Margaret Gratz, a certified art appraiser from the Gratz Gallery visited this week. Her role as appraiser assesses artwork for insurance companies, museums and private individuals. In order to be certified she was required to complete college level coursework as an accredited organization and have at least two years experience. Marge is a member of the International Society of Appraisers and trained through the ISA.
While Marge is an expert at appraising, she was very clear in distinguishing appraisers from Art authenticators who are specifically trained to verify the authenticity of a piece of work. The appraisers job is to establish a 'Fair Market Value' for the piece of work and based heavily on experience and ethical standards. FMV comes into play often when establishing replacement value and for IRS inheritance situations and when sale of the item comes into play. Appraising requires much research of auction records, retail galleries, and private sales and sometimes knowledge of the artist. Regional artists also provide authenticity to the appraisal. The Conservative Studio branch provides restoration service to aged and damaged artwork.
The Gratz Gallery and Conservative Studio is located in Doylestown and can be found at www.gratzgallery.com.