Looking for the best Art Appraiser?

An art appraiser can be required for several reasons: insurance appraisal, tax deduction, credit card claims, donations or inheritances. In this article we evaluate why selecting a good art appraiser is crucial for each case. We also provide a list of art appraisers to reach out to and the possibility of obtaining the appraisal online.

Art Appraiser for Insurance Appraisal

This is one of the most common reasons a person may need an appraiser. Basically, insurance companies need a certificate issued by a suitable person (the appraiser) describing and appraising the object they are insuring. The certificate is required primarily to eliminate fraud. For instance, one of the most common ways to defraud an insurance company is by mislabeling an artwork. An example can be found by appraising a regular, signed plate print like a limited edition, hand-signed plate print.

To avoid fraud and reduce losses, insurance companies require a certificate explaining the nature of the object, its value, provenance, and any facts that can justify its valuation. These facts are commonly selected as suitable past auction results of similar objects, what is commonly called a “Mark to Market” valuation.

The Insurance Appraisal requires that the certificate be signed and issued by a certified entity as well.

Appraiser of Art for Tax Deduction

In many countries, donating artwork can be tax deductible. The exact legislation, amount of deduction and forms to be filled in depend upon the country you live in. For instance, in the US, you need to fill out Form 8283.

Independently of the country legislation, you will be required an appraisal certificate of the donation. The certificate identifies and described the artwork (or antique) that you will donate. Specifically, we can focus in the US, where the IRS website estates:

“The appraisal must be signed and dated by a qualified appraiser not earlier than 60 days before the date you contribute the property. The appraisal must be prepared by a qualified appraiser (defined later) in accordance with the substance and principles of the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice, as developed by the Appraisal Standards Board of the Appraisal Foundation.”

The most important part is the appraisal has to be done by a qualified appraiser. But, What is a Qualified Appraiser? We answer it here.

There is also another condition: the appraisal fee cannot be a percentage of the final appraisal value. In essence, the IRS requires a fixed appraisal fee. Fortunately, we have found the cheapest, highest quality appraisal service on the internet.

Art Appraiser for Credit Card Claims

An art collector may receive an artwork differently than the description provided by the seller. In this case, an appraisal report to describe the artwork received can be very useful. For instance, we have received several requests from customers that purchased regular lithographies (copies or reproductions) as if they were limited-edition hand-signed prints. They thought they were purchasing a valuable autographed print in a limited edition, while they received a reproduction with a certificate similar to this one:

In this case, we can provide a certificate explaining the artwork received cannot be considered a “normal” limited edition print (a print that is hand signed by the original author of the painting). We have a full article explaning the process here. An Art Appraiser can take a look at each case and provide a certificate explaining this isn’t a regular “Limited Edition” hand signed by the original artist.

Art Appraiser for inheritance

An art appraisal can be required for inheritance purposes. When an inheritance is divided, a third party may requst an independent valuation to know the value of the artworks to inherit. An independent appraisal ensures that all the process is taken with the maximum transparency. In this case we can provide appraisal certificates of all kind of artworks, so each party involved is sure the inheritance is divided accordingly to the terms.

For inheritance, a written appraisal estimate is mandatory. All of our appraisals are signed and have been used in all kind of legal claims (even accepted in courts).

These are some of the applications where an Art Appraiser can be helpful. If you have any other application let us know!