The appraisal process should be a pleasant experience for everyone. It starts with the first communication whether by email, phone or in person. The appraiser should be a member of one of the major appraisal associations that is nationally recognized. Appraisers who are Certified Members of these associations are well known within their areas of expertise and act in a professional and non-biased manner. It is always easy to find an appraiser that you can trust and like by working with a member of one of the national associations such as the Appraisers Association of America, Inc.
After an initial communication to establish what type of appraisal is needed (for insurance replacement value, fair market value for estate planning or donation to a museum or other institution) an appointment will be made to inspect the painting in your home or place of business. Appraisals that are done long distance by images or photographs are not truly complete and must state within the appraisal the departure from the rules. Such qualifications may affect an appraisal from being used in the future in certain circumstances particularly when submitting the appraisal to the I.R.S. which now requires a physical inspection for tax deduction and/or estate evalution. A personal inspection also gives the appraiser much more pertinent information in order to establish the artwork's true value.
Please read:
Important points to remember:
A proper appraisal is not a five minute inspection
To properly ascertain the value in the current market requires several hours of research and report writing on any work of art. Many on-line appraisal services offer "appraisals" by email for a small fee. However, this is not the standard for professional appraisals and in general may not be accepted by some insurance companies and will not be accepted by the I.R.S. A quickly rendered opinion is not a full and complete appraisal.
A physical inspection of condition is essential to verify important criteria that goes into writing an appraisal report
Sometimes condition is not what you can see, but what you can't see with the naked eye. A visual inspection under an ultra-violet light by an appraiser who understands and has experience evaluating condition can reveal many hidden issues regarding the artwork. This first hand information is essential to an appraiser when researching comparable works of art.
General knowledge is not expertise
A qualified appraiser should contract for appraisal work only within the areas of their professional experience and competence, which is why I only provide appraisals in the field of American Art from 1800-1950. No appraiser can possibly be an expert in every area of the artworld. Auction houses may give you their idea of value based upon what they think it can sell for at auction. These values are generally given in a range (i.e. $50,000-$75,000) which is an "estimate" of what they hope they can sell it for at public auction.
For additional information on finding the right appraiser I suggest reading the following article on www.ezine.com : http://ezinearticles.com/?Finding-a-Qualified-Art-Appraiser&id=2207031
www.appraisersassoc.org
Home