained Rohan.

The first auction to take place under the auspices of Heritage Auctions New York City will be the company’s Oct. 16 Signature® Illustration Art Auction at the Fletcher-Sinclair Mansion (The Ukrainian Institute), 2 East 79th Street. It will feature some of the very best illustration pieces Heritage has ever offered, including works by Maxfield Parrish, Norman Rockwell, Gil Elvgren, J.C. Leyendecker and one of the most iconic pieces of illustration art pieces to come on the market anywhere in years, G arth Williams’ original graphite and ink on paper drawing for the cover of E.B. White’s Charlotte’s Web, 1952.

One of the most talked about features of Heritage’s new Manhattan venue will be the Heritage Window on Park Avenue, which will feature a continually rotating selection from upcoming Heritage auctions, across all of the firm’s categories.

Highlights from the inaugural Heritage Window on Park Avenue will include, but are not limited to: Thomas Moran’s oil on canvas Venice, Grand Canal, 1903; Howard Terpning’s A Winter Trail, 1975; Birger Sandzen’s Rock Mountain Landscape, circa 1920; a very rare copy of a 193 9 Detective Comics #27, CGC 7.0, the first appearance of “The Batman,” and Garth Williams’ aforementioned Charlotte’s Web original cover art.

“We expect the Window to become a regular attraction for both collectors and everyday New Yorkers alike,” said Rohan.

The offices on Park Avenue at 57th will be open Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.