Appraisals

WE DO APPRAISALS.... HOWEVER, due to the very high volume of calls to the gallery asking how to go about appraising the value of one's own, or a friend or family member's art collection, we encourage collectors to become experts on their own art collections before reaching out to galleries. If you have difficulty, enlist family members, children, friends to help you spend time researching. We will typically only take on doing appraisals of our own artists. It is still worth reaching out, however, as if we can't take on your project we will direct you to a local professional art appraiser. Regardless, here are some steps to get you started:

Step 1: Make a database. Since you'll be finding proof of value through links online, it is best to use a computer to copy links easily. On your phone/tablet or computer, copy links into a Word Document (or Excel, or a draft email, whatever is easiest for you). We reccomend making one page/file per piece of art. Start by adding an image of front and back of the work, with a close up image of the signature. Note down visible information if you know it, like the artist name or the size of the inner work (the visible part inside the linen liner or matting). Is it a print (when you take a magnifying lens, can you see a dot-matrix grid)? Older prints will have that. Is it an original (with messy edges, brush strokes, no grid pattern)?  If you don't know the artist, what can you make of the signature?  Is there writing, or a card, or a bio on the back that can give you the proper spelling? This is all very useful information to begin the search.

Step 2: Use Google and Google Lens. To find out more about your artwork, try to google it. If you know the artist or the title of the work, Google those and find similar sized paintings by the same artist to compare value. A great tool if you don't know the artist or title, is to use Google Lens. This tool will allow you to take a photo of your work and serarch the internet by the image instead of the information. Google will pull up things that looks similar, and you could try to compare the search results to your painting. Use these results to note down similar paintings, or artist names of works that look similar to narrow down your search. Also photograph and search the signature as it will look for like-signatures. When googling, use any info you already know (such as title, artist name or guess at artist name, guess at nationality, the artist`s home town etc). Note down any information found in your database. Some great (and more specific) sites then Google include https://findartinfo.net/ and https://www.invaluable.com/ .

Useful Tip: Use other languages: Try searching in the artist's own original language (perhaps their last name is Italian, for example) in inquiring. Use words (in italian, etc) like artist ("artista"), biography ("biografia"), title ("titolo"), oil on canvas ("olio su tela") or oil on board ("oilio a bordo"), etc. We don't know italian, and you likely may not know the languages that you need the information from either, but Google Translate can help--and searching in the artist's native tongue will find you more information then you will in English. You may come across some obscure biography in a community show, for example, before the artist might have disappeared. We have found obscure biographical infomation this way, of an Italian artist who had moved to Quebec later on in life. Almost any page can be translated on google using the three dots pull down menu in the top of your Chrome browser window. 

Step 3: Email us. Once you have a database of information on your work, email us for the official appraisal. We will take the research you have painstakingly collected, check the links, references, and additional information and do further research before writing up a form for your insurance purposes. If we cannot take on your work, or you have an entire collection, we will refer you to a local appraiser. Now you see why we can't take on too many appraisals!

Step 4: Resellers. After you have your appraisal (and if your appraisal is for reselling purposes), below is a list of local and online resellers

If you have any questions at all, please do email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., and we will help you with your collector's journey!

http://www.landoartauctions.com/

http://waddingtons.ca/

http://www.lunds.com/

http://kilshaws.com/