Insurance appraisal

Okay, I swear I will get better at posting things. I'm just getting use to blogging. Anyway, last week, I was interviewed by photographer Mark Quinn from Artist Review Today about the necessity of appraisals and art authentication.
I thought I would expand on that conversation here in my blog. So here goes:

If you collect art, or you inherit artwork, your standard home owners policy may not cover it. You may want to have your artwork appraised so you know exactly how much it's worth in the event of a loss. In fact, some policies will not cover artwork unless it is specifically mentioned in the insurance contract. One can do this either by identifying the artwork as a class within the clause that specifies the items covered or by itemizing the pieces in the insured collection. This may mean a higher premium but it may avoid serious monetary loss or litigation down the road.

Now if you want to sell the items, that is a Fair Market Value Appraisal, it is a document that describes what the item would sell for in the open market. Please keep in mind people that just because it could sell for a listed price, doesn't mean it always will. Ultimately it is worth what someone is willing to pay for it. In the case of extremely high end pieces, i.e. artists with incredible sales record and you have an original, the likelihood of it selling at the going rate are very good. If there is a flood in the market of your particular piece, you may not get it's full value- at least not right now. Later down the line that may change.

What everyone has to remember is that the art market, just like the stock market fluctuates, albeit not every second of every day, but every few years some art depreciates while others appreciate significantly. If you want to know for sure what your items are worth, get them appraised. Even if it's not by me :) get someone to look at them at some point in time. There really has never been a better time to sell. No I'm not talking about millions of dollars as the norm, though some art is bringing that in and then some. I'm talking about how there is a very good chance that what you paid 5 dollars for could be worth $1,000.00.


And finally, art appraisals and art authentication are not the same. Yes as an art historian I use common sense in my abilities to recognize if something has potential, but to authenticate work takes more than a good guess and it involves more than establishing a value which sometimes cannot be done accurately if the item isn't authenticated. It take in depth research and scientific approaches at times are necessary and most important, it takes time. In the end, it is worth it because there is no value in not knowing. At least that is my take on it.

That's it for today, I welcome questions or comments if you have any. Otherwise, enjoy the day, what started out as cold, cloudy and rainy here in Cleveland, even though it is June has ended up to be a sunny, yet cool day. I'll take the sun any day.