In January 2020, I got a call from clients who had recently lost their mother. One of the siblings lives in Canada and the other sibling lives in Colorado and they weren’t sure about the value of some of the artwork and how/if they sibling in Canada could take a piece over the border. I was able to identify the high value pieces for the estate and help my clients decide the best way to divide the valuables. On the way to a consignment store, one of the lamps in the estate broke and lost all its value. 
 
In this case it was not a high value object, but if it had been high value an insurance appraisal would have helped retain that value.
 
If you are undergoing the process of estate planning, your advisor will encourage you to have your art collection appraised in addition to your other assets. For the purposes of estate planning, there are really two subsequent appraisals that need to happen: The first is the insurance appraisal, which reveals the replacement value of any object. However, your estate will eventually need to be distributed, and so a second estate-distribution appraisal will be necessary to know the market value of your collections. But before we go too far down the path of estate planning, let’s take a closer look at that crucial first step and the many benefits of an insurance appraisal.
 
THE STORIES YOUR OBJECTS TELL
In addition to its contribution to your estate planning, the insurance appraisal itself has a tremendous amount of value. One of the great benefits is preserving the stories of objects. Having those histories recorded and documented officially with the piece will serve generations to come. Unfortunately, not all families can agree on ownership, let alone the historical significance, of their inherited collections. Going through the documentation process will also help further down the line if you need to find any specific information about any single piece of art. 
 
KNOWING BEFORE ITS TOO LATE
One of the most practical benefits of an insurance appraisal in and of itself is knowing the value of an object or the need for documentation before any damage happens. Of course, we don’t plan on damage happening, but an appraisal will help maintain the value of objects while you still have them and maintain that value for future owners.
 
PEACE OF MIND
Being prepared for the unexpected is primarily for your loved ones. You would like to ensure that the transfer of your estate goes smoothly, and stays outside of the court system. But it also helps your own peace of mind to know that you have your ducks in a row should anything happen. You may not want your legacy and your estate to be a burden on its recipients, but rather the gift you intend it to be.
 
FINDING THE RIGHT PEOPLE 
If you’ve found an estate planner that you trust to help you make a distribution plan for your estate, they should also be able to recommend an art appraiser. But if you’ve already made it this far, then I suggest you give us a call first, at 970.658.0468 or email us  [email protected]

Taste is the ultimate example of subjectiveness. Each person’s taste is uniquely their own, and yet, most people have trouble articulating their tastes when it comes to art and decor. You may work with an interior designer to help synthesize your taste into the choices you make with home furnishings. Similarly, an art consultant can help organize and focus your taste around particular artists and pieces.
 
Your art collection should bring you lifelong enjoyment, and not just serve as a temporary space filler. With a consultant’s help, you can collect artwork that you’ll appreciate for decades while bringing your own sense of ‘feng-shui’ to your home, while also making a solid investment. 
 
But art consultants don’t just work with personal collectors. Let’s take a look at some of the many ways to work with an art consultant.
 
STAGING TO SELL
Anyone who has sold a home lately knows the importance of staging the home to help would-be buyers imagine themselves living there. A carefully decorated house will not only be more inviting, but it can also provide opportunities for upsales. In the same way that people buy or rent furnished houses, a piece of art that matches the style and tastes of a buyer could be added to the home’s overall value.
 
GROWING YOUR COLLECTION 
A more common engagement with an art consultant may come as you plan to start a collection. You know may know the type of art you’re looking for, but you may also have trouble finding and articulating it. An art consultant can help you find your own starting place and work with you throughout your collection journey. If you already have a collection but want to make it more cohesive, a consultant can help curate the collection to your tastes.
 
OPTIMIZING YOUR HOME OFFICE
Working from home has gone from a perk to a norm for many people over the last year. If you’re spending most of your time in your home office, why not reconfigure it so that it energizes you? Not to mention that artwork often makes for great Zoom backgrounds. 
 
The state of your home office space can have major effects on your well-being. Being at home already substantially lowers motivation to get work done. But giving yourself a separate space, that’s well set and designed, with artwork that speaks to you, can really help focus your mind and energize you throughout the day. 



CLEARING OUT 
Maybe you have a piece in your house that was gifted to you, or passed down to you from well-intentioned relatives, but you just don’t like it. Or it doesn’t fit the general space. A consultant can help you decide if you should you move it to a different room, or perhaps sell it. That piece could be worth a good bit of money that you could put towards something you really do like. 
 
And then there are times in our lives when we need to cash out some of our investments. As an individual, you might need the extra money for an unexpected expense. Institutions and organizations might liquidate items gifted to them, or want to reconfigure their collection. A consultant and appraiser can help you know the value of your pieces and help you find an appropriate place to sell in the event you want to sell them.
 
No matter which of these cases you may fall into, there is a common thread through each engagement with an art consultant: The personal value you place on something. Each piece or item in your home has a certain amount of personal value placed upon it. If you value inherited pieces for their familial importance, you of course wouldn’t liquidate that item. But if it’s something you’ve got in storage, or never liked anyway? Maybe it’s time to sell and reinvest.
 
So how do you find the right consultant? If you know an art appraiser, such as Drishti LLC, we can often recommend someone with whom we’ve collaborated. Or, in our case, you can also work with our in-house art consultant.
 
Whether you’re just starting to collect, fine tuning your collection, or looking into an individual piece, there’s a lot of value in working with an art consultant and appraiser, and sometimes they’re the same person. 
 
Contact us today at [email protected].