We can set up an appointment, either at my home office or your home.  Before I arrive, put together as much information as you can on the artwork – are there any receipts, (not usually, but sometimes), has it been insured before?  Has it been in your family home forever and has a particular story?  Do you know who bought it or when?  Any family stories about the artwork could be useful. Have you done any research on the artwork yourself? 

 It’s helpful for me to see and photograph the back as well as the front of the painting.  I will examine it for condition, photograph it  with details of the signature or any markings, measure it and determine the media or how it was made.  This can be harder than you think, if the work is under glass it is sometimes very hard to tell if it is an original painting or a print.  Is some cases as a last resort it may be necessary to think about taking the artwork out of the frame. Do you have any information about the artwork - do you know where it was obtained and when? Do you have any paperwork or previous appraisals? This is all part of the artwork’s provenance. This will all help in my valuation of the artwork.

Appraisals are based on market research. This involves consulting auction records, private sales records, artworks currently for-sale, and more to find comparable objects to the object being appraised.