Appraisers Shouldn’t Pay

How does a fine art appraiser counter the demand for payment from a dealer asked to provide a price for the work on an artist that dealer represents? How does the appraiser even get cooperation of any sort from that dealer? For as long as most of us remember, ‘there’s been an on­going tug-of-war between personal property appraisers who need a replacement price from a gallery to complete an ap­praisal and the dealer who wants to be paid for this “appraisal.”

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The above is an excerpt from an article by Elin Lake-Ewald, Ph.D, ASA, RICS, published in the ASA Personal Property Journal, Winter 2001 / Spring 2002.

To read the complete article please click here:

PPJ Vol 13 14 (4 1) 2001 2002 Winter Spring - Appraisers Shouldn't Pay

Associative Value

One of the more difficult challenges to the personal property appraiser is deciding upon the significance of associative value on the price he or she will ultimately place on an art work, antique, decorative object or just mundane household item otherwise destined for a New Jersey landfill. First of all, what is associative value? For the purpose of this article at least, we are discussing the additional increment(s) assigned to any personal property whose value could be enhanced by having been owned by or associated with a renowned collector, celebrity or other individual or institutional entity.

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The above is an excerpt from an article by Elin Lake-Ewald, Ph.D, ASA, RICS, published in the ASA Personal Property Journal, Winter 2000.

To read the complete article please click here:

PPJ Vol 12 (4) 2000 Winter Associative Value

At Issue – Price Fixing by Art Dealers and Auction Houses

1. Dealers, Auction Houses and the Sherman Anti-Trust Act While the Ganz and Sharp sales at Christie’s and Sotheby’s began what is considered the most successful sales season in seven years, the two auction houses and a group of America’s most distinguished art dealers were served with subpoenas by the United States Justice Department.

Although relatively little is known about it yet, the investigation centers on collusion among art dealers buying at auction and, at the same time, on a possible collusion between the two major auction houses who set both seller’s commissions and buyer’s premiums.

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The above is an excerpt from an article by Elin Lake-Ewald, Ph.D, ASA, RICS, published in the ASA Personal Property Journal, Winter 1998.

To read the complete article please click here:

PPJ Vol 10 (1) 1998 Winter At Issue - Price Fixing by Art Dealers and Auction Houses

Viewpoint

Why, Oh Why, Is He Doing This To Me? I used to mutter this to myself when dragged to baseball games by my dad, who figured I must be as much of a fan as he was. Glori­ously engaged in the sport I was not, but at least I paid sufficient attention then to find that now it’s fun to go to baseball card and memo­rabilia shows. Sports nostalgia items have be­come so hot that it behooves all appraisers to know a little something about players, famous and obscure, who hit/kicked/threw/caught/tossed and generally handled the ball or puck at some point in American sports history. Even if you’re not enough of a specialist to appraise them, it’s helpful to be able to alert your clients to their potential value.

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The above is an excerpt from an article by Dr. Elin Lake-Ewald published in the ASA Personal Property Journal, Spring 1994.

To read the complete article please click here:

PPJ Vol. 6 (2) 1994 Spring Auction Market Analysis

Art Market Review

More Exciting Than a Soap The saga of Alan Bond has more plot twists than a daytime TV show.  The Australian entrepreneur, who financed his country’s 1983 America’s Cup victory over the USA, who bought van Gogh’s Irises for $53.0 million, and who owned a pair of $10 million dollar penthouses in New York and a corporate jet, is spending two and a half years in prison for fraud.  The sentence, half of what he could have received, was for failing to disclose a fee to one of the men who invested $6 million of the $12 million attempted bailout money to save the Rothwells Merchant Bank, hit by a run on its funds after the ’87 market crash, and for dishonestly concealing a $16-million success fee received in a financial transaction with a collapsed Australian bank.  The bulk of the artworks owned by Bond’s Dallhold Investments was auctioned this summer by Christie’s.  The expected $12 million won’t make a dent in the $440 million Dallhold debt.  Of the 52 lots only two didn’t sell, and personal records were set for several Australian artists.  Right in line with what has been happening in the art market, a Rupert Bunny Edwardian scene sold for $333,333, two-thirds of what Bond had paid for it in the late ‘80s.

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The above is an excerpt from an article by Dr. Elin Lake-Ewald published in the ASA Personal Property Journal, Autumn 1992.

To read the complete article please click here:

PPJ Vol. 4 (3, 4) 1992 Art Market Review

My Lunch with IRS

She’s slight, almost fragile in appearance, but that appearance is quite deceptive. After sixteen years as an appraiser with the Art Valuation Division of IRS, and now chief of the department, this lady is a pro. In a voice that is soft, moderated and always pleasant, the statements made by Karen Carolan are affected in a tone that brooks no nonsense. It was July 27th, 1990, and we were meeting in the offices of Wilson Fadely, Public Affairs Officer for IRS. Mr. Fadely remained throughout the interview at 1111 Constitution A venue, IRS’ central D.C. building.

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The above is an excerpt from an article by Dr. Elin Lake-Ewald published in the ASA Personal Property Journal, Winter 1991.

To read the complete article please click here:

PPJ Vol. 3 (3) 1991 Winter My Lunch with IRS

Viewpoint

JOURNAL Editor Nancy Smith dropped by our New York office recently for a brief chat that transformed itself into a three-hour conversation about possibilities for ASA members to better communicate news and ideas beneficial to all of us.  This column has been initiated in the hope of gathering comments from members nationally, enabling anyone who wishes to give voice to views about the art market, legislation relating to appraisers, new rules and regulations affecting us, or, in fact, anything newsworthy of importance to personal property appraisers. A review of an art/insurance seminar was pre-empted by “My Chat with IRS,” a one-on-one conversation with a local representative of that governmental agency who had called “as a friend”.  The conversation focused on estate appraisals and what transpired that afternoon seemed of sufficient interest to think it might be worthwhile passing on and asking for comments.

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The above is an excerpt from an article by Dr. Elin Lake-Ewald published in the ASA Personal Property Journal, Autumn 1989.

To read the complete article please click here:

Viewpoint PPJ Vol 2 (3) 1989