FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS Art Authentication Experts - Art Appraisers - art valuers. Art Experts serving Florida - California - USA - Canada - New England - Washington - Toronto & British Columbia
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Freemanart: Expert in the Fine Art of Authentication |
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Before you write to us please note:
Please understand that this is not so and that we are a professional agency providing a professional range of investigative services.
Please therefore be advised and not offended that:
*We WILL NOT and clearly CANNOT be expected respond to requests for free valuations, free advise or gratis research information. As you would reasonably expect, our services are reserved entirely for those serious minded individuals and provided on a professional basis only.
For those issues which you wish to address with us and for the provision of advice, information, research, investigation, advisory or help you require, our professional services are strictly fee payable.
We will be only too happy to assist you, BUT from this professional, fee payable perspective only. |
FREEMANART'S Frequently asked questions:
*Art Appraisals are 'Valuations' and the subject of 'Art Authentication' is an entirely different matter altogether. Please note the differences:
See click to see our individual pages on AUTHENTICATION and APPRAISALS for details.
Q: Who are our clients? The answer is rather long winded I am afraid. In matters relating to the authentication of art, including drawings, paintings, prints and sculptures, we advise and serve thousands of private and individual clients around the world on the subject of art authentication and authenticating art works and from Florida, Miami, Palm Springs to California, Los Angeles to Beverley Hills, San Francisco to Washington, DC, Colorado, to Toronto, Ontario to British Columbia in Canada. And from Brazil to Chile, New Zealand and Australia to Spain. Frankly, we serve clients from all aspects of society, all walks of life and from all over the world. We are advisors serving two Royal Households, a President and many dignitaries and celebrities.. Our professional clients on the other hand are : Lawyers and Law firms, Principal Museums and Art Galleries, Auctioneers, Fine Art Dealers, Insurance Companies, TV and Film companies, literary publishers and thousands of Private Collectors and just ordinary individuals world wide.
Do you charge a PERCENTAGE of value or as part of the fee for any appraisal? ABSOLUTELY NOT! Unlike many art appraisers, Freemanart do not charge any percentage of an items worth. Obviously by charging a percentage of an items worth or of its estimated value, this has a very nasty habit of making absolutely everything 'valuable' in some unscrupulous appraisers eyes and is in our view, both unprofessional and unethical - Sadly though, hundreds of appraisers do this. We are ashamed of that practise conducted by the unscrupulous within our professional field & disappointed in our colleagues who pursue this practise and do so by lining their own pockets. It is a shameful procedure which in our view is underhand, unnecessary and an absolutely unprofessional form of conduct.
Q: How much does an 'online appraisal' (valuation) cost and can it be done from photos or digital images I send to you? Note: An appraisal of this kind is an estimation of value only. It has nothing to do with authentication nor do we provide any subsequent paperwork. This subject is covered later below.
Answer: Yes an 'online appraisal' can be effected from images or photos. However, this type of valuation is only an estimation of value and one which entirely assumes the reliability and legitimacy of the piece as described to us by the client and from images that they too have supplied to us. This must be stressed. We do not guarantee nor give any opinion as to the authenticity the piece, nor guarantee a value.
The assessment of an items value can usually be effected with a one off fee, currently set at just $50.00 USD. per item valuation and is obviously delivered irrespective of the items assessed and indicated value turns out to be. Please note: We have no control over the market value of any painting, item or antiquity. It is your choice entirely to seek a valuation. . If you send us images of the Mona Lisa which you've been told is the real McCoy by your librarian but is really a print on a tea towel which turns out to be worthless. Sorry, that is your judgement. (Yes that actually happened!!!) We did not appraise it and simply told the client why we wouldn't. Remember too; a $50.00 estimation of value, is really designed to assist those people who are considering buying something at auction, be it on line with Ebay or Invaluable or in-house with a local auctioneer. It is an estimation of value and a valuation designed to help those clients who want to know how much something 'may be worth', so they do not exceed its likely market value in an attempted purchase. It has nothing to do with authenticity issues and is not an insurance valuation.
If you plan to have an 'on line' assessment of value made please try to:
Such an evaluation of value from photographs we repeat obviously assumes that the piece is both authentic and legitimate and that the information you provide us with is absolutely reliable and correct. We have no control over what you tell us or what you believe, hope or assume are the realities behind the piece/s background and origins.
AUTHENTICATION ISSUES Art Authentication and any secure qualification of legitimacy, can not and will not be verified from photographs alone and the subject entitled Authentication Procedures, is covered under a separate heading below. We stress: Freemanart cannot, do not and will not entertain to definitively 'authenticate' works of art from digital or photographic images alone. An assessment of value on-line is made sight unseen of the actual article and therefore no written valuation will be undertaken or delivered. If you require a written Insurance valuation, this matter is also addressed later.
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Q: I have an old painting signed by artist 'X' and I need it AUTHENTICATING . How much will it cost?
Answer: One step at a time. It's a Preliminary Assessment or what we call a PRE-AUTHENTICATION ASSESSMENT. That's what you need first.
*PLEASE NOTE: We will not and do not as a matter of firm company policy, undertake any work for clients at any level on the premise or basis that we will be recompensed from proceeds of a future sale. Why?
1/ The work of art may not turn out to be authentic in the final analysis. 2/ You may not want to sell the work of art. And; 3/ It may not even sell, even if you tried to sell it.
If you require a Pre Authentication assessment, please be prepared to:
Q: How can I pay you?
Answer: We do accept PAYPAL payments using all major credit cards for relatively small amounts such as pre authentication assessments or valuations. Alternately, if you wish, the direct transfer of funds from bank to bank. Both transactions carry a 3.85% surcharge and international bank transfers carry an £8.50 or equivalent fee in USD $ for processing. We also accept personal cheques, money orders and other financial instruments by post such as Western Union. However, personal cheques take time to clear and no work can be scheduled or undertaken until funds are cleared and in place.
We will provide you with our payment details for Paypal by Paypal invoice. This makes things much simpler for you.
Please note, we do not accept unsolicited images attached to email enquiries and you cannot send them from the CONTACT page.
Q: What guarantee do I have that my work of art is going to be authentic or valuable after I've paid you to do the job? Answer: None what so ever I am afraid. No one in the world can 'guarantee' what the results of anything may be before they find out if an item is or is not legitimate! That's as silly as asking your doctor to tell you that he's definitely going to find out that you are not ill when you went to see him in the first place to find out if you were or weren't !
Q: How long does it take to have a work of art authenticated and how much will the process cost me? Answer: I'm afraid that the simple answer is like the unknown length of a piece of string. " It takes as long as it takes!" Every project and investigation is entirely different from the next and presents us with completely different sets of rules, factors and indeed, problems that need to be addressed and eventually understood or solved. In some cases, a project can be effected swiftly, saving on time and therefore money. It depends entirely upon how quickly the jigsaw puzzle comes together and what is uncovered during the investigation procedure. Some cases can take a great deal more time and trouble, particularly when you have no reliable provenance or accurate family history attached to the piece to back up its legitimacy. Research in some cases, may have to be conducted abroad, particularly with major works purportedly by major artists, in order to back up the process and the piece may require forensic examination as I have explained, testing, analysis and reports. It all adds up. So one step at a time is the responsible route.
Q: What then is the process of authentication? Answer: We work together in logical and progressive stages. First we will make that basic, fee payable and professional assessment of the piece judging its viability. The pre authentication assessment. This is a personal opinion and a judgement which is effected from photographs and the information you send us. It allows us to assess the market value too, as if it were legitimate. This in turn helps you to determine if the authenticity investigation route is really necessary and for us to get some idea of a plan of action required to head towards authentication or adversely, to show that it is 'illegitimate after all, that is, if you are pursuing litigation for fraud. After it, you will know if we think that we have any possibility of obtaining a full attribution in the long run. If it is obvious to us based upon or vast experience and knowledge of the subject that it is not viable for you to take that risk, you will be advised so. After the initial pre authentication assessment, the client should then know what the realities are and the sort of financial outlay that is required to get to the next stage. They can then make a rational judgment based on all the facts put before them. This can save a great deal of money rather that heading into the authentication processes full tilt. Following this personal assessment, we then inform you of our opinions and you can make a more rational decision to progress or discontinue a full Authenticity Investigation. Like a law firm or solicitors, we are then retained and financially recompensed if you enter into such an investigation by the hour and also for necessary expenses incurred. This in as an advance and we become contracted to the client for each individual case.
Q: Do you provide written appraisals for insurance purposes, tax or family distribution? Answer: Yes, we will upon request and as such, a report fee is levied for this process. You must decide if this is necessary as different insurance companies have different thresholds of values below which they do not require an insurance document. Speak to them first and find out what that level is. That's good advice. We can also make retrospective assessments of value as in the instance of theft, loss or damge.
Q: Why do you not publish your address or telephone numbers of your various offices and laboratories? Answer: The number one reason - Security. The answer to this question is patently obvious. We obviously hold clients valuables at our bases and laboratories for forensic and academic study and evaluation. We also have huge time differentials between our clients and our various offices internationally . We prefer to contact you - following e mail correspondences, as much of what we receive as enquiries are bogus or not serious enquiries.
Q: Why is it not a free service?
Answer: Unlike many web sites, Freemanart have no sponsors cluttering things up. There are no pop ups, no banners and certainly no advertisers. Our question goes straight back to those of you who expect something for nothing. I will ask a simple question and pass it back to you which is perfectly reasonable. "Do you work for 7 days a week without a salary and could you be expected to?" Of course not.
Q: Do you do home visits, in person appraisals and offer art consultancy services and how much does it cost? Answer: Yes and it is payable by the hour or part thereof and it depends entirely where you are of course as travel costs are necessary. Contact us directly for that information and a quote.
Q. How do we contact you? Fill in the Contact form on the web site and tell us how we may assist you. If you wish to send a more detailed letter you may do so to; investigations (at) freemanart (dot) ca In sending any images you must restrict the size of the files to under 500kbs as we have a secure system and all files over 500 kbs will be automatically deleted. Alternately you can send them to this address; freemanart (AT) btinternet (DOT) com
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Updated November 2011. **********
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