Playing It Safe With Appraisals
Appraising an artwork is one important step especially
if you are building a collection. Thus, you should
take every precaution there is to appraise your art
correctly. If you are new to this kind of trade, it
can be really hard on your part. The good thing is,
there are resources and appraisal organizations that
can help you comprehend the appraisal needs that you have.
Importance Of Appraisal
Not only is having an appraisal important but also
updating it is crucial so that your insurance
coverage on specific artworks or collections can be
updated. You are usually obliged to have a current art
appraisal, if your art has insurance claims,
charitable donations, estate tax, is for equitable
distribution or for sale.
There are various kinds of art appraisals, such as
replacement value and current value. However, you
should make sure that you know each and their
differences in order to get appraisals that would fit
your needs. Here are some of the most established
appraisal associations that can help you out with your
artwork appraisal needs.
American Society Of Appraisers (ASA)
This is an organization for appraisal professionals
and other people who may be interested in the
profession of appraising. They have an international
status, and are very independent and self-supportive.
They’re also the oldest among appraisal orgs and the
only major organization that represents all different
disciplines of the appraising industry. They started
back in 1936 and became incorporated in 1952. You can
find ASA’s headquarters in Washington, D.C.
Appraisal Foundation (AF)
This foundation is a not-for-profit educational group
that is dedicated for the development of professional
valuation. It was established back in 1987. Since the
foundation started, they have worked hard to promote
professionalism in field.
Appraisers Association Of America (AAA)
For the field of personal property appraisal, this is
considered to be the oldest non-profit professional
organization. They’re a recognized authority for
determining appraisal standards, setting legal issues
and regulating the profession. Their certified members
can provide you appraisals for your decorative and
fine arts, jewellery, and other household contents.
Art Dealers Association Of America Art Appraisals
(ADAA)
This association has been existing for more than
fort-five years already. Their service has been
appraising different artworks for tax purposes. A lot
of collectors and museums have asked their help in
determining the value of many important artworks,
ranging from contemporary art installations to old
master paintings. Their appraisals have exceptional
acceptance records with the IRS. They’re also
well-known because of their professional quality.
Chicago Appraisers Association (CAA)
Don’t be fooled by their association’s name. They’re
not just one appraiser with a limited knowledge in a
single area, specifically Chicago; instead, they’re
one whole team of certified experts that are ready to
help you with your appraising needs. If you checkout
their website, you can find some helpful articles on
appraising and some of the frequently asked questions
in the field, answered.
The International Society of Appraisers (ISA)
This member-driven and non-profit association was
formed to help its member’s needs and provide public
service by making ethical, highly qualified,
recognized appraisers for the field of personal
property appraisals. They have a lot of prestigious
members who are independent and respected appraisers,
estate liquidators, auctioneers, consultants, dealers
and gallery owners.
So, if you want to make sure that you’re getting the
right appraisal for your artwork at hand, then try
asking for help from such credited institutions!
Misconceptions With Your Art’s Value
Knowing the value of art can require some skill and
experience. If you’re starting on a collection and do
not know how to value art, then lucky you, since you
can always get the help of an art appraiser. However,
if you decide on pursuing the value for yourself, then
be sure that you avoid making some of the common
mistakes regarding the matter.
Most people seeking the value of a piece tend to
simply look at the price list and from there on,
conclude the value of the work in consideration.
However, there is much to value than simple market
prices. Pricelists can be very misleading, since
artworks’ values are not only determined by its price;
here are some of the reasons why, and some other
overlooked factors when valuating an art.
It’s A Bargain!
Sometimes, if an auction is poorly publicized, they
hold sales or bargains in order to sell. Thus, you can
find great art that are priced way low from their real
value in this kind of auctions. There are also
instances in which only single bidders are able to
recognize the significance of the art at hand. During
this kind of situations, the piece can also be sold at
a low price if there are no other bidders who want to
pursue the piece. No Auction Records
There are instances too in which the significant works
of a certain artist have never been sold in any kind
of auction. It’s quite normal for the finest and
popular pieces by an artist to sell for huge amounts
of money, approximately tens of thousands or even
more, at galleries. However, that same artist can have
high auction records only in level of low or
mid-thousands of bucks. Thus, if your artist has not
had any significant work of his through any auction,
then you can also value the work extremely low.
Great Continuums
It can also be hard for you to value the piece if the
price range of the artist is too great. For example,
an artist can have hundreds or even thousands of
auction records, ranging for instance in between
$1000-$200,000. If you are not a competent
professional appraiser, for sure you’ll probable have
little or even no idea where the piece would fit in
with a continuum that is vast as that.
Significance Is The Key For an artwork to be
accurately valued, its significance should be
determined. Thus, you should get to know how the piece
would level in respect to how excellent, well, or bad
it is done, compared to the other works of the same
artist. Techniques used in the piece and its overall
aesthetics play a role here. So, if your piece at hand
is really good, yet you’re not able to know or see how
good it is, then for sure you’re going to value it way
low from its justified value.
Unearthing History Matters
Additionally, historical significance would also
matter in valuing your art. The more it is
historically significant, the higher its value is.
Factors like the piece being able to transcend its
artist due to what it represents, when it was created,
where it was done, and other similar mitigating
aspects, play a role with its history significance.
Thus, if you haven’t uncovered the historical
significance of your art, then it would probably have
a low value for you.
