Articles
October 07, 2011 - By: Cynthia Shaver | www.cynthiashaver.com | 415.435.4764
Communication between collector and appraiser can equal saved dollars from the IRS when preparing a charitable contribution report. Most of my written appraisals are for charitable contribution, so this I know from experience. As an appraiser I need to establish value and quality characteristics of the property I am appraising. It is important to remember an appraiser’s responsibility is value, not as an art scholar or historian. Naturally art history and scholarship is discussed in the report, but the purpose of the appraisal is to establish a value. Often, I...
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June 01, 2010 - by Alissa J. Anderson, Anderson Shea Art Appraisals
When advising a client, who wants to build an art collection as his/her main investment, it would be important to stress the risk involved in art investment. Since the nineteenth century, art dealers have been advising clients to buy art they enjoy. This is the single, most important element of collecting because if a piece loses its market value, the collector still has a personal attachment to it. Buying what you love is the safest way to invest in art. Building a...
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June 01, 2010 - Susan Blakney, a founding member of Art Care was recently featured in a New York Times art section article about conservation relief in Haiti. Susan was asked to accompany a team put together by the Smithsonian to assess art related damage in Haiti and make recomendations as to how others of us might be able to lend a helping hand. If anything develops we will let our members know. Good work Susan!
New York Times, Tuesday, May 11,2010. Lead article "The Arts" page C1...
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May 04, 2010 - Washington, D.C. - Art-Care, the only comprehensive on-line source of art-service professionals, has announced that Edward H. Able, the former President and CEO of the American Association of Museums (AAM), has joined Art-Care as Senior Director and Advisor.
Judith Watkins Tartt, founder of Art-Care, in a statement for the press noted that Ed Able’s enormous knowledge, universal respect, and superb experience will bring a new level of effectiveness as Art-care seeks to better serve individuals who hold art and other material culture under private ownership. She noted...
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April 30, 2010 - Is Your Collection Properly Documented?
by Carol Hagen
Just one look at the devastation wrought by hurricanes Rita and Katrina should be enough to convince collectors of any level of the importance of documenting their collections. Collections management is an ongoing process, the core of which is the creation and maintenance of a thorough...
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April 30, 2010 - by R. Wayne Reynolds
When visiting a museum we look with delight at paintings produced by generations of artists. But sometimes we miss rare and beautiful works of art that hide in plain sight — the antique gilded frames that surround...
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April 30, 2010 - Paintings are safest on the wall. But when you must ship them...
There is no avoiding the fact that paintings are safest when they are left on the wall in a climate-controlled space. However, there are good reasons for moving a painting: it may be bought...
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April 30, 2010 - by Kimberly Jones
If you are a serious collector of high value, rare or precious objects, it is likely that you will need to store some or all of your collection at some point. If and when this time arrives, it is important to know how...
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April 30, 2010 - Is there value in those boxes under the bed?
by Newbold Richardson
The Costume and Textile Specialists
Textiles are unique in the greater world of the decorative arts. Long under valued and intensely personal, generations of orphaned historic costume, needlework, laces, linens, and quilts have been carefully...
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April 30, 2010 - by Randolph E. Osman
Almost everybody owns works of art. If you own a work of art, you probably need an appraisal. If for no other reason (sale, charitable contribution, inheritance tax, estate distribution), you need to give your insurance company a certified document by an accredited appraiser, specifying that you own such-and-such work of art, on a certain date, examined, described in detail, confirmed on a certain date, and valued at a specific amount. Such a document will assure that you will receive reimbursement at the appropriate value in case of a future loss.
BASIC FACTS
An appraisal is a legal document;...
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April 30, 2010 - Knowledgeable art experts are not always qualified appraisers. Finding a reputable and experienced art appraiser is essential for every collector, museum, artist, and investor. Appraisals are also used by lawyers, insurance agents and accountants who advise collectors. When an appraisal is prepared correctly, it can avoid substantial financial loss. Certified fine art and decorative art appraisers are trained and tested in the theory, history and the law of art valuation.
Miriam Smith, a Member of the Appraisers Association of America, has prepared some of the following questions to consider:
Who appraises Works of Art?
There are...
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April 30, 2010 - by Alissa J. Anderson, Anderson Shea Art Appraisals
When advising a client, who wants to build an art collection as his/her main investment, it would be important to stress the risk involved in art investment. Since the nineteenth century, art dealers have been advising clients to buy art they enjoy. This is the single, most important element of collecting because if a piece loses its market value, the collector still has a personal attachment to it. Buying what you love is the safest way to invest in art. Building a collection...
read more
April 30, 2010 - Some people call conservators the "magicians" of the art world
Oftentimes, the colors of older paintings have a brown and yellow tint caused by an organic varnish that has yellowed with the passage of time. Such tints can become so opaque that no true color or...
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April 30, 2010 - by Judith Person Reprinted with permission from The Washington Times
Julia Brennan working in her studio at Textile Conservation Services in Arlington, Virginia
When an antique...
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April 30, 2010 - by Kenneth Katz
A painting that received smoke damage from a fire, during grime and varnish removal.
Last week, my wife and I invited some friends over at the last minute for dessert. We really didn't have any and I volunteered to get...
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April 30, 2010 - by Caroline Keck, AIC IIC Fellow
October 2005
Good Communicators we are not. The majority of us dislike to accept lecture invitations and are inept speakers. As new boys on the block, we suffer from a hangoverinferiority complex, intensified by past academic disdain for our ilk as “unworthy of a PhD Degree”, an unacceptable professional occupation.
Our image is downgraded...
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April 30, 2010 - What is it with people who have to touch and pick at everything?
"Maybe I'm just a little over sensitive," says Scott Haskins art conservator and author of How To Save Your Stuff From A Disaster, "because I'm in the process of dealing with people who should know better." There's good reason for Haskins to feel angst with people who aren't sensitive to what damage they can cause and admits that some people are like a bull in a china closet.
"So, I'm called to visit this collection by the people in charge of the art...
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April 30, 2010 - By Amanda Kraus
Reprinted with permission from Museum News
Your neighbor stops by to ask you about a silver tea service he’s inherited from his grandmother. How much is it worth? How should he clean it? After all, you work in a museum; you can tell him whom to contact, right? Like many people, Mr. Jones doesn’t understand that most museums don’t refer the public to specific commercial service providers, or that you don’t have a ready list of experts for him to call.
But finding someone with the right expertise to appraise, conserve, move, light, and store fine art will be much...
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