Editorial
Front Page - Friday, August 13, 2010
Ongoing education keeps accredited appraiser fresh and informed
Erica Tuggle
Diane Mizell knows that seeking out an accredited appraiser to help with insuring fine art is one way to prevent headaches later on should a piece of art become entangled in legal matters. Mizell started Signal Art in 2001 and is the sole proprietor of the establishment which specializes in fine art appraisals, consultations and fine art brokerage.
- Erica Tuggle
Diane Mizell, the founder of Signal Art, says she is a detective by nature.
“I like to delve into things, research, find out what something is, why it is the way it is and who created it. It is always new and interesting,” she says.
This is one of the reasons she loves her job as an accredited appraiser of fine art.
“One of the reasons I love what I do is every time I go and see someone, it is something totally different than what I have done the time before,” she says. “Everything is new and fresh. I can start all over and learn new things while helping someone out in the process.”
Mizell began to enjoy the elements of research while she was in college enrolling in every art history course she could find. Even though she loved the subject then as much as she does now, she says she didn’t use the knowledge until her own children began college and she decided to take appraisal studies courses through the International Society of Appraisers to become an accredited fine art appraiser.
The distinction as an accredited appraiser is an important one, she says. Accredited appraisers must participate in ongoing education in order to be reaccredited every five years. Part of the ongoing education they participate in is on-site classes, ongoing studies and appraisals, lectures with guest artists, taking in special art exhibits, writing articles and teaching classes, she says.
The importance of the ongoing education is more than keeping up with the business, she says, as accredited appraisers can also be the difference between a court case over your artwork going smoothly or becoming a real pain.
“Always be sure every time you use an appraiser that that person is a member of an accredited society, and also that they teach to Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice standards. If, for any reason, your work is tied up in a legal situation, if the person writes to those standards, their work can go to court and will hold up,” she says.
Most appraisers are accredited these days, Mizell says, but a lot of people nonetheless can say they are an appraiser without accreditation because they have a special knowledge of a particular type of item.
The bottom line is, “If they don’t have continuing education and connection to a body that holds them accountable, then it might not be in your best interest,” she says.
Mizell says whenever she gets a call to appraise fine art, she usually comes to the piece, although in some situations, owners like to bring their artwork to her home office on Signal Mountain.
If she doesn’t have an appraisal in the morning or is working on research for an upcoming appraisal, Mizell uses her mornings to check online and paper sources to keep up with the news of the art world. This includes monitoring auctions that have happened, local, international and national art publications and magazines on especially slow days.
“In this business, it is really busy part of the time and really slow part of the time, so you have time to catch up on the reading and research aspect,” she says.
When “on duty” at an appraisal, Mizell says she must first question the client before she ever takes a look at the items. Gathering history on how a client came to own the piece and any provenance, or history, on the piece is an important first step. If a piece is without a provenance, an appraiser’s job is to perform “due diligence,” which means gathering a history of everywhere the art piece has been up to this point in its life. This is an easier thread to follow when an appraiser knows the artist and can start from there filling in the gaps between the creator and the person who owns the piece now, she says.
Another part of the appraisal is looking at the condition of the piece that effects value tremendously, she says. By taking digital photos and writing up any time the work has been shown in an exhibition, the appraisal she gives allows a history to be attached to a piece of art that is carried along with it when it is sold or passed down through a family.
Mizell says she provides services for all kinds of clients, but the bulk of her business is two fold. One part is working with art museums and local exhibitors that come to town, and the other is estate situations.
“A lot of people don’t realize the value of their art sometimes. They’ve had it for 20 years, never had it appraised. And not all art goes up in value, but some of it does,” she says.
For more information on fine art appraisals contact Signal Art
at 423.886.4518.
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