In any high-asset divorce, one asset that you should remember to have appraised is artwork. Artwork won’t always be worth thousands or millions of dollars, but a few pieces worth several hundred dollars will add up.
Artwork is one of those assets that may not have a particular value, though. You will need to seek an appraisal, and the appraiser you hire may not agree with the appraiser that your spouse works with. As it’s been said, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and that’s certainly true in the art world.
How much is your art worth? It depends on many factors
An appraisal is not the same as actually selling the piece, and getting the appraised value depends on finding a buyer willing to part with that amount of money. An appraisal may give someone, like an auctioneer, a place to start with a sale, but it doesn’t guarantee the value of the property.
The price of pieces of art may depend on many factors including:
- The popularity of the subject matter
- The popularity of the specific artist
- The condition of the piece
- The personal interests of the seller and potential purchaser(s)
- Trends in the market
- Age
Appraisers are trained to determine the value of artwork and to give you a written statement of its value. You and your spouse may both want to hire your own and come up with a fair value based on their appraisals.
Your attorney can discuss this with you more if you have antiques or valuables that are yet to be appraised.