Frequently Asked Questions
Are Bartlow Art Appraisals qualified?
Yes, Bartlow has over fifty years in the art business as a dealer and an appraiser. Peter Bartlow has a Bachelor of Arts in History of Art, and has been approved as a testifying expert witness in Federal Court. His appraisals have been accepted for Insurance, tax-deductible contributions to charitable organizations and other purposes.
Are Appraisers required to belong to one of the trade associations?
No, there are no licenses issued by governmental authorities for personal property appraisers. The associations do provide training on the proper format writing, but there is no substitute for working in the field and handling different artworks over time.
There are veteran appraisers such as myself who are leading experts in their fields, and who have established themselves independently through years of good reputation.
For an artwork to be accepted as a contribution for a tax deduction Congress has enacted a bill which a defines a qualified appraiser as someone who has the education and experience in the area of expertise of the donated article. The appraiser must undertake appraisals as a main part of their work activity for several years.
What is a certified appraiser
A certified appraiser is not an official, licensed or governmental title. It is a designation bestowed upon an individual who has been a dues-paying member of one of the appraiser member benefit organizations for a designated period. There is no test or universal standard, but it does show that the appraiser has met certain criteria within their assocition.
High dollar tax deduction appraisals will be examined by an art appraiser employed by the IRS. They will look at the facts and figures to see if the values listed by the appraiser are wthin a certain range.
The figures are either correct or they are not, and whichever society of appraisers is listed is of little importance.
What does an appraisal cost?
We charge by the hour. The process consists of a live visit either in-person or by live video in which we examine and photograph the subjects. We also measure and make notes as to condition. The second part is arranging the images on document pages with a brief description. The third part is the researching of the artist and the values and entering that information on the document.
Insurance appraisals take less time as retail prices are relativly easy to obtain. The appraisals which require Current Market values are a little more time-consuming as the value is somewhere between wholesale and retail and can vary wildly between a country auction and a Chelsea Gallery.
To minimize the time and therefore the cost, the owner should gather together any and all information relating to their artworks. That would include previous appraisals, invoices, articles, catalogs, pictures of labels on the backs, and anything else that would make the artwork stand out.
What can you appraise?
Our expertise is second to none in fine prints by Chagall, Miro, Picasso, Marini, Henry Moore and other 20th C. master artists. We also have extensive experience in the 19th C. prints and posters of Renoir, Toulose-Lautrec, Cheret, Steinlen and other Belle Epoque artists. Old Master prints by Rembrandt, Durer and others as well as Pop and Post War prints by Warhol, Wesselmann, Lichtenstein are within our expertise.
We also are top experts in Paul Jenkins watercolors and canvases, and the prints and paintings of Alexander Calder.
Areas where we would enlist the help of colleagues would be Asian, African, Ancient Egyptian and Contemporary glass.
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