Artwork Valuations

Lorna Fencer Napurrula

Over the past two years Central Art has often been approached with requests to provide a market evaluation on a piece of Aboriginal art.


In order to continue to provide a valued service to our clients, we have now established a relationship with Art Consultant and Valuer, Adrian Newstead and Central Art will now provide this referral service at no charge.


Our reasons are:

  • We firmly believe that any evaluation should be done by a qualified, expert third party and that it would be unethical for an agent with a prior or future interest in a work of art to make an evaluation on behalf of a seller.
  • We want to ensure that the Aboriginal Art Market continues on a professional basis.
  • In my opinion Art consultant Adrian Newstead is one of the leading professionals in Aboriginal art and evaluations. Adrian is also one of a very few who are officially approved by the Australian Government to value under the Cultural Gift scheme. To achieve this he had to be recommended by his State Art Gallery.


For these reasons we are delighted that Adrian has agreed to form this association with Central Art.


Contrary to popular belief, not all art goes up in value even art from very famous artists. Paintings vary greatly in quality and provenance and art works must be in perfect order to get a good resale price. While source provenance is important, the entire history of an artwork is vital in determining its financial value.


How mush will an evaluation cost?
The cost of an evaluation is determined by the type of evaluation required and the length of time it takes. A standard rate of $250 + GST per hour applies and many evaluations, especially those for single works of art, can be done in one hour. The more information the owner can provide the more cost efficient it is.


What sort of evaluation do I need?
Evaluations can take a variety of forms and your requirements will determine the price and type of evaluation.


1. Personal reasons.
2. To determine a propitious time to sell.
3. For your superannuation assets register.
4. Insurance purposes or Property Settlements.
5. Cultural Bequests.


It is strongly recommended that Artwork valuations be updated no less than once every four years in order to maintain values at current market expectations or replacement values.


What will the evaluation look like?


Personal Evaluation:
This may be the first step if you have a large collection or are just curious about your artwork. You will receive a signed letter on Adrian Newstead Art Consultant letterhead which will contain; Code, Artist, Title, Year of Work, Dimensions, Provenance, and Current Market Expectations.


Insurance, Replacement or Property Settlement Valuation:
This evaluation is more detailed and will be printed on official letterhead and signed by Adrian Newstead, certified Valuer of Australian Aboriginal Art. It will contain the following:


1. Image of the Work.
2. Artist.
3. Title.
4. Size.
5. Year Created.
6. Medium.
7. Primary Source.
8. Source Code.
9. Year Purchases.
10. Artists' Area/Language.
11. Description of the Work.
12. Condition.
13. Market Valuation.
14. Insurance Value.
15. Comments.


Cultural Bequests:
This is a more complicated valuation. Two valuations are required to bequest a work under this scheme and they must both come from a Government approved valued. The two valuers must come within 10% of each other for the valuation to be accepted. The valuation will include:


  • Donors Name and Recipients Institution.
  • Description of Item.
  • Condition.
  • Evidence of Authenticity and History of Ownership.
  • Published references to this object.
  • Detailed notes establishing and substantiating current market value.
  • Valuation and Date of Valuation.


Valuations under this scheme must be completed on official forms provided by the Federal Department of the Arts.


All of the various valuations listed above are accompanied by a covering letter from Adrian Newstead Fine Art Consultancy and a standard disclaimer.


How will this work?
Send an email with:

  • A good image of the artwork (A JPEG under 1MB and not a TIF or PDF).
  • As many of the following specifications as possible in the body of the email: Title of work, artist, dimensions, materials, where and when purchased, invoice, a certificate of authenticity and your reasons for an evaluation.


The valuer will research both the primary and secondary markets, recent sales of similar classes of artwork by the artists through galleries and auction houses and his, and his staff's professional experience extending over 30 years with this class of material culture.


In the absence of a Certificate of Authenticity, documentation that the work was purchased through a reputable gallery owner or a reputable auction house can confer an imprimatur and assist the valuer in establishing the provenance and genuineness of the work.


You can expect a valuation certificate within two weeks.


Proviso/Disclaimer:
The valuation reflects the current market expectations. It should not be seen as a guarantee of future value, not is it in anyway an undertaking by the valuer to guarantee, purchase or sell the work assessed.



(Photo: Lorna Fencer Napurrula © 2012 Central Art)

 

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Sabine Haider
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