Knowing the value of art can require some skill and
experience. If you’re starting on a collection and do
not know how to value art, then lucky you, since you
can always get the help of an art appraiser. However,
if you decide on pursuing the value for yourself, then
be sure that you avoid making some of the common
mistakes regarding the matter.
Most people seeking the value of a piece tend to
simply look at the price list and from there on,
conclude the value of the work in consideration.
However, there is much to value than simple market
prices. Pricelists can be very misleading, since
artworks’ values are not only determined by its price;
here are some of the reasons why, and some other
overlooked factors when valuating an art.
It’s A Bargain!
Sometimes, if an auction is poorly publicized, they
hold sales or bargains in order to sell. Thus, you can
find great art that are priced way low from their real
value in this kind of auctions. There are also
instances in which only single bidders are able to
recognize the significance of the art at hand. During
this kind of situations, the piece can also be sold at
a low price if there are no other bidders who want to
pursue the piece. No Auction Records
There are instances too in which the significant works
of a certain artist have never been sold in any kind
of auction. It’s quite normal for the finest and
popular pieces by an artist to sell for huge amounts
of money, approximately tens of thousands or even
more, at galleries. However, that same artist can have
high auction records only in level of low or
mid-thousands of bucks. Thus, if your artist has not
had any significant work of his through any auction,
then you can also value the work extremely low.
Great Continuums
It can also be hard for you to value the piece if the
price range of the artist is too great. For example,
an artist can have hundreds or even thousands of
auction records, ranging for instance in between
$1000-$200,000. If you are not a competent
professional appraiser, for sure you’ll probable have
little or even no idea where the piece would fit in
with a continuum that is vast as that.
Significance Is The Key For an artwork to be
accurately valued, its significance should be
determined. Thus, you should get to know how the piece
would level in respect to how excellent, well, or bad
it is done, compared to the other works of the same
artist. Techniques used in the piece and its overall
aesthetics play a role here. So, if your piece at hand
is really good, yet you’re not able to know or see how
good it is, then for sure you’re going to value it way
low from its justified value.
Unearthing History Matters
Additionally, historical significance would also
matter in valuing your art. The more it is
historically significant, the higher its value is.
Factors like the piece being able to transcend its
artist due to what it represents, when it was created,
where it was done, and other similar mitigating
aspects, play a role with its history significance.
Thus, if you haven’t uncovered the historical
significance of your art, then it would probably have
a low value for you.