We have appraised numerous collections: private, municipal, and institutional since 1982 spanning the U.S. and worldwide. We maintain ASA certification and great connections with many experts in the field.

Our work is performed at our location and sometimes on site if the collection is sizable. We invite our clients, by appointment only, to come to our location with their artworks for the visual inspection where we interview the owner and photograph, measure, and make field notes of the art. We visually inspect the artworks onsite if the collection is substantial. Recent COVID-19 pandemic rules have been developed to permit remote examination by photographs.

Our appraisals are based on a time and materials basis. We supply a small amount of materials to print and bind the reports, and print and mount representative 4×6 color photographs of the art in our reports. Finally, we ship reports by courier to our clients.

Sometimes, we come across work that is believed by the owner to be quite valuable and discover it is not genuine, and in fact could have little or no value. The appraisal process is unbiased as to the value of the work. The value we find is based on standard methods and is the true value. The value is unknown at the outset, as each piece of art has its own story to be revealed. We cannot simply look at art and say what it is worth without undertaking the research process. In some cases, we can reliably determine by looking at a photograph and learning what we can about the provenance, medium, size, and condition from the owner, that a work may not be economical to appraise and will so indicate at the outset.

Often, the topic of authentication arises. We do not authenticate works of art. That exercise is relegated to a rare collection of subject matter experts that have made life-long studies of one or a small number of artists and are world-recognized for their credentials. We do find indications of authenticity and sometimes fraud. For works with impeccable provenances, the appraised value assumes the item is authentic. If we feel the work is a fraudulent reproduction, we will offer our advice and explain our reasoning.

Some owners are interested in selling their art. The only way to know how to go about it is by knowing more about the work and reaching out to probable interested parties. The research we do can be helpful in this endeavor. We are glad to provide appropriate venues for the client to contact once we have properly evaluated the work. We are not brokers, nor do we maintain any interest in the art as independent appraisers.

Thousands of clients have entrusted us to perform this service, and we will do a great job for you. Thank you for being a collector. We hope you enjoy your art and if you need an appraisal, we are the ones to contact!

Contact Evan Epstein: (713) 622-8824 evanepstein@swbell.net or Gail Faerman: (281) 468-3292 faermang@swbell.net