Contacted them to help sell or find a suitable Auction house for items that they sold to my family, and they couldn't have been less interested in helping. They had no problem taking close to 30k back in the late 80's (30k in the 80's!) but now won't help. I have stacks of correspondence where they hounded these people, and now because they are no longer buyers, zilch! Thanks for nothing! read more

Be prepared to be judged by yours looks. I walked into this gallery with my s/o and were immediately met with a blond woman at a desk who looked us up and down, gave a raised lip, and completely ignored us. Five minutes later, another couple walked in (older, dressed for an occasion), and she was at their throats for their wallets. Walking around them, explaining every single thing she could about whatever piece they glanced at. We received no attention. My s/o and I dress casually. Apparel isn't our primary form of expression, but I am admittedly a sucker for Murakami pieces. She would have known this had she gotten over her own self biases and held a conversation with us. The experience was distasteful because of this, and led me to having no interest in purchasing a piece from this gallery. The pieces were reasonably priced, and the selection was impressive. Solid selection of Murakami as of writing this. If you want to be treated as a customer, wear something that "looks" expensive. If you just want to look at the pieces, dress casually. The service could study the pieces more deeply based off of the conversations I had to overhear. Could likely take a few lessons away from them. read more

I just bought a new home and I needed something on my walls. I didn't want the average painting from home goods or Walmart; I just didn't want to be basic. So I went on Apple Maps and checked out the art galleries in La Jolla and found this nice little gallery that wasn't just photography art. It was legitimate art from high end artists the whole world knows from Picasso, Dali, Murakami. The people working there knows their art and very patient and sweet. I ended up buying a Robert Painting. Super pleased with it and wish I had the funds to buy more. Definitely recommend this place if you're searching for authentic art. read more

Martin Lawrence Galleries - The Buck Stops here. - Art Galleries Near Me - La Jolla, California

Went in to the la jolla gallery to purchase a print and were "confronted " the the most disrespectful sales person I've EVER encountered. Just my story. read more

Decent variety of both international and local artists and their respective mediums. Display & presentation felt cramped but the lighting was ample. Staff was pleasant, knowledgable me took the time to show some of the pieces in the mini rooms w dimmers on the lighting which highlights the variations of shade & color therefore effecting one's perspective on the respective piece. Familiar artists, sculptors etc. like Picasso, Chigal, Dali. read more

Going to this gallery was a great experience, I had been looking into the art market through online auctions for some time - but couldn't find an online resource that seemed reliable enough and was worried about purchasing unauthentic art. Richard, let me and my boyfriend explore the gallery and answered any questions. He also took down paintings we were interested in and let us look at them under a spotlight in a private room for some time to really take it in. They also had some "OTW" (off the wall) markdown prices for selected pieces - including some small woodcut engravings by Dali/Picasso and pop paintings from modern artists marked down more than $1000. I ended up adding 2 pieces to my collection - "Canto 7" and "Canto 25" unsigned 1959 Salvador Dali engravings from his studio and I think they are absolutely beautiful - also at a great deal. read more

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The employees here are more aggressive and desperate for sales than a used car sales man on his last few days to try to make sales goal. I have never seen more pushy individuals. They will follow you out of the gallery trying to get you to purchase any art work they remotely seeing you eyeing. This experience has occurred on multiple visits. It is very difficult to just browse the gallery without being bombarded by desperate sales persons saying "If you do not buy today it will be gone tomorrow!" or "Must act now to take advantage of this price, you do not want to lose out!" Not the place to leisurely look at works of art if you want a high pressure sales tactics. read more

This gallery is filled with both beauty and history. Richard S, the specialist who showed me around was both knowledgeable and kind. He explained not only the art, but the artist as well. I enjoy every visit to this gallery. This is a must visit in LaJolla! read more

This gallery location is on left side Prospect street when traveling south; this is important to note if you've got a car and it's anywhere after 3PM on a Friday-Sunday afternoon. The surrounding area gets packed; God speed to you when searching for parking. I'm not an art dealing professional, amateur, or even an enthusiast by any means, but after having stopped by on a whim, I enjoyed viewing the paintings/prints being offered and just getting exposure to this type of venue. It was probably really obvious that I wasn't in there to buy anything, so the dealers left me alone to view what was on display (looked to be Warhol prints and other contemporary for exhibition last week, such as Bertho and Deyber). Mostly, they attended to any business they had on the phone or in person near their desks. There was another plainly dressed couple wandering around the mini gallery, which was reassuring, so despite the stereotypical stuffiness that might be felt with places such as this, it's a neat little gallery to bob in and out of for a max of 20 minutes without being noticed or making the staff nervous. Long story short to the rest of my fellow 20-something-year-old yelpers: feel free to browse and stop by if you're wandering around La Jolla, but for the rest of us searching on Yelp for a typical museum/gallery to go to, this is definitely not a place to plan an all day visit around. There's maybe 3000 square feet of painting viewing real estate that you can only stretch so much out of. Sorry if I offended any art majors out there; hopefully a more knowledgeable Yelper that appreciates the finer details can Yelp about what's on display and how this place works past viewing. read more

I bought my first painting at Martin Lawrence with the help of Monica Lashbrook. She took the time to educate me on the artist, the significance of the piece, and the value of ownership. Monica was amazing - she speaks three languages and exceeded my expectations when she personally installed my new piece. read more

The reason we drive from Beverly Hills to La Jolla to the Martin Lawrence Galleries is the service we receive when we buy a painting from Monica Lashbrook. Friendly, knowledgeable and so very helpful. She goes the extra mile for you. The last painting we bought she even delivered it to us and hung it above our mantle. We will continue to buy from her when we want more art because she is a person that cares about what you want in a painting. read more

We first visited Martin Lawrence Galleries in La Jolla several years ago and were impressed with the friendliness and helpfulness of the gallery consultants. They took the time to show us the artwork under different sources of lighting (as you might find in your home) and invited us to one of their art auctions. There we met Monica Lashbrook who helped us through the whole process. Monica has been our point of contact with the gallery ever since, and she is so helpful, friendly and willing to go the extra mile. After taking the time to get to know us and the art we are most interested in, she makes recommendations to us and informs us of the latest works available. We are looking forward to buying more artwork from her in the future! read more

You'd think a local branch of a national chain would understand the meaning of customer service. That's not the case with M&L La Jolla. Buy artwork here (even though you can usually find the same prints elsewhere for less), ONLY if you're confident you will NEVER need post-sale attention. If, on the other hand, you enjoy dealing with combative and rude employees, whose bottom line comes before customer satisfaction, then by all means, this is the place for you. Just so you know, I speak from experience. As a former gallery owner myself I know the kinds of games galleries can play. Unfortunately, friends don't always heed cautionary tales, and I've seen several get burned. Word of advice: Be careful when buying limited edition prints. Make sure the "certificates of authenticity" on prints can themselves be authenticated. In fact buying prints can no longer be considered an investment. With so many fakes on the market it's almost impossible to prove a prints' origins. If you like a print then understand you're paying for your enjoyment of it, nothing else. But if you're really interested in art, buy originals whenever possible. You'll have something unique, will know your $$ are going to support a real artist, and you'll have something that actually has the potential to increase in value. read more

I was visiting my mom in La Jolla, and we wandered into the gallery mostly to kill time. A very nice lady named Monica asked how she could help us, and before we knew it we were buying a Dali woodblock and a Miro lithograph. Since then, Monica has graciously invited us to auctions and art openings, including one where we met Kondakova and purchased a piece of hers as well. We will definitely revisit the Martin Lawrence gallery often, since Monica has made us feel so welcome. It's a beautiful collection, too! read more

We have been long time customers at Martin Lawrence Galleries, and appreciate the variety of works and customer service. In particular, Monica Lashbrook stands out, as she rendered outstanding customer service to us during a recent purchase, and went above and beyond by providing us with quality boxes we will use for the artwork during our upcoming cross country move. Thank you!! read more

I would give zero stars but that is not an option. Martin Lawrence Gallery, La Jolla represents some prestigious artists but their employees are too aggressive and don't even give you a chance to enjoy finding something you like before they pounce on you like vultures. I was just in the door and I'm engaged by a seemingly desperate sales person, hungry for a sale. I exchanged politely with the woman in her 60's with glasses who introduced herself as the director. She was very rude and condescending, leading me around the gallery with canned speeches for each of the artists and rushed me through the gallery as if to push me out the door. I live in La Jolla and enjoy going to visit the galleries after dinner on some weekends and actually love to collect art. I do however enjoy browsing in order to see if there is something that I like first. I usually collect from people when the experience is a pleasant one and I am allowed some time to think about what I am looking at not pushed into purchasing something before I have had a chance to experience the piece. Needless to say I won't be collecting art from this place and probably won't even visit there again. read more