Thompson & Martinez Fine Art Appraisals, Inc. is now Thompson Fine Art Services, LLC
The new year has brought some changes to Thompson & Martinez. After fifteen years as co-owner of T&M, Natasha Eckholm has retired from the appraisal field to pursue a new vocation. While I am sad to see Natasha go and will miss working with her, I am excited for her next chapter! And with every ending comes a new beginning. I have re-formed the company as Thompson Fine Art Services, LLC and will continue to offer appraisal and advisory services for fine art. Stay tuned!
Best wishes,
Lydia Thompson, Ph.D., ASA
What’s It Worth: Valuing Ivory in an Era of Regulation
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What’s It Worth: Valuing Ivory in an Era of Regulations
In this helpful article, Richelle Simon, ISA, guides the appraiser and the collector through the legally complex ivory market. Valuation or advising on the possible sale of objects made of ivory and other endangered species requires research of the object’s provenance, documentation of when and where the object was acquired, and authentication. It also requires careful consideration and understanding of the numerous domestic and international regulations on the books since the 1970s. Read on for details:
The Ins and Outs of Donating to a Museum
As advisors in art collection management, we often get inquiries from people who have inherited a work of art or a collection and are interested in donating to a museum. Many assume that most museums will be glad to accept a given art work to their collection. Unfortunately, it is not as easy as one would think. First of all, the art work or collection in question needs to fit into the museum’s mission. Even if it does fit the mission, the museum may already have a number of similar works. For example, we recently inventoried and advised on a large collection of Mexican folk art that had been acquired by an recognized academic in the field. However, many of the museums with a mission congruent with her folk art collection, already had many similar works and were very selective in accepting objects from the collection. The reality is, that there are costs to accepting an artwork or a collection – costs to store, costs to conserve and maintain, and costs to research. Museums are more likely to accept if the artwork or collection fills a gap in a collection, or if the artwork fits into a category that the museum is looking to expand.
In the case of antiquities or cultural property, curators may be concerned about the authenticity of an object, or if that object may have been acquired in violation of international cultural patrimony laws. If the owner does not have a solid provenance (history of ownership) for the artifact, documentation that it was acquired from a respected and known auction house, gallery or collector, it can be viewed as a red flag by curators about its authenticity or the legality of its acquisition. For more on the ins and outs of donation, click on the link below.
Appraising in a Pandemic
Over the past month, our firm has received a number of inquiries for appraisal services and sales advisory. Like so many right now, Thompson & Martinez and the appraisal profession has had to adapt to the “new normal” of working from home. Appraisers typically prefer to do an in-person inspection of a property or collection for any given project. Occasionally if the property or collection is outside of our region, we will work with another appraiser in that region to “be our eyes” as the inspector. Now, because of shelter-in-place policies around the country, appraisers are, by and large, unable to inspect in person. However, governors of the three accreditation societies (ASA, AAA, ISA), have advised appraisers that depending on the appraisal purpose and property, inspections can be carried out “remotely” with clients providing information on their property such as artist, medium, date, dimensions, signatures, and taking high quality and detailed digital photographs. Please click on Consultation Request to begin this process.
Wishing you health in this uncertain time.