Today’s art market is a complex global machine that consists of many moving parts in both the physical and virtual spheres.
If you break it down to its most basic components, however, what it really needs to function are an interested buyer, a willing seller, and the offered art object. But in any transaction that takes place, there is another fundamental element that needs to be present: an agreement on the value of the work. It is no surprise, then, that with the growth of the art market, the field of art valuation has exploded in tandem. So, how can you succeed in this competitive field? What does it take to assess the value of a work? Where can this skill be applied?
Art valuation is the process of estimating the market value of works of art. As such, it is more of a financial rather than an aesthetic concern, however, subjective views of a cultural value play a part as well.
Valuing a painting is both an art and a science. Scholars have written many articles and books about it and it seems that valuing an artwork is almost more complex than quantifying other high value objects.
The reason for this is straightforward: The value of an artwork can depend on more than 40 different value drivers. These can be grouped into factors that are related to either the object, the artist, or the market. Object-specific value drivers include condition, provenance, material, dimensions, etc. Artist specific factors include information about the artist’s background as well as to which art movement or school the artist belongs, which museums collect the artist, which galleries represent him, etc. Lastly, market-specific factors consider how popular the artwork is at a given point in time.
All the factors above can be measured, but that is easier said than done. This is due to large parts of the data is not being easily accessible and even if it is available publicly, it requires in-depth expertise and it can take many years of intense research to acquire the relevant knowledge.
It is therefore almost impossible for the everyday person to determine the value of artwork without the advice of a valuation expert.
We are a team of professional fine and decorative art appraisers and experienced art consultants who can help you to determine the value of your artwork. We will evaluate your piece and give you a written statement of its value.