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Art Appraisals?
So, you finally want to know more about that special work of art you may have inherited, had hanging on your wall for the last 20 years or just bought at an Antique Mall. World Wide Arts Resources might be able to help you further in your search for information. Although, World Wide Arts Resources does not offer actual appraisals we do link to appraisers from all over the world. However, we cannot guarantee their business practices or knowledge and thus I would like to give you a few hints before you proceed to spend valuable resources. Let's have fun doing some detective work first.
Where to Start?
The first step is to gather as much information yourself about the piece. Carefully take the print or painting off the wall and look at what it says on the back. You will often find where the work of art was sold, purchased or framed. Take a look at the frame or stretcher to see how "old" the wood appears to be. A lot of times you can also find some dates printed or scribbled on the back of the work.
Your First Success?
Your next step is to try to find out more about the work and the artist. I can tell you that you will probably not find much information on for example little known 19th or even 20th century artists on the WWW. You have to know that much of the world's arts information is still in printed format and has not been digitized for ease of WWW access. But you will be amazed that often you do find some information on the WWW. Use our searchengine and type in the artist's first and last name or even just the last name; maybe type in the gallery name or frameshop that you found on the back of the work instead. If you find something on the WWW make and educated decision whether the information is accurate and true. There are quite a few options using our searchengine at the top of this page but you might come up empty handed. If you do I can only suggest reverting back to more traditional research methods. Now it is time to take a photograph of the work so you can take it with you wherever you are going to continue your detective work.
Traditional Research?
The first step is to find a large library with a good collection of art materials. You will often have more success at large university libraries rather than your small local library. If you know the artist's name go to the library and check out auction records and anything else you might be able to find about the time period, genre, subject matter, artistic style and even local newspapers if you know where the artist was from. You might be surprised how much more you can find out about the artist this way. If you are lucky you will find other works by the artist in past auction records or exhibition reviews. This might lead you to which gallery represents or did represent the artist. However, you might also come up empty handed.
Still Empty Handed?
You spent a lot of time doing research and found nothing. Frustration is settling in and you think the work is not worth anything. WRONG! You might have a very valuable work in your possession. Now has come the time to make a decision whether you want to spend the money to have an appraiser look at your work.
Which Appraiser?
As I said before we do offer links to appraisers from all over the world but we cannot guarantee any of their work. I would proceed by accessing some of the WWW sites of the appraisers below or by asking some of my reputable, local galleries on which independent appraiser they would suggest. Then make your decision on which way you would like to proceed. Never be shy to ask for references and their area of expertise. If the appraiser is a specialist in let's say early automobiles I am not so sure that I would ask the appraiser to appraise my 20th century painting. Ask in advance on how much the appraiser will charge and what kind of information they will be able to provide you with. The more research they will have to do the more expensive it will be. So, if you already have some research done it should be less expensive.
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