Post by Admin on Oct 18, 2014 15:19:21 GMT
I receive a great number of telephone calls from people who buy art work at a swap meet or garage sale. Sometimes people inherit fine art. They question whether or not the art is valuable and whether or not they should invest in a fine art appraisal. Fine art appraisals are expensive and it would be foolish to spend several hundred dollars to find out that your piece is worth twenty dollars. It does not make the appraiser look very good either. But there are hundreds of thousands of artists and no appraiser can know them all or even recognize their work so the trick is to get enough information so some research can be done. Then you can make the decision as to whether or not you want or need an appraisal.
Here are some pointers to help you figure out if your piece is worth having appraised. First and foremost, the value of a piece of fine art is based on the reputation of the artist. It is not based on the subject matter. The example I always give prospective clients is that if you have two identical paintings, the one signed by Picasso will sell for a lot more money than the one signed by me. (If it were the other way around I would be painting, not writing)
This brings us to the subject of signatures. The bottom line is if you cannot read the signature, I probably won’t be able to read the signature, either. Sometimes you can search artist databases if the first three letters of the artist’s name is legible. Some databases like findartinfo.com will return results where those letters appear anywhere in the name. This could return hundreds of results and take many hours to research. You can begin to see why identifying an artist can be a time consuming activity.
Sometimes the work may have a certificate on the back. Some artists even sign the back of the canvas, so be sure to look on the back of the piece. Some framing galleries will put a piece of butcher paper over the back of the frame which can cover this information up. They actually should leave a cut-out area where the information is located, but they don’t all know to do this. It is okay to remove the paper on the back to take a look. If you are uncomfortable, just pull a corner down and get a flashlight.
Next, is the artwork under glass? If it is, it is probably either a water color or a print. To tell if it is a print, you will need a little magnification. While there are many types of print processes, most have dot patterns like the ones in the image shown.
Some prints can be valuable. Generally the signature needs to be original so look at the signature and see if you can tell if the same dot patterns are visible. If the signature has dot patterns, it will be less valuable than if the artist actually touched your print and signed it. The artist will usually sign a print in pencil in the white area outside of the print area.
Most valuable prints will also have an edition number, something like 35/100. It should also be pencil signed.
Once you have identified the potential for an original work or limited edition work with a legible artist’s signature you can try a few art databases to start to find values. Findartinfo.com is free. If you want to see images, it currently costs $6.00 per day.
None of these things are a substitute for a fine art appraisal by a certified appraiser, but it will help you decided if you should spend the money on a fine art appraisal.
Here are some pointers to help you figure out if your piece is worth having appraised. First and foremost, the value of a piece of fine art is based on the reputation of the artist. It is not based on the subject matter. The example I always give prospective clients is that if you have two identical paintings, the one signed by Picasso will sell for a lot more money than the one signed by me. (If it were the other way around I would be painting, not writing)
This brings us to the subject of signatures. The bottom line is if you cannot read the signature, I probably won’t be able to read the signature, either. Sometimes you can search artist databases if the first three letters of the artist’s name is legible. Some databases like findartinfo.com will return results where those letters appear anywhere in the name. This could return hundreds of results and take many hours to research. You can begin to see why identifying an artist can be a time consuming activity.
Sometimes the work may have a certificate on the back. Some artists even sign the back of the canvas, so be sure to look on the back of the piece. Some framing galleries will put a piece of butcher paper over the back of the frame which can cover this information up. They actually should leave a cut-out area where the information is located, but they don’t all know to do this. It is okay to remove the paper on the back to take a look. If you are uncomfortable, just pull a corner down and get a flashlight.
Next, is the artwork under glass? If it is, it is probably either a water color or a print. To tell if it is a print, you will need a little magnification. While there are many types of print processes, most have dot patterns like the ones in the image shown.
Some prints can be valuable. Generally the signature needs to be original so look at the signature and see if you can tell if the same dot patterns are visible. If the signature has dot patterns, it will be less valuable than if the artist actually touched your print and signed it. The artist will usually sign a print in pencil in the white area outside of the print area.
Most valuable prints will also have an edition number, something like 35/100. It should also be pencil signed.
Once you have identified the potential for an original work or limited edition work with a legible artist’s signature you can try a few art databases to start to find values. Findartinfo.com is free. If you want to see images, it currently costs $6.00 per day.
None of these things are a substitute for a fine art appraisal by a certified appraiser, but it will help you decided if you should spend the money on a fine art appraisal.
