The Art Appraiser

Karl Benjamin: Geometric Abstract Artist

2012-01-26T11:20:00.000-08:00

(Courtesy of Santa Barbara Museum of Art/www.pacificstandardtime.org)

I often appraise paintings by the California modernists and Karl Benjamin is one of the most interesting of them. He is best known for his revolutionary approach to hard edge painting, working in a style called Geometric Abstraction. Along with Lorser Fietelson, Frederick Hammersley and John McLaughlin, Benjamin and his colleagues exhibited their works in the revolutionary exhibition at Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

Benjamin was born in Chicago and began his art studies at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. During WWII Benjamin but joined the US Navy but after the war was over, he moved to California where he continued his studies at Southern California’s University of Redlands.

Benjamin began his career as a teacher and moving to the artist colony of Claremont, California in 1952, Benjamin began painting. He taught Pomona College and became involved in the growing modern art movement happening in L.A. including designers, artists, and architects. One of Benjamin’s first important exhibits was entitled Purist Painting at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis. He also exhibited at the Everson Museum of Art in Syracuse, Columbus Museum of Art, Whitney Museum, and Museum of Modern Art (MoMA).

Benjamin was awarded the National Endowment for the Arts Grant for Visual Arts. His paintings are held in the public collections of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; Museum of Modern Art, Israel; Oakland Museum, Oakland, CA; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, CA; Seattle Art Museum, WA; and the Whitney Museum of American Art, NY among others.

Benjamin is acknowledged as a professional, listed artist and is considered to be an American artist with strong market comparables. Benjamin has produced a substantial body of work, which is commonly traded on the art market. According to our appraisal research, a growing demand exists for Benjamin’s paintings -- although the artist’s work has only recently been demanding high prices as auction and in gallery markets.

Gallery markets tend to demand the highest prices. Benjamin’s is considered an important artist for collectors of California modern art. Auction sales records range from $2,196-$42,700 for paintings, depending on the media, size, condition, subject, and quality. Gallery pricing tends to be much higher.

An Invaluable Painting: California Agave

2011-12-23T09:58:00.000-08:00

This month's reader submitted a lovely watercolor simply signed ‘Debbie 1985’. A Carpinteria, California resident said she discovered this painting of an agave in an antique store in San Francisco in the late 1990s. After spotting the painting on a shelf in the back office, the gruff shopkeeper pulled the dusty watercolor off the shelf. Although the painting was not for sale, he told our reader to make him an offer. They decided on $80.

After consulting appraisal price databases and auction records I could not locate an artist with the last name “Debbie.” As a first name, there were hundreds of artists with the common first name -- but guesswork made it impossible to confirm the artist.

As an appraiser I often come upon paintings with no signatures, indecipherable signatures, or unknown signatures. Unfortunately, it is nearly impossible for appraisers to assess values without identifying the artist. This is because value are inextricably linked to a specific artist’s history of comparable sales, which includes both auction records and gallery sales. There must be a paper trail of sales to substantiate value.

This watercolor was likely done by an amateur artist with considerable skill. The artist’s use of color, technical ability, and composition is accomplished. As a work on paper it is important to keep it out of direct light and moisture -- but “Agave” is in very good condition with no abrasions, fading, holes, or mold.

While the subject of the painting would appeal to collectors -- without pricing data, this painting’s Fair Market Value would only fall in a “decorative value” range. A decorative value is the price appraisers give to a commercial artwork by an unlisted artist.

Many of my appraisal clients ask how to buy art that will increase in value over time. Purchasing artworks by a listed artist means that the artist’s work is and will likely continue to be sold on the gallery and/or auction market.

Still, the first rule of collecting art is to buy what you love. Trust your instinct and buy art with which you have an emotional, spiritual, or intellectual connection. This way, if it does not happen to have increase in value, at least you love it.

When I asked our reader about “Agave” she said it did not matter to her if the painting was worth only $10 or $1000—because after nearly 20 years it was still one of her favorite pieces of art. Now that is a treasure indeed!

Alissa Anderson Campbell is an art appraiser for Anderson Shea Art Appraisals based in Santa Barbara, CA. She specializes in appraising European and American art for insurance, resale value, estate, tax, and charitable donation. Campbell is a member of the Appraisers Association of America (USPAP-compliant). www.andersonshea-artappraisals.com

Samuel Thal: An American Realist

2011-12-06T10:02:00.000-08:00

"Jerome's House, 1943" Etching (Courtesy: Smithsonian American Art Museum)

In doing auction price research for a recent art appraisal, I came upon an interesting painting by American artist Samuel Thal (1903 - 1964). His realist style and loose, expressionistic brushstrokes were reminiscent of Van Gogh's early work. I was entranced by the piece and wanted to know more about the artist.

Born in New York City in 1903, Samuel Thal was the son of Russian immigrants. He grew up on a farm in Hadlyme, Connecticut where he formed a love of the countryside. Upon returning to New York City, Thal initiated his art studies at the National Academy of Design, taking sculpture classes at the Beaux Arts Academy and studied painting, drawing, and printmaking at the Art Students League.

Sam Thal became an accomplished painter, illustrator, printmaker, sculptor, and art teacher. Thal spent most of of his life in Boston where he studied at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts and spent many years producing architectural sculpture with George K. Loeser at Harvard University.

By the 1930s Thal was working as a full-time artist and became well-known for his drypoint etchings. While painting, sculpting, and etching, he also assisted in the establishment of the art education programs under the WPA Federal Art Project. Thal also taught life drawing classes at Garland Junior College in Boston, the Boston Architectural Club and the Boston Museum of Modern Art.

Thal’s drypoint etchings are held in collections including the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, Metropolitan Museum, Library of Congress, Carnegie Institute of Art, Bibliotheque Nationale (Paris), Penn State University, Boston Public Library and Harvard Medical School. In 1942, he was awarded the coveted Talcott Prize by the Society of American Etchers; he was also the recipient of several purchase prizes from the Library of Congress.

This painting, "Figure in a Landscape" is a signature piece for Thal, depicting a figure overlooking his farm. Like the American Regionalists and Ashcan painters of the 1930s and 1940s, Thal depicted images of everday life in America. Thal painted cityscapes, landscapes, still-lifes, and figurative paintings.

After a bit of appraisal research, I discovered that a number of Thal’s paintings have sold at auction. Samuel Thal's auction records range from $600-$4,000 depending on subject, size, date, condition, and provenance. At galleries his prints, including etchings, were being sold for $300-$500.

John Sykes (1859-1934) California Impressionist

2011-11-17T14:29:00.000-08:00

John Sykes “View of Castle Rock, Santa Barbara"

(Originally published in Coastal View Nov. 24, 2011)

When we asked readers to submit artworks for ArtFind, our art appraiser Alissa Campbell of Anderson Shea Art Appraisals, discovered an interesting painting by California Impressionist John Sykes. Our reader lucked out we he unearthed this oil painting, “View of Castle Rock, Santa Barbara” on eBay about five years ago. He paid $500 and wants to know -- how valuable is it now?

Values can change quickly which is why insurance companies require art appraisals to be done every 2-4 years on artworks valued over $5,000. The value of art depends on a number of factors including artist notoriety, condition, provenance, size, and quality. When valuing a painting, an art appraiser also has to consider the current popularity of an style -- and whether the artwork is being sold at a gallery or auction.

John Sykes (1859-1934) was born in England but at age 25 he immigrated to the Unites States. Sykes settled Santa Barbara, California where he would establish himself as an renowned painter and watercolorist. He is best known for his paintings of the California Missions, which were a favorite subject of the artist. Sykes was also known to paint coastal scenes, landscapes, and local architectural views.

Like other artists of the era, Henry Chapman Ford, Alexander Harmer and Mary Stevens Fish --- John Sykes would sketch outdoors and finish the painting in his studio. He was a self-taught artist but managed to establish recognition as an accomplished painter and draughtsman. Sykes’ work is held in the collections of Santa Barbara and San Obispo Historical Societies, as well as the Carmel Mission.

After a bit of appraisal research, I discovered that a number of Sykes’ works have sold at auction. A similar coastal scene entitled “Castle Rock, Santa Barbara” sold in 2007 for $4,313, with other paintings selling for up to $7,000. Sykes’ work is also sold at galleries, which indicates a demand for his work on the art market.

In discussing the condition of the painting with the collector, he said that “a couple of minor dings” were repaired on the painting. This minor damage would slightly decrease the value, if it were to be appraised for Insurance purposes. Also, if any issues of authenticity were to arise, the value would be affected. It is important to note that qualified art appraisers assess value - but are not authenticators.

This painting depicts a recognizable image of the Santa Barbara coastline and is fairly large at 24 x 13 ½ inches. If “View of Castle Rock” by “View of Castle Rock” painting was to be sold in at at a gallery would be estimated to have a Retail Value between $5,000-$7,500. A treasure indeed!

*Retail Value is defined as a reasonable amount in terms of US dollars that would be required to purchase a property of similar age, quality, origin, appearance, provenance and condition with a reasonable length of time in an appropriate and relevant market. Unlike retail replacement value (Insurance), retail values do not include any fees or additional costs such as taxes, framing, conservation, restoration and additional commissions. (Source: Appraisers Association of America)

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©2011 Alissa Anderson Campbell, Santa Barbara, California. All Rights Reserved. This is not an appraisal. Authenticity is not guaranteed. This article is for educational purposes only. None of the contents of this article may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanic, photocopy, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of Anderson Shea Art Appraisals, and the appraiser’s signature. )

ART FIND: Western painter J.W. Benson

2011-10-26T14:46:00.000-07:00

For this month’s Art Find, a reader submitted a painting by Western painter J.W. Benson. This large painting (5 x 7 feet) was given to the reader’s grandparents by a family dentist from Albuquerque in the 1950's. According to the story, there were times when the dentist would accept paintings in exchange for dental work, which is likely how this painting came into their family.

As an art appraiser, I often see Western paintings of the desert. There is something about the desert that has long-inspired artists – and artists like the American painter Georgia O’Keeffe’s most important work came only after she abandoned New York City for New Mexico –never to return from the desert.

J.W. Benson is certainly one of those painters who found inspiration in painting the vast, arid, and mysterious desert. For an artist like Benson, the abundant beauty and color that existed in the desert served as his greatest muse.

Jacob William Benson (1895-1958) was born in Thurmond, Iowa. As a young man, Benson moved West and began painting cowboy scenes in an around Wyoming. A painter and a muralist, Benson was commissioned by local ranchers to paint scenes of their homes and ranch buildings. He also produced sketches for postcards. Benson also traveled throughout the West, painting scenes of New Mexico, Arizon, and Utah.

This painting of New Mexico’s San Esteban Del Rey Mission at the Acoma Pueblo outside of Albuquerque, likely came from these travels. The Mission completed during the 1600's, but the Pueblo itself was established during the 12th-century. Interestingly, our reader’s ancestors originally emigrated from Spain and settled in New Mexico.

With bold colors and loose, sweeping brushstrokes – Benson depicts the Mission dwarfed by the large, undulating desert cliffs in the foreground. Like the 19th-century Romantic painters Benson’s appears to be interested in the humbling power of nature over man. He depicts and earth-toned Mission contrasted by magnificent monumental desert bluffs and sky.

In my appraisal research, I found that few auction records and galleries could be located for Benson’s paintings. Some of his postcard images have sold for minimal values. Unfortunately, without strong market comparables it is difficult to establish an appraisal of value on artworks. While the technique and quality of Benson’s "San Esteban Del Rey Mission” is highly accomplished, the lack of auction records would make auction houses hesitant to place a high estimate on selling price. The Auction Replacement Value* of this painting would likely be estimated between $800-$1,000 based on it’s large size, quality, subject, and condition. If this type of painting were by an artist with stronger auction records and/or galleries, it would be expected to sell for much more.

* Auction Replacement Value is defined as “a reasonable amount in terms of US dollars which would be required to replace a property with another of similar age, quality, origin, appearance, provenance and condition within a reasonable length of time in an appropriate and relevant auction market.” (Appraisers Association of America)

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Alissa Anderson Campbell is an art appraiser for Anderson Shea Art Appraisals. She specializes in appraising European and American art for insurance, resale value, estate, tax, and charitable donation. Campbell is a member of the Appraisers Association of America (USPAP-compliant). Ph. 805.616.2781/www.andersonshea-artappraisals.com

ART FIND: Mid-Century California Painter

2011-09-29T13:11:00.000-07:00

Herb Kornfeld "Boats" Oil on board

(Originally published in Coastal View News, September 29, 2011)

When we asked readers to submit artworks to ART FIND, we got a great entry from Carpinteria, California resident and Coastal View News publisher Michael VanStry. As an art appraiser, I have special interest in mid-century paintings done in Santa Barbara and the Central Coast. When I saw Mr. VanStry’s painting by California artist Herb Kornfeld, it was a perfect example of California modernism.

Mr. VanStry acquired the painting approximately five years ago at a silent auction held at the Casa Pacifica Wine & Food Festival in Oxnard, CA. He noticed it right away -- but the opening bid was more than he could afford. After the auction ended Mr. VanStry decided to ask the organizers how much they would take for the unsold painting. He purchased it for $300.

The artist Herbert Kornfeld was born in Great Falls, Montana in 1915. After moving to Los Angeles as a young man, he attended the Chouinard School of Art under the mentorship of artist Palmer Schoppe. Like many artists of the period, Kornfeld traveled to Europe where he was exposed to the modern art movement going on in France, England, and throughout Europe.

Upon returning to California, Kornfeld settled in the Los Angeles area. He often painted the California coast including seascapes, boats, and scenes of everyday life in Monterey, San Luis Obispo, Pismo Beach, Santa Barbara, and elsewhere. Kornfeld also painted in China, Mexico, and throughout the U.S.

Kornfeld's paintings can be found in private and public collections throughout the world. He has exhibited at the Long Beach Museum of Art, The Downey Museum of Art, The U. S. Navy Museum, Charles M. Russell Museum, Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, and The American Academy of Arts.

The painting, “Boats” by Herb Kornfeld is a quintessential representation of his coastal subjects. With bold use of color and loose, flat brushstrokes -- Kornfeld’s uniquely modernist aesthetic transforms simple boats into geometric, cubist forms. The painting appears in good condition with no signs of damage.

In my appraisal research, I found that a recent auction records for a comparable Kornfeld painting sold for $950. Multiple galleries sell his work, with large paintings selling for as much as $6,300. A growing demand exists for artworks by California modernists -- and the style, technique, and brushwork of Kornfeld’s “Boats” make it a desirable subject for collectors of California modernism.

Fair Market Value is defined as “the price at which the property would change hands between a willing buyer and a willing seller, neither being under any compulsion to by or to sell and both having reasonable knowledge of relevant facts.”

If this painting was to be sold in a gallery, it would likely be priced between $4,000-$5,000.

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Please submit your painting, drawing, or sculpture for next month’s The Art Appraiser. Email us a photo and brief description.

Alissa Anderson Campbell is an art appraiser for Anderson Shea Art Appraisals. She specializes in appraising European and American art for insurance, resale value, estate, tax, and charitable donation. Campbell is a member of the Appraisers Association of America (USPAP-compliant). Ph. 805.616.2781/www.andersonshea-artappraisals.com

©2011 Alissa Anderson Campbell, Santa Barbara, California. All Rights Reserved. This is not an appraisal. Authenticity is not guaranteed. This article is for educational purposes only. None of the contents of this article may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanic, photocopy, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of Anderson Shea Art Appraisals, and the appraiser’s signature. )

California Modernist Painter - Ed Reep

2011-09-08T11:25:00.000-07:00

Ed Reep "Black Rose" (circa 1950-60)

This month's ART FIND submission is an exceptional painting by California artist Edward Reep. As an art appraiser, I have a particular interest in California Modernist artists. There was a school of artists working in Los Angeles during the mid-century who were made up of an innovative group of painters, printmakers, and sculptors.

Ed Reep, along with artists like Bentley Schaad, Henry Lee McFee, Edgar Ewing, Richard Haines, Francis De Erdely, was experimenting with line, color, and form to develop a unique modernist aesthetic. Unlike many artists on the East Coast who had fully abandon representational painting, the West Coast modernists were utilizing elements of cubism and abstraction to depict modern still-lifes, landscapes, and figures. This painting entitled "Black Rose" by Ed Reep is a signature example of mid-century modernism by a Southern California artist.

Edward Arnold Reep (1918 - ) was born in Brooklyn, NY. As a young boy, his family moved to Huntington Beach, California where Reep gained his arts training at the Art Center School in Los Angeles. As a pupil of California watercolorist Barse Miller, Reep began painting in a regionalist style favored during the period. Reep also studied with California artists like Stanley Reckless, Willard Nash, and Emil Bistram.

During the onset of WWII, Reep enlisted as an artist-correspondent in Africa and Italy. Honing his skills as an artist Reep, was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship after the War was over. He soon began teaching at a number of southern California schools such as the Art Center School of Los Angeles, Bistram School of Art, and Chouinard Art School. After moving to Greenville, NC to teach at East Carolina University, Reep returned to Bakersfield, CA.

Ed Reep is best known for his modernist aesthetic utilitizing elements of abstraction, and cubism. Reep was interested exploring color and form but as a means of representational painting -- before he began only painting abstract works.

The collector who submitted this artwork to The Art Appraiser, acquired it through an auction. In doing my appraisal research, I found that after purchasing the painting, the collector was contacted by the auction house through which he bought the painting. They said Ed Reep himself had contacted them in order to get in touch with the person who had bought his painting.

Reep, now age 94, said he had some memory of it and thought he painted it in the 1950s-1960s. The fact that it was framed and labeled by Reep indicates that he considered it a worthy work at the time (Reep noted he would not have framed had he not considered it worthy). Reep remembered painting a number of "experimental paintings" like this and thought a black rose would be something interesting to paint.

That painting may have some restoration done to it-- which would slightly decrease value. According to my appraisal research, there is a growing market for works by California artists like Reep. Galleries and auction houses sell his work, which indicates a demand. While it is a strong painting, Reep's noteriety as an artist remains limited to a small collector base.

As in every art appraisal, art appraisers base value of the painting is based on age, condition, rarity, artistic merit, technical workmanship, current trends and availability. A painting of this quality, subject, size, and provenance would be on the high end of Reep's market.

The highest price paid at auction for the artist's work was $2,600. Gallery pricing is higher. If Ed Reep's "Black Rose" were to be listed for sale in a gallery, it would likely be priced between $4,000-$5,000.

Please submit your painting, drawing, or sculpture for next month’s Art Find. Email Us a photo and brief description.

Alissa Anderson Campbell is an art appraiser for Anderson Shea Art Appraisals. She specializes in appraising American art and European art for insurance, resale value, estate, tax, and charitable donation. Campbell is a member of the Appraisers Association of America (USPAP-compliant). Ph. 805.616.2781/www.andersonshea-artappraisals.com

Art Find: Carpinteria Flea Market

2011-08-24T11:52:00.000-07:00

(Originally published in Coastal View News, August 25, 2011)

When it comes to discovering great art you know digging around at a flea market, thrift store -- or even your garage -- might just be the next great treasure hunt!

What makes art valuable? The answer is this: it depends. Art appraisers base value on such factors as the artist’s notoriety, the condition of the artwork, art market trends, as well as authenticity, provenance, and subject. An art appraiser also has to consider whether the appraisal report is for insurance, resale, donation, or estate purposes.

When we asked readers to submit artworks for this month’s Art Find we discovered a great local Santa Barbara area find. Our Carpinteria resident went treasure hunting about a year ago at the Carpinteria flea market where she came upon a painting of a hawk. She did not recognize the artist and decided to move on. An admirer of hawks, she said she couldn’t stop thinking about it and decided to go back. She bought it for $20.

As an art appraiser, my first big clue was the signature on the lower right corner identifying it as painting by Ethelinda. After some research I discovered Ethelinda Robbins studied art at the University of the Pacific in California. After a traveling throughout the world, she worked as an illustrator in Hawaii and New York City. How this painting got to Santa Barbara we don't know.

Upon moving back to California in 1969, she stopped doing illustration and focused on painting. She also dropped her last name and went simply by Ethelinda. While working in Santa Fe, New Mexico Ethelinda became entranced by the allure of the Southwestern deserts. She painted portraits of Native Americans, wildlife, and horses.

In my art appraisal, I found that collectors of Ethelinda’s work tend to pay the highest amounts for her well-known horse paintings. Paintings currently listed for sale in galleries range from $8,500-$27,000. Auction records are lower, ranging from $2,000-$4,000. Still, the scarcity and size of Ethelinda’s work gives “Hawk Portrait” of a strong market value. While the painting appears to need cleaning, it is in good condition. A demand exists for Ethelinda’s paintings.

The Appraisers Association of America defines Auction Replacement Value as “a reasonable amount in terms of US dollars which would be required to replace a property with another of similar age, quality, origin, appearance, provenance and condition within a reasonable length of time in an appropriate and relevant auction market.”

At auction this painting would be estimated between $5,000-$7,000. A treasure indeed. . .

Please submit your painting, drawing, or sculpture for next month’s Art Find. Email Us a photo and brief description.

Alissa Anderson Campbell is an art appraiser for Anderson Shea Art Appraisals. She specializes in appraising American art and European art for insurance, resale value, estate, tax, and charitable donation. Campbell is a member of the Appraisers Association of America (USPAP-compliant). Ph. 805.616.2781/www.andersonshea-artappraisals.com

Peter Ellenshaw - Realism in California art

2011-07-20T13:50:00.000-07:00

I recently completed an art appraisal on a Peter Ellenshaw (1913-2007) painting. Hailing from London, England, Ellenshaw became one of California's most revered coastal landscape painters.

As a Santa Barbara art appraiser, I see many of Peter Ellenshaw's works in Santa Barbara, as he settled here during his final years. Ellenshaw is best known as a landscape artist, whose precise painting technique achieved a photorealist quality. Art collectors often think they are looking at a photograph rather than a painting.

(Courtesy R.W Norton Art Foundation)

One of Ellenshaw's earliest jobs as an artist was during an apprenticeship under W. Percy Day, a British film special effects artist and painter. After serving in the Royal Air Force during World War II, Ellenshaw returned to the film industry as an artist for MGM. In the late 1940s, Walt Disney offered Ellenshaw a position in the studio as an artist.

In 1953, Ellenshaw moved his family to California where began his career as a Disney illustrator and stage designer at Disneyland. California's rich landscape bewitched Ellenshaw -- who became entranced by the ocean. The artist began spending weekends painting the waves and beaches of Santa Barbara, Laguna Beach, and the southern California coast.

He also began a lifelong association with the Hammer Galleries in New York. During the 1970s, Ellenshaw moved to Ireland, and he began painting the green landscapes and Irish coastline. He exhibited works at the American Embassy in Dublin. Ellenshaw traveled throughout Europe and traveled to Giverny, France where Monet painted his famous water lillies.

Ellenshaw also painted in the Mojave desert, capturing the arid landscapes of Palm Springs, Palm Desert, and the San Bernardino area. Ellenshaw also painted the cityscapes of San Francisco -- but finally settled in Santa Barbara, California where he continued to paint his famous seascapes of the Central California coastline.

At auction Peter Ellenshaw's paintings have sold for between $10,000-$30,000 depending on the condition of the artwork, size, quality, authenticity, provenance, and style.

Santa Barbara Contemporary Arts Forum - Home Show

2011-06-28T11:16:00.000-07:00

Courtesy: Santa Barbara Contemporary Arts Forum

Last week I decided to docent for Santa Barbara's contemporary art museum, Santa Barbara Contemporary Arts Forum (CAF) Home Show, Revisited. The site-specific show breaks down to the notion of exhibiting work in a traditional white cube art museum -- and, instead, displays art in people's homes. The curators of the Santa Barbara Contemporary Arts Forum invited 10 Los Angeles-based contemporary artists to "reconsider the societal and cultural notion of “home” by creating site-specific installations in residences throughout Santa Barbara."

The Home Show includes works by internationally-known artists Piero Golia, Evan Holloway, Bettina Hubby, Florian Morlat, Kori Newkirk, Jennifer Rochlin, Ry Rocklen, Kirsten Stoltmann, Stephanie Taylor, and Jennifer West. The exhibition has been reviewed in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and the Santa Barbara Independent.

The exhibition is kind of like a treasure hunt, asking visitors to traverse homes in Santa Barbara all the way to Carpinteria to see artworks. The Home Show inhabitants must welcome visitors into their homes every weekend from 11a.m. - 5p.m. on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays through July 17.

As an art appraiser I'm often asked to visit private homes to appraise artworks, so I thought the exhibition was an interesting concept to invite strangers into peoples homes. By inviting the public into private homes, these ten artists explore concepts of privacy, voyeurism, and status.

I served as a docent in the home of art dealer Candice Assassi’s contemporary loft in Carpinteria, California. Assasi's home looks out onto a beachfront campground populated by summertime campers. Artist Kori Newkirk decided to play with the exchange of viewership and voyeurism. Newkirk mounted a neon sign to a roof beam facing the campground that reads “No Visible Neurosis.” Written backwards, viewers must look at it with a mirror from the front porch. While looking out toward the campers, the viewer must also look at oneself in the mirror, while viewing the the neon sign. The artpiece attempts to make a commentary on a visitor's judgement of a stranger's home -- and perhaps the person in the mirror as well.

Art appraisers often seen great paintings, sculpture, and drawings hidden away in private collections. While it's interesting to see art on museum walls it is magical to see how people live around art in their everyday lives. This exhibition is a great way of inviting visitors into the personal spaces of those who surround themselves with art.

Millard Sheets: California Watercolorist

2011-06-02T13:22:00.000-07:00

Some of my favorite artists to appraise are those California artists who worked in and around Santa Barbara. Millard Sheets (1907-1989) who was born in Pomona, California and became one of the most prolific artists on the West Coast.

"Padua Olive Hills Drive" 1940 (Image Courtesy: Otis Art Institute)

Millard Sheets grew up on a ranch and developed a love for horses and the rustic life of Southern California. Sheets gained his art degree at the Chouinard Art School in Los Angeles (1925-29). As a young artist during the 1920s, he became familiar with the work of the American scene painters, Thomas Hart Benton and Grant Wood, who were part of a movement called American Regionalism. Wood and Benton were interested in painting American life. Sheets decided to focus on his native Los Angeles area.

As an art appraiser in Santa Barbara, I often come upon collectors of the California Watercolor school. Millard Sheets, Milford Zornes, Rex Brandt, Phil Dyke, George Post and others developed the California Watercolor style of painting. These artists used watercolor instead of oil to paint on-site and outdoors.

Depicting daily life of everyday people, laborers, and immigrants, Sheets captured the struggles and tribulations of Californians during the 1920s. The California Watercolorists found watercolor and paper a more versatile and easy medium to transport than oil. Up until the 1920s, watercolor had been seen simply as a sketching tool for artists, not a medium in itself. Sheets and his colleagues changed this.

Upon completing his schooling, Sheets decided to travel to Europe, where he became exposed to the modernist movements of the 1930s. Millard Sheets returned to California and began teaching at Chouinard. He also taught at Scripps College and Otis Art Institute, where he became an influential member of the art community. He was a member of the California Art Club; American Watercolor Society; Bohemian Club; National Academy.

During the Great Depression he began painting under the WPA as part of the team of muralist painters. Sheets painted more than 100 murals and mosaics in and around Claremont, Pomona, and greater Los Angeles. While some have been destroyed many still remain.

With his signature style, his works depict the landscapes of Pomona, Los Angeles, Laguna Beach, Santa Barbara, Palm Springs, and throughout California. Sheets eventually moved north to the Mendocino coast and painted throughout the Bay Area.

As an art appraiser, Millard Sheets paintings are among the most sought-after and valuable of the California Watercolorists. His unique aesthetic and prolific output place him as one of California's much beloved artists.

American Artist & Realist - Alexander Brook

2011-05-04T11:21:00.000-07:00

Black and White, 1941

Courtesy Smithsonian Museum of American Art

I recently appraised two early drawings by the California artist Alexander Brook (1898-1980). Part of the bohemian circle of artists living in the Pasadena area during the mid-century, Brook refused to adopt the growing movement of Abstract Expressionism. He loved painting the American scene in all of its gritty beauty.

Born in Brooklyn, New York, the young man began his artistic studies at the Art Students League during 1914-1918. Brook studied with John C. Johansen, Frank V. DuMond, George Bridgeman and became acquainted with fellow artists Reginald Marsh, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, among others. These artists formed a movement of art known as American Realism. A member of the Society of Independent Artists, Brook and his colleagues refused to be part of the National Academy of Design.

During the Great Depression, Brook traveled and worked throughout the South, including Georgia and Florida. He began exhibiting his work in New York at the Downtown Gallery the National Academy of Design, Rehn Gallery, Knoedler, and the Carnegie Institute International Exhibition of Modern Painting (1930). He also began teaching at the Art Students League

When doing an art appraisals of paintings by artists like Brook, I am also amazed by their enduring commitment to a certain method and technique. Alex Brook was a realist painter who refused to adopt Abstract Expressionism during the post-war period. While the values of works by Jackson Pollock and Sam Francis, Brook was adamant about realism. His works consist of figurative work, still-lifes, and landscapes, and figures, often of women. He later traveled to Europe, where he was influenced by the works of Picasso, Goya.

Brook lived in the Los Angeles area and exhibited at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. He became a member of the San Francisco Art Association and received awards at the Art Institute of Chicago (1929), the Pennsylvania Academy (1931), the Guggenheim Fellowship (1931).

Desert Finds: Palm Desert Art Appraisal Day

2011-04-12T22:40:00.000-07:00

This weekend I was lucky enough to be part of the Palm Desert Historical Society's Art Appraisal Day. I was asked to be the appraiser for an Antiques Roadshow-style event which was part of the month long Desertscapes.

The annual event takes place every April focused on celebrating the art of the desert. The Palm Desert Historical Society did a great job finding desert locals to bring their Southwestern and California paintings, drawings, prints, and photos for an informal evaluation.

I saw mixture of great southwestern art, including artworks by Conrad Buff, Edgar Payne, James Swinnterton, among lesser known Palm Springs artists.

The best part was meeting the interesting people who found these treasures at flea markets, auctions, or inherited them from family members. While many of the artworks were of a modest value, some of them were Western artists considered among the best in California and the Southwest.

The desert art historian, blogger, and writer Ann Japenga, who helped organize the Desert Appraisal Day, recently sent me a great article on an art discovery.

A Connecticut man recently decided to sell two oil paintings that hung in his basement. After an estate removal company offered the man a measley $125 a piece,the decided to get a proper appraisal done by a certified appraiser. As it turns out, he had two paintings by one of the most important American artists of the 19th century (with auction records of up to $2.5 million!)

You can read the full article: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/06/arts/design/jasper-f-cropsey-paintings-of-the-hudson-river-school-turn-up.html?_r=1

Jasper Francis Cropsey "Autumn Landscape, Sugar Loaf, Orange County, New York" Jasper Francis Cropsey, ca.1870-75/Metropolitan Museum Of Art

Art Find of the Month - William Stubbs

2011-02-16T12:37:00.000-08:00

This month's ART FIND submission is an interesting work by the East Coast painter William Stubbs. As an art appraiser in California I often deal with Western art, but I have a keen interest in American art done on the other side of the country.

After watching too many episodes of Antiques Roadshow, all of us hopes to find a treasure at a weekend estate sale. This time, our reader seems to have done so! Back in 2008 our reader and avid treasure-hunter headed out to an estate sale on the north shore of Long Island. Here, he found this painting by the famous marine painter William Stubbs.

Painted in 1880 this painting, "Three Masted Ship in Storm" appears to be a quintessential ship portrait done by Stubbs. William Pierce Stubbs (1842–1909) was born in Orrington, Maine. As the son of a shipmaster, Stubbs learned the architecture of a ship by working on it. It is thought that he became the master of his father's ship between 1863-73. In 1871 he painted his first ship portrait and by 1876 he was known as a Boston area marine painter. Stubbs shared a studio with the artist Wesley Webber and continued painting well-known ships in the area.

William Pierce Stubbs exhibited on of his early paintings in Boston's International Marine Exhibition of 1889, where he gained acclaim as a young American artist. Stubbs produced a small body of work and is acknowledged by the American art market as a professional and listed artist. Stubbs worked throughout the Eastern seaboard, creating a number of ship paintings. His paintings are held in the collections at the Mariner's Museum, the Mystic Seaport Museum, the Beverly Historical Society, the Philadelphia Marine Museum, and the Smithsonian Institution.

William Pierce Stubbs has a highly recognizable style. Most of his works depict the profile of a ship with a focus on detail. He often includes the name of this ship within the painting. Known for his dramatic depictions of ominous weather and rough waves encompassing the ship, Stubbs almost always signed his paintings in red. Many of his paintings document important historical ships of the period.

William Pierce Stubbs current values are based on auction records and gallery pricing. Estimating an artwork's value takes into account the condition, size, authenticity, provenance, and the current economy. When estimating a value, an appraiser also has to consider the popularity of an artist’s style -- and whether the artwork is being sold at a gallery or auction.

Many galleries and auction houses on the East coast sell William Pierce Stubb's work. "Three Masted Ship in Storm" is a large painting and if it is in good condition, an early work of this quality could be highly sought after by collectors. Values for Stubbs work have a wide range of pricing which, like every art appraisal, are based on age, condition, rarity, artistic merit, technical workmanship, current trends and availability of an article. The highest values are paid for famous, named ships. In an auction, this painting would likely be estimated between $5,000-$7,000, and perhaps more if the ship's name could be identified. A treasure indeed!

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Alissa J. Anderson is an art appraiser for Anderson Shea Art Appraisals in Santa Barbara, California. She specializes in appraisals for insurance purposes, resale value, estate tax, and charitable donation. She is a member of the Appraisers Association of America (USPAP-compliant), qualified to appraise American paintings, drawings, and sculpture. Anderson also works as an art writer and curator. (www.andersonshea-artappraisals.com)

©2011 Alissa Anderson, Santa Barbara, California. All Rights Reserved. This is not an appraisal. Authenticity is not guaranteed. This article is for educational purposes only. None of the contents of this article may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanic, photocopy, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of Anderson Shea Art Appraisals, and the appraiser’s signature. )

The Need for Insurance Art Appraisals

2011-01-10T16:30:00.000-08:00

One of the most common questions I get from art appraisal clients is whether they need to spare the expense of an Insurance Art Appraisal Report, and if so, how often Insurance Appraisals need to be reevaluated. There is a great article on the topic just published on the Appraisers Association of America's website by Edward Yee. Click to see the Full Article.

To answer my first question: Yes, most insurance companies require appraisals on artworks valued at over $5,000. This means any artwork (i.e. California paintings, mid-century sculptures, figure drawings, impressionist watercolors) worth $5,000 or more -- need Insurance appraisal report. This will enable you to protect your artwork in the case of damage, theft, fire, loss, etc.

In terms of art appraisal reevaluation, it is essential that insurance values be diligently updated every 2 years, even during stable markets. In Yee's article he says it is particularly important to evaluate works when there are either rapid increases or decreases in values. As an insurance client, is important to know the current value of your artworks so as to properly protect them. For clients who have artworks that have risen in value, but have not been reappraised at a higher price, will only be compensated for the old appraisal price in the case of loss, damage, or theft.

For artworks that have decreased in value, paying for a updated art appraisal can save clients money on their premiums. For instance, in the case of damage to an artwork, insurance carriers may question and ultimately refuse to reimburse a client for an artwork that is overvalued in an old appraisal (even if the client has been paying a high premium based on the overvalued artwork).

Another benefit to having consistent updated appraisal done is for future donations to museums. "Insurance appraisals can also, in some instances, serve as a strong basis for future donation appraisals, particularly if retail sales records have been maintained over a period of time and values have been updated every few years," says Yee. Since Charitable Donation Appraisals are often contested by the IRS, collectors want to make sure to have a reliable basis for establishing an artwork's market value.

All in all, while an Insurance Art Appraisal may seems like an extra expense, you are protecting yourself and your financial future if you have art in your home.

(Alissa J. Anderson does Insurance Appraisals, Fair Market Value Appraisals, Charitable Donation Appraisals throughout Southern California including Santa Barbara, Santa Ynez, Ventura, Westlake Village, Thousand Oaks, Ojai, Moorpark, San Luis Obispo, Pismo Beach, and the Tri-Counties.)

Early Painters of the Borrego Desert

2010-10-26T10:58:00.000-07:00

This week, I've decide to highlight an article by Ann Japenga, who discovered a painting for $99 by desert artist Edith Purer. Our contributing writer and desert art expert is a former Los Angeles Times reporter whose work has appeared in many publications including Sierra, Utne, The New York Times.

Japenga says her introduction to desert art came when she bought her first smoketree painting at Carl Bray’s roadside gallery in Indian Wells some 15 years ago. Though she fretted over whether to drop $100 on the painting, she wound up with a far better deal than she could have guessed. The canvas was her doorway into the rich, bohemian world of the early desert artists.
She now writes the go-to online magazine on Desert Art: http://www.californiadesertart.com/

"Early Painters of the Borrego Desert" by Ann Japenga
(This article first appeared in The Sand Paper, the newsletter of the Anza-Borrego Desert Natural History Association.)

Around 1930 a young botanist from Chicago came to the Borrego desert to dig in the sand and collect native plants. At some point hunting for tansy-mustard and tidy-tips wasn’t enough for her, so she took out her easel and began painting the dunes and smoke trees.

Last month I picked up one of her 1930s Borrego paintings on eBay for $99. When I hung the painting on my bedroom wall, it immediately connected me to Edith Purer herself (she became California’s first woman ecologist), as well as to the plants, topography and mood of Anza-Borrego. I live in Palm Springs, but the last thing I see at night is the Borrego desert.

(Painting of the Borrego desert, circa 1930s, by botanist and ecologist Edith Purer)

That’s the beauty of the early desert paintings: Their ability to connect you to landscape and history. Though desert paintings are soaring in popularity with collectors, you can still scour thrift shops and online sales and pick up lesser-known artists for less than $100.

The early California artists, also known as plein-air painters (plein air means “in the open”), are the original conservationists. The paintings of Albert Bierstadt and Thomas Moran, for instance, showed the world what was worth saving in Yosemite. In the Coachella Valley where I live, the early artists preserved in paint fields of verbena and cholla that are gone forever due to development.

In Borrego, you are lucky to have many of the original landscapes intact. In many cases, you can still locate the precise arroyo a painter captured, or stand in the exact spot the artist stood.

After landing an original Edith Purer, I started to wonder what other painters may have worked in Borrego. The only name I knew of was the irrepressible stagecoach painter Marjorie Reed, but there had to be more. After all, many now-famous painters captured the deserts just over the hill in the Coachella Valley—Jimmy Swinnerton, Paul Grimm, John Hilton.

North Shore art collector Allan Seymour told me the Palm Springs artists for the most part did not travel to Borrego. “The toe of the Santa Rosas made it a much longer journey for Palm Springs, LA or Laguna painters to journey all the way to Anza-Borrego,” he said. “This made the area a San Diego painters’ Mecca.”

Fortunately for Borrego history, San Diego was a hotbed of landscape painting in the early decades of the 20th century; and the most famous artists—Alfred Mitchell, Maurice Braun and Charles Fries—fell in love with the Borrego desert. At the time Edith Purer was scouting the dunes, Charles Fries was sketching at Coyote Wells while dodging falling boulders, coiled rattlesnakes and gem smugglers.

Alfred Mitchell brought carloads of his lady art students over from San Diego; some became avid Borrego painters themselves. William Bartko, who died in Borrego Springs, was out painting the favorite plant of the painters—smoketrees. While the coastal painters worshipped the eucalyptus, the desert painters could not get enough of the scrubby, shape-shifting smoketree.

Another San Diego painter who frequented Borrego, Charles Reiffel was compared to Cezanne and Van Gogh for the boldness of his imagination.

Maurice Braun, most revered of the San Diego artists, was heavily influenced by the School of Theosophy at Point Loma (known as Lomaland). With the mystical tenets of Theosophy guiding them, Braun, Alfred Mitchell and other Theosophists ventured over the hill to the desert. Amy Difley Brown, one of those who attended the Theosophy school, often camped in the desert with her granddaughter, Lynne Salmon, in a little teardrop trailer. Salmon, who lives in La Mesa, told me one of their most memorable campouts was going to visit Brown’s friend, Marjorie Reed, at Campbell Ranch.

What I’ve told you here is just an overview—and hopefully a temptation. There is plenty more to be discovered about the Borrego painters. A good place to start is The Journal of San Diego History (many editions are available online) and the website www.AskArt.com that compiles information about thousands of famous and obscure artists.

For more articles by Ann Japenga: see: http://www.californiadesertart.com/?page_id=7

California Modernist - Channing Peake

2010-10-21T14:32:00.000-07:00

Many of California's great artists came through Santa Barbara at one point or another. As an art appraiser, I get to see many of theses paintings in local collections. Santa Barbara served as an artist colony of the Eucalyptus School and later appealed to many California modernists. Inspired by Santa Barbara's landscape, architecture, and history -- artists flocked to the small Central Coast community. One of the town's important artists, albeit lesser known, was Channing Peake who was a muralist, painter, and draftsman.

Channing Peake "Man on a Horse" (Askart.com)

Channing Peake (1910 – 1989) was born in Marshall, Colorado but as a young boy he and his family moved to northern California. After completing high school, Peake began attending art school at the California College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland. For two years he studied at the Santa Barbara School of Art and then traveled to New York at the Art Students League under Rico Lebrun, a colleague he would come to work with for many years. He also befriended the great Diego Rivera and traveled to Mexico, Guatemala, and Europe with the famous muralist. Under the WPA Federal Art Project, he became a muralist and in 1928 helped paint murals in Santa Barbara's El Paseo Restaurant, along with fellow artists Edward Borein, Joe DeYoung, and Will James.

Peake ultimately settled in Santa Barbara where he became a founding member of the Santa Barbara Museum of Art. He collaborated with artist, Howard Warshaw on the Don Quixote mural at Santa Barbara City Library. In 1984 Peake completed a mural which is planned to be on display in 2011 at the Santa Barbara Airport's new terminal.

His work has been exhibited at the California Palace of the Legion of Honor, the Carnegie Institute, the Everson Museum in Syracuse, New York, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the M. De Young Museum in San Francisco, the Pasadena Art Museum, the Portland Museum of Art in Oregon, the San Diego Museum of Art, The Santa Barbara Museum of Art, and the Seattle Museum of Art.

For further reading, check out a recent article in Santa Barbara Magazine.

ART FIND - Rembrandt or Wullbrandt?

2010-10-07T10:42:00.000-07:00

(Published in Santa Barbara Seasons Magazine/ Fall 2010)

Doing art appraisals in California, I have a particular interest in local artists and how their art markets. So when Carpinteria locals, Debra and Paul Aresco, submitted this painting by California landscape painter John Wullbrandt, I was eager to discover its worth.

The question is: Does this painting have any value in today's art market? I always tell my appraisal clients to remember that value is based on many factors. While family history or nostalgia seems to count for a lot, it’s not what substantiates value. An official art appraisal is based on market comparables and takes into account the artist, as well as condition, size, authenticity, provenance, and the current economy. An appraiser also has to consider the popularity of an artist’s style -- and whether the artwork is being sold at a gallery or auction.

All of us hope to stumble upon a masterpiece in our local thrift store. When our collector walked into the Catholic Thrift Store a few years ago she immediately recognized this painting by John Wullbrandt. She didn’t know if it was valuable, but remembered him painting it while they were in school together at Carpinteria High School in the 1970s. So she decided to buy it -- for $3!

What I discovered is that John Wullbrandt is a contemporary artist born in Santa Barbara, California. He is a self-taught painter known for his realistic landscapes and trompe l’oeil paintings. Wullbrandt spent many years establishing a career in Hawaii and returned to Santa Barbara to paint from his art studio on a local ranch. This painting, “Still Life with Pears” is an early work by Wullbrandt and has a likeness to Cezanne’s work. Utilizing cubist forms, muted colors, and flattened perspective -- Wullbrandt was experimenting with modernist techniques.

While Wullbrandt has no auction records, a number of galleries in California and Hawaii sell his work. “Still Life with Pears” is a large painting, which is in good condition. An early work of this quality would be highly sought after by collectors. While this $3 thrift store find may be a Wullbrandt rather than a Rembrandt, it’s a treasure indeed! In a gallery, this painting would be estimated to sell between $10,000-$12,000.
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Alissa J. Anderson is an art appraiser for Anderson Shea Art Appraisals in Santa Barbara, CA. She specializes in appraisals for insurance purposes, resale value, estate tax, and charitable donation. She is a member of the Appraisers Association of America (USPAP-compliant), qualified to appraise American and European paintings, drawings, and sculpture. Anderson also works as an art writer and independent curator. (www.andersonshea-artappraisals.com)

©2010 Alissa J. Anderson, Santa Barbara, California. All Rights Reserved. None of the contents of this article may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanic, photocopy, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of Anderson Shea Art Appraisals, and the appraiser’s signature.)

Art Find of the Month - Francis De Erdely

2010-08-26T11:32:00.000-07:00

When I asked readers to submit artworks for this month’s ART FIND Art Appraisal of the Month, I got a piece by one of my favorites. As a American art appraiser, people often ask me who my favorite artist is. . . and this month’s entry happens to be my California artist of choice.

I have a long list of favorites, but Los Angeles mid-century artist Francis De Erdely is always at the my top of my list. In fact, I wrote my M.A. thesis on his social realist figurative work done in Los Angeles during the 1940s and 1950s.

Our Utah reader inherited this De Erdely painting entitled, “Lavandera” from her grandmother. She also discovered a Christmas card from the artist himself, indicating her grandmother bought the painting directly from Francis De Erdely in 1957. What this means, is that aside from her family, the public has ever seen this remarkable example of De Erdely’s work!

Francis De Erdely (1904 - 1959) was born in Hungary as Ferenc Erdelyi. De The artist fled Europe during the 1930s, as Fascism was gaining power. After a brief stint in New York City and Chicago, De Erdely finally made his way to Southern California. Here, he became one of mid-century California’s most influential modern painters and teachers.

De Erdely was a classically trained artist committed to painting the figure. Having traveled throughout Spain, De Erdely became influenced by the sinuous, elongated bodies of El Greco. De Erdely almost always painted the figure, a genre not often associated with modernism. Interestingly, his portraits were painted not out of nostalgia for the past, but as a reflection of the human condition on the West Coast.

With a likeness to Thomas Hart Benton’s powerful everyday Americans, De Erdely created some of the most striking figurative paintings in American art -- and his work remains poignant today. De Erdely has been included in more than twenty books about Los Angeles painters of the mid-century but there is no major monograph of his work.

De Erdely was known for his paintings of the modern figure as a way of addressing issues of race, immigration, labor, and social inequality in Los Angeles. The painting “Lavandera” demonstrates De Erdely’s ability to depict the simple yet graceful power of an everyday laundry lady. The cubist qualities represent De Erdely’s interest in a modernist aesthetic. The artist paints the woman’s face with severe angles that seem to mirror that of her laundry bucket. With a quiet power, the painting represents the complexity of one woman’s struggles and positions her as symbol as every woman.

From the photograph provided, the painting appears to be in good condition. A growing demand exists for Francis De Erdely’s work. The painting's style, technique, and brushwork are representative of his Los Angeles period, making it desirable to California modernist art collectors. The painting is well-executed and has a strong subject and composition, placing my art appraisal in the middle of the art market for De Erdely.

In the current art market, at auction this painting would be estimated to sell between $2,500-$3,500. A treasure indeed. . .

©2010 Alissa J. Anderson, Santa Barbara, California. All Rights Reserved. None of the contents of this article may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanic, photocopy, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of Anderson Shea Art Appraisals, and the appraiser’s signature.)

Art as Investment

2010-07-08T19:56:00.000-07:00

When advising my appraisal clients who want to buy art as an investment, I often stress the risks involved. The first rule is always to buy art you love. Buying art that you have an emotional connection to - is the safest way to invest in art. This is the single, most important element of collecting because if a painting loses its market value, there is still a personal attachment to it.

Building an art collection from a investment standpoint can be very lucrative, but one must also take into account the risks. As we saw in the pre-2008 economic bubble -- art investment was as mercurial and volatile as stocks.

Economists like William Goetzmann, David Kusin, and Michael Moses have conducted studies to evaluate the financial gain of collectors who bought art as their main investment. These economists compared the gain of stocks versus that of art. By analyzing works of art that sold more than once at auction in 2005, Goetzmann suggests the rate of return for art exceeded the rate of inflation. (2)

Moses suggests collectors buy lower-priced art, with more room for growth, rather than million-dollar masterpieces. Contemporary art is risky because of its reliance on ever-changing trends. Kusin suggests American and English furniture as a solid investment. Goetzmann says prewar and postwar art is a good investment because the genre swings both upward and downward in value with great magnitude. It is risky but has great potential for profit. As an art appraiser, I happen to love California art and see it as an undervalued market. Living in Santa Barbara, I see alot of great paintings by West Coast artists selling for much less than their East Coast contemporaries.

One must keep in mind, the cost of selling (or flipping) artworks is high. It is important to have an art appraisal done before selling artworks. This way collectors can be certain they know the fair market value of a painting, before going to a gallery or auction house.

If an art collector decides to sell it through a gallery, the gallery will take a commission. Auctions also take commission and are often volitile marketplaces. Art is not a liquid asset. Unlike a stock, that reflects the value determined by a large group of people, art is determined by individual taste. The selling price of a piece at auction is determined by the mood or taste of one or two, individual bidders --- rather than thousands of shareholders.

In her article “Art as an Investment,” Wendy Cromwell discusses the difference between traditional collectors and those who use art as investment. She says, “Individual collectors are driven by passion, . . . informed about auction history, and they consider provenance and condition as important variables in determining what to pay for a work of art, whether privately or at auction.” Collectors are usually well versed in the artists they collect. They do not base decisions on simple speculation or profits, but typically take into account a variety of factors when acquiring art.

Many art investment funds believe in diversifying their collection in a similar format as a stock portfolio. This model has worked for funds like the British Rail Pension Fund who made a profit of almost 12% in 2005 by slowly selling off work from a variety of genres. (3) Other investment groups, such as the Fine Art Fund, followed the same model. Many hedge funds and private individuals have used their art collections as collateral for a loan from companies like Art Capital Group Inc.

Investment funds often try to collect iconic works by famous collectors, rather than building a cohesive collection based on style, movement, or genre. But, as Cromwell suggests, the provenance of a thoughtful collector’s vision often adds value to its marketability. A random selection of paintings that is sitting in a vault might be viewed by future buyers as arbitrary, as commodities rather than unique pieces.

Although appraisers like myself research auction records through a database like the Mei/Moses Index, finding adequate data for art appraisals can be difficult. Moses says, “The S&P 500 and the Dow 30 are broad measures of how those markets are doing. We need the same thing for art.” While auction records post sales prices, galleries do not report such data, meaning the art market is much less documented than the stock market.

Art collecting can be highly rewarding both financially and personally. As an art appraiser I meet collectors everyday, who love the art they bought, inherited, or found. It seems that the traditional model of art collecting still functions best. Collectors should buy what they love and do their research if they're looking to use it as an investment. Art can be a portion of an investment portfolio but more importantly, enjoyed.

(1) Landon Thomas Jr. and Carol Vogel. “A New Prince of Wall Street Uses His Riches to Buy Up Art.” The New York Times, March 3, 2005

(2) Jori Finkel. “Painting by Numbers.” Art and Auction, April 2004. Pp. 77 - 83

(3) Wendy Cromwell. “Art as an Investment.” Art on Paper, March/April 2005

APPRAISAL of the MONTH

2010-05-20T11:45:00.000-07:00

(Once a month our appraiser, Alissa J. Anderson, does an online art appraisal for our readers. Submit your art!)

For this month's Art Appraisal of the Month I was thrilled to see a James Swinnerton (1875 - 1974) painting submitted. As an art appraiser for Anderson Shea Art Appraisals in Santa Barbara, I often appraise Western and California paintings -- and there is just something about the desert that has long-inspired artists. In fact, the great American painter Georgia O’Keeffe’s most important work came only after she abandoned New York for New Mexico –never to return from the desert.

James (Jimmy) Swinnerton is certainly one of those painters who found their happiness in this vast, arid, and bewildering desert. For many artists, like Conrad Buff, Maynard Dixon, Clyde Forsythe, Fernand Lungren, Robert Rishell -- the desert inspired artistic enlightenment. The abundant beauty that existed in the quiet of the desert became their muse.

James (Jimmy) Swinnerton was born in Eureka, California in 1875. Swinnerton was raised in Santa Clara and studied art at the San Francisco School of Design. As a young artist he became an illustrator for the San Francisco Examiner. While he briefly worked in New York, Swinnerton returned to Palo Alto, California. In the 1920s, he began traveling throughout the Southwest -- painting desert scenes in Arizona, New Mexico, and California. He made frequent trips to the Navajo country, painting the Colorado River, dramatic desert buttes, and iconic big skies. He loved the four great North American deserts including the Great Basin, Sonoran, Mojave, and Chihuahuan -- but also painted in Palm Springs, Santa Barbara, and throughout the West.

Artist like James Swinnerton made it his mission to explore America’s deserts through art. Just as the Hudson River School discovered spirituality in the Hudson River Valley and the California impressionist painters were inspired by the landscapes of the Pacific Coast, some artists found beauty in the desert.

Using a variety of techniques and styles, these painters explore the unseen virtues of the desert. Swinnerton's contemporary, Conrad Buff (1886 - 1975), a modernist, often painted Zion National Park, transforming desert buttes into geometrical, cubist forms. With a bold use of color and loose, sweeping brushstrokes – Buff’s purple rocks and pink cliffs depict the desert in a way not typically seen. Clyde Forsythe’s New Mexcio painting capture the minimalist shapes and earthen tones of parched land, cliff, and sky. Maynard Dixon’s depicitons of Tehachapi people and cattle are dwarfed by the ominous, thunderous sky and rolling hills.

This month's art appraisal is a oil sketch by James Swinnerton, entitled "Smoke Tree, Palm Springs." Before beginning a painting, Swinnerton would complete a sketch in oil, in order to layout his composition. His finished works utilize ad photo-realist technique, whereas his sketches are much less detailed. In "Smoke Tree, Palm Springs," Swinnerton juxtaposes the striking irony of the desert, depicting a parched tree swallowed by arid, rocky landscapes. Paintings like this are imbued with a certain loneliness and isolation, something inherent to the desert. The desert is a vast, hot, and often inhospitable place -- but subtle beauty as well.

Like the 19th century Romantic painters interested in the humbling power of nature over man, Swinnerton's desert scenes rarely depict people . His paintings capture the expansive, alluring, and often mysterious qualities of a seemingly dry wasteland. He depicts the magnificence of monumental desert bluffs, quintessential desert skies, dramatic shadows cast upon an endless landscape, and the decorative radiance of simple sand and brush.

In as a California art appraiser, I've found that collectors of Swinnerton’s paintings prefer his highly detailed desert landscapes -- but the skill of Swinnerton’s work still makes this oil sketch of some value

While the canvas appears to have some dirt and dust, "Smoke Tree, Palm Springs" is in good condition. A competitive demand exists for James Swinnerton's paintings and this artwork is well painted, composed, and executed – placing my appraisal of the painting in the mid-range of Swinnerton’s market.

The Fair Market Value* of this painting would be estimated between $2,000-$3,000. A treasure indeed!

Please submit your painting, drawing, or sculpture for next month’s ART FIND appraisal. To be considered, mail a photo and brief description to: artsappraiser@gmail.com.

*©2010 Alissa J. Anderson. All Rights Reserved. None of the contents of this article may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanic, photocopy, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of Anderson Shea Art Appraisals, and the appraiser’s signature.)

Milford Zornes, California Style

2010-04-19T16:27:00.000-07:00

As the Guest Curator of the Wildling Art Museum’s current exhibition, "Milford Zornes: An American Artist,” I was excited to take a break from my usual stint as an art appraiser and delve into the remarkable career of one of California’s most notable artists, Milford Zornes.With the assistance of scholar Gordon McClelland, the exhibition consists of Zornes’ paintings borrowed from private collections throughout the country.

An innovator of the California Style of watercolor painting, Milford Zornes gained international acclaim for his expansive brushstrokes, vividly colored and abstract representations of the American landscape. In appraising art throughout California, I often come upon Zornes work. He was a prolific artist, having lived to age of 100 and working for nearly 80 years. He was known to paint an entire painting in a few hours.

James Milford Zornes (1908-2008) was born in Camargo, Oklahoma. With the onset of the Great Depression, the Zornes family moved to Southern California, where Milford would ultimately settle as an artist and teacher. At a young age, Zornes pursued a career in journalism and moved to Santa Barbara County where he enrolled in Allan Hancock College (known as Santa Maria Junior College). Upon moving back to the Los Angeles area, he abandoned writing and pursued an art career.

While attending Scripps College in Claremont, Zornes became a pupil of Millard Sheets. Working alongside Sheets as well as Rex Brandt, George Post, Phil Dyke, other of California artists of the time -- Zornes began depicting regional Los Angeles. No longer able to afford the expense of oil paints during the Depression, the versatility and cost of watercolors enabled Zornes and his fellow artists to transport their materials to paint outside. “Arguably, watercolor was the most important medium sustained by American painters struggling with the new demands and untried possibilities of Modernism in the first half of the 20th century,” said Christopher Knight of the Los Angeles Times. The quick drying qualities of the medium required artists to use expedient, expressionist brushstrokes.

Zornes excelled in the medium and was soon commissioned to paint for the WPA's Federal Arts Project, and began to gain artistic prominence. Just as the Regionalist and American Scene styles of painting championed scenes of the everyday people, Zornes’ early works depicted cityscapes and life in Depression-era America. With the U.S. joining WWII, Zornes enrolled in the U.S. Army as a War Artist and traveled to China, Burma, and India -- where he began depicting exotic landscapes.

Upon returning to Claremont, California after the war, Zornes began teaching art. In his continued efforts to master watercolor, Zornes experimented with a looser, abstract style. With the movement of Post-War modern art gaining momentum, Zornes explored line, form, and color rather than purely representation scenes. “I think in terms of big abstract concern and I think of detail as an embellishment. I keep constantly in mind that while embellishment is important, still when you begin this process of embellishment, you can also begin the process of deterioration” said Zornes in "Milford Zornes: An American Artist" by McClelland.

Still, he never gave up representational painting. Instead of attempting to capture purely realistic landscapes, Zornes attempted to highlight the striking colors and shapes of an alternative American scene. In paintings such as “Zion in the Summer,” Zornes subtlety hints at form in order to capture the essence of a scene. With a few simple strokes, Zornes imbues a simple seascape with nuance, atmosphere, and vibrance.

Zornes worked for nearly 100 years documenting the beauty and evolution of California’s landscape as well as that of South America, Hawaii, Mexico, Alaska, and Europe. Zornes was also an influential teacher, helping instruct young artists at schools such as UCSB, Pomona College, Otis Art Institute, and Riverside Art Center.

Zornes’ work captures the surreal beauty of the American landscape. Still, his paintings are very much about the process of painting. The current exhibition at the Wildling Art Museum attempts to chronicle Zornes' achievement as an artist, exhibiting nearly 30 artworks done between the years of 1955-1985. The artist, not only, developed alternative methods of interpreting the natural world, but captured the American landscape with a distinctive voice and poignancy unique to few artists.

©2010 Alissa J. Anderson. All Rights Reserved. None of the contents or images in this article may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanic, photocopy, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of Anderson Shea Art Appraisals, and the appraiser’s signature.) IMAGE: Courtesy of Wildling Art Museum

Art in The Home

2010-02-26T20:35:00.000-08:00

The art we choose to put in our homes lives with us, inspires us, comforts us, and challenges us. As an art appraiser, I am constantly discovering the diversity of the art people choose to put in their homes. Some art collectors choose a cohesive collecting theme surrounding a particular style, genre, or subject. A recent art appraisal in Santa Barbara brought me to a collector fascinated by trees. Every artwork in his home, including photographs, paintings, and sculptures -- depicted the beauty of trees. Other art collectors compile works based on their personal or family ties to the artists, or because the pieces had been inherited from generation to generation. In each case, art collectors are intensely passionate and enthusiastic about the art with which they choose to live.

As an appraiser in Santa Barbara, many of the collections I encounter are that of Western and California art. The artists Lockwood DeForest, Douglass Parshall, Ray Strong, and Millard Sheets are among the artists I see over and over. What interests me about California art from this period that artists from the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s were interested in capturing the American landscape while also innovating modernist thought, aesthetics, and visual narratives. While paintings by some of my favorite California artists Belle Baranceanu, James Swinnerton, Milford Zornes, and Francis De Erdely cannot be classified as specifically modern -- their work has a modernist sensibility. Whether it composition, color, or style, these paintings and drawings explore notions of modernity unique to life in California and the West.

Early 20th century California landscape painting began as an offshoot of the European plein-air Impressionist style. Celebrating the natural, picturesque beauty of the American landscape, these artists had a recognizable style and palette. Beginning in the 1930s with the onset of the Great Depression, many artists began exploring different styles and media. No longer able to afford oil paint, artists like Milford Zornes, Hubert Buel, and Millard Sheets began using watercolors. The quick-drying quality of the medium required the artists to use quick, expressionist brushstrokes. Such a practice evolved into an entire movement of art in the United States. Implementing bolder colors and styles, the artists developed alternative methods of interpreting the natural world.

After the Great Depression many artists explored the American landscape from an alternative, modern approach. Milford Zornes’ Desert Rainstorm (now on exhibit at the Wildling Art Museum) represents a shift in artistic pursuits. Instead of attempting to capture pure realism, his paintings emphasize the striking form, color, and shape of an alternative American landscape. Almost entirely abstract, the flatness and simplicity is achieved by breaking down objects into their most basic shape and color.

Influenced by the movement of modern art happening in Europe, many artists began implementing a visual dialog connected to Fauvism, Cubism, and Expressionism. They were more interested exploring line and form, rebelling against the pastel palette of the California Impressionist tradition.

As an art appraiser, I am constantly investigating the ingredients of a truly great painting. For each collector, that is different. For some it is a tree and for others it is a single painting that captures the unworldly beauty of the American landscape, but is also the process of painting and its ability to transcend the natural world.

©2010 Alissa J. Anderson. All Rights Reserved. None of the contents or images in this article may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanic, photocopy, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of Anderson Shea Art Appraisals, and the appraiser’s signature.)

ART APPRAISAL of the MONTH

2010-01-22T23:00:00.000-08:00

(Once a month our appraiser, Alissa J. Anderson, does an online art appraisal for one of our readers. Submit your art.)

When we asked readers for submissions for this month’s ART FIND art appraisal of the month, we got some interesting artworks. As an art appraiser in Santa Barbara, I have special interest in appraising California art of the mid-century. So when I was asked to help appraise this 1949 painting by California landscape painter Robert Rishell, here's what I found….

Our reader acquired this Rishell painting, “Birds on the Horizon” from a California friend who was traveling through Texas 15 years ago. He traded the painting to her as payment for a project, and told her it was similar one his father had owned in San Anselmo, California.

Robert Clifford Rishell was an artist born in Oakland, California in 1917 and spent much of his career in the Bay Area. As a young artist, he won a scholarship to the California College of Arts and Crafts. Rishell studied technique and color, and his early paintings consisted of meticulously painted still-lifes. While at art school, Rishell became a pupil of Mexican muralist Xavier Martinez, someone whose work would profoundly influence Rishell throughout his life.

Robert Rishell became an important California artist. He helped organize the first showing of the Society of Western Artists at the California Garden and Home Exposition. Robert Rishell was also instrumental in founding the Oakland Art Museum in the Bay Area.His paintings are held in a number of private and public collections, including the University of Chicago, Oakland Public Library World Trade Center, SF; Oakland Museum; Bank of California, Oakland; Palm Springs Desert Museum; UC Berkeley.

In his 20s, Robert Rishell began traveling beyond California to paint the landscapes of Texas, Utah, and New Mexico. While exploring the deserts of the Southwest, the allure of the nature entranced Rishell. Like many artists of the period such as James Swinnerton, Lockwood DeForest, and Peter Ellenshaw, Rishell became fascinated by the magnificence of monumental sweeping big skies, desert bluffs, and dramatic shadows.

It was while traveling in 1949, I suspect Robert Rishell may have painted, “Birds on the Horizon.” This painting of wild marshlands has an illusive quality present in many of Rishell’s artworks. Rishell’s subjects often focuse on the exotic dichotomies of the natural world, a place where parched landscapes can coexist with thriving beauty. For Rishell, the simplicity of an elegant bird, a simple slice of sky, or an unadorned brush conveyed something simultaneously aloof, yet strikingly beautiful.

In my art appraisal, I found that collectors of Rishell’s paintings tend to pay higher amounts for his well-known California and Western desert landscapes -- but the scarcity of Rishell’s work still makes “Birds on the Horizon” of a high appraised value.

While the painting appears to need cleaning, the painting is in good condition. A competitive demand exists for Robert Rishell’s paintings and the painting’s quality, technique, and brushwork. This artwork is well painted, composed, and executed – making my appraisal of it in the mid-range of the market for Rishell’s work.

At auction this painting would be appraised to sell between $3,000-$4,000. A treasure indeed!

Please submit your painting, drawing, or sculpture for next month’s ART FIND appraisal. To be considered, mail a photo and brief description to: artsappraiser@gmail.com

©2010 Alissa J. Anderson. All Rights Reserved. None of the contents of this article may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanic, photocopy, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of Anderson Shea Art Appraisals, and the appraiser’s signature.)

Power of the Portrait

2009-11-24T16:08:00.000-08:00

As an art appraiser I am often asked to appraise portrait paintings. What's so interesting about portraiture is its ability to capture the very essence of a person, a time-period, and even an entire society.

At the turn of the 20th century, American portrait painters held a unique position in depicting American culture. Artists like John Singer Sargent, Thomas Eakins, and William Merritt Chase established themselves as American master painters – capturing portraits of the political and industrialist elite. With images of Presidents Woodrow Wilson and Theodore Roosevelt, oil tycoon John D. Rockefeller, and novelist Henry James, artists like John Singer Sargent depicted influential figures as icons of American progress. Bringing their European academic training to the U.S., these artists presented to the international art world that American society was bridging Old World traditions with a uniquely American experience.

Patrons of commissioned portraits had always played a significant role in supporting the long-held tradition of portraiture. European nobility, aristocrats, and the wealthy bourgeois had helped sustain the genre of painting for hundreds of years. During the Gilded Age of the 1880s, a new American industrialist elite used the tradition of portraiture to portray themselves as symbols of worldly power and strength. East Coast artist were commissioned to present such individuals as the figureheads of American culture.

Not only the wealthy gave patronage to the realm of early portraiture. Limning portraits were often commissioned by working-class families. These commissions by second-tier artists were less refined than the works of Sargent or Chase. Although these examples did not have the same level of aesthetic precision, technique, or refinement -- they were significant in representing all facets of the American experience.

On the West Coast, painters including Belle Baranceanu, Nicholas Brigante, Sueo Serisawa, Boris Deutsch, William Hesthal, Anton Refregier, continued the heritage of figurative painting, but used it in a modern way in order to make a social commentary. Francis De Erdely, a Hungarian émigré, who became one of California’s most notable modernists painted portraits in Europe, Detroit, and finally Los Angeles during the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s.

Francis De Erdely almost always painted figurative subjects, a genre not often associated with modernism. Francis De Erdely’s portraits were painted not out of nostalgia for the past, but as a reflection of the human condition on the West Coast of California. Francis De Erdely created some of the most striking figurative paintings in American art and his work remains poignant today.

Portrait and figurative painting continues to exist as an unparalleled genre of painting which serves as a compelling and accomplished articulation of the human experience. A portrait reveals a time, a place, and an individual. A successful portrait by a skilled artist reveals a uniquely intimate moment between an artist and sitter – one that is pure, unguarded, and candid.
(©2009 Alissa J. Anderson. All Rights Reserved. None of the contents of this article may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanic, photocopy, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of Anderson Shea Art Appraisals, and the appraiser’s signature.)

ART FIND of the MONTH

2009-10-22T14:30:00.000-07:00

(Once a month Alissa Anderson does an online art appraisal for one of our readers. Submit your art.)

Another Man’s Treasure 

Is the painting you unearthed during spring-cleaning, the next Jackson Pollock? If you’ve seen Antiques Roadshow on PBS, you know digging around in your garage might just be the next great treasure hunt. 

What makes art valuable? The answer is this: it depends. Value depends upon many things including the artist, the condition of the object, art market trends, and whether the artwork is sold at a gallery or auction. An art appraiser also has to consider authenticity, provenance, and style. 

So when we asked our readers to submit a piece of art for an online appraisal, we discovered something exciting. Our Santa Barbara art collector inherited a painting from her mother, who spent many years in Claremont, California. She didn’t know much more that that. As an art appraiser, my first big clue was a signature and a date identifying it as painting by one of California’s watercolorists, Milford Zornes. Zornes began painting during the Great Depression, alongside Southern California artists Millard Sheets, Rex Brandt, George Post, among others. During the 1930s, the group formed the California Style of watercolor painting as an inexpensive alternative to oils. Watercolors and paper also enabled impoverished artists to transport their materials easily and paint on site. 

As an art appraiser specializing in California art, I was able to discover that “Farm House” was painted in 1953 and depicts a scene from then-rural Riverside with the snow-capped San Bernardino Mountains in the background. Demonstrating Zornes’s unique variation on the Watercolor Style, he utilizes large, swift brushstrokes and stark, unpainted negative space. Zornes lived to be 100 years old and painted almost all his life. He is widely regarded in the art world and his paintings are widely collected, making “Farm House” a desirable artwork. 

 At auction this painting would be estimated to sell between $3,000-$5,000. A treasure indeed. . .

Please submit your painting, drawing, or sculpture for next month’s ART FIND. To be considered, mail a photo and brief description to: artsappraiser@gmail.com

©2009 Alissa J. Anderson, Santa Barbara, California. All Rights Reserved. None of the contents of this article may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanic, photocopy, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of Anderson Shea Art Appraisals, and the appraiser’s signature.)   

How to Find an Art Appraiser

2009-10-21T15:23:00.000-07:00

People often ask me: "How do I find a qualified art appraiser?"

When it comes to finding a qualified art appraiser, there are few VERY important things to keep in mind. Like in any field, do your research.

From a qualified art appraiser based in Santa Barbara, California here are some useful tips:

1. First and foremost, an art appraiser should be a member of one of the 3 appraisal associations (AAA, ISA, ASA). These associations regulate their appraisers by enforcing ethics and principles of appraising. Associations also require their art appraisers to be tested under The Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice.

2. Make sure your art appraiser has taken (USPAP), a test required for appraisers in all disciplines and ensures that appraisers are aware of generally accepted standards for professional appraisal practice in North America. USPAP is regulated by Congress under The Appraisal Foundation.

3. An art appraiser worth hiring also has a formal arts education and has expertise in the art market. He/she is highly trained and should have a degree in art history, appraisal studies, connoisseurship, theory, ethics, and procedures of art appraising.

4. Art appraisers should have a specialty in your type of personal property (fine art, prints, 19th century American paintings, California art, etc.) and years of experience. Obtaining a copy of the prospective appraiser's resume and references is strongly suggested. They often list these on their websites.

5. Qualified art appraisers are professionals. They are essential to protecting art collectors, museums, artists, and investors. Appraisals are used by insurance companies, bankers, lawyers, and accountants to protect assets. So get your art appraised, and make sure it's by a professional.

Appraisers Association of America, 212-889-5404
American Society of Appraisers, 800-272-8258
International Society of Appraisers, 888-472-4732