Appraising Art and the Artist
Copyright © 2007 Bob Orsillo and The Not So Proper Gallery Proper.

You may be asking yourself why this article is on an artist web site. Well believe it or not for some strange reason many people think they should go to an artist to get art appraisal. With a little luck the following will make things clear for those who do.

Unless the artist just happens to be licensed appraiser or in some cases a respected art historian, you do not go to the artist to get an art appraisal.  And! If they are a licensed appraiser you DO NOT have them appraiser their own work.  If you do this creates a conflict of interest.

There are many reasons to have a work of art appraised.  The most common is insurance, the second most common is you are getting ready to sell it.  And the third most common you just watched Antique Road Show. (FYI – if the artist is still alive, chances are real good the work of art is not an antique)

What information can I get from the artist?

When you purchase works of art; get a receipt that states how much you paid.

If you have owned the art work for a number of years, you can ask how much the artist would sell the same work today.

You can also ask about the provenance.  But that is it. Of course you have more conversation, but that is exactly what it is – more conversation.

 Do not expect the artist to keep track of work that has been sold.  From the moment of the sale, the buyer should document the art’s provenance from that point on.

The licensed art appraiser.

An art appraiser is someone who knows the current market and can offer advice on both sales and insurance needs. A very good appraiser knows the market in other parts of the world and can find you the best price if you are selling. 

They can also save you money by checking the current condition of the art work, the archival storage or display material you are using, and offer sound advice on both storage and display of your art, that will give you the maximum return in viewing pleasure and possible future sales.

Over the years the new owners will opt to reframe the art work. Either the glass will break in transit, or the owner will change the framed to better suit the room décor.

More than just giving you an estimated value of what you would expect to sell the work of art for, or what an art auction would bring; the professional art appraiser checks for many other things. The most important is conservation (archival) storage and framing. They can advise you to latest conservation techniques

Don't forget to check references

A few more things you should know:

When the artist finishes a work, he or she sets a price.  This price is the amount the artist will take to part with the finished work. How the artist determines this price is not important in this article. What is important is - this is not the appraiser value.

The appraised value can vary greatly either higher or lower than the sale price.

If you are buying art for personal enjoyment and personal collecting; buy art that speaks to you and do not worry about what the artist had in mind when they created the work. They created it for you.

If you buy art for personal enjoyment and long term investment, buy direct from the artist. Establish a relationship with the artist, and have the artist inform you whenever new art work is available.  These relationships often prove to be the best and as a bonus will create an interesting provenance that may increase the value over the years. The simple fact that you have a personal connection to the artist often increases the value.

If you can not buy direct from the artist; work with a good reputable gallery

Make sure the art is archival / conservation framed or stored. This way it can be passed down for generations.

If you buy art just to make money, (nothing wrong with that) buy from a reputable gallery or hire a professional art consultant and tell them right off, you are doing this to make money and how soon you want to see a return