Art advisory · Collectors

Ten collections at a time, no more

Past ten, you no longer look at the works yourself, you read records and files. It is the only verifiable guarantee I can give on the time your collection gets.

Acquisition

Sourcing across galleries, fairs, public and private sales, studios. The best pieces are almost never publicly visible. A written opinion on quality, condition and fair price, provenance checks, negotiation, then the crate, customs and the hang.

Valuation

A single work does not have one value: insurance value, market value and estate value follow different rules. A written file, with comparables cited and dated. I neither buy nor sell the works I value.

Resale

A work that fails to sell at public auction carries that failure for years. The channel is chosen piece by piece, auction, private sale, gallery, and every condition is negotiable: reserve, seller fees, exclusivity, timing. The seller's name need not circulate.

Collection management

One record per work: provenance, certificates, condition reports, exhibitions, dated values. Conservation, hanging, storage, museum loans. A documented collection is passed on; an undocumented one is liquidated.

Insurance

A household policy does not cover a collection. Agreed value, depreciation after restoration, cover in transit and on loan, values revised every two to three years. Placed with specialist brokers, with assistance if a claim arises.

Shipping

Most damage happens in transit. Custom crating, specialist shippers only, customs and temporary admission, installation and condition check on arrival. Europe and the Americas.

Financing

Credit secured against works held, an advance on a sale, staged payment negotiated with the gallery. The work usually stays on your wall. No commission from lenders: recommending a structure earns me nothing.