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Practice

Standards, and the limits of what I sign

In the United States nobody licenses art appraisers. Anyone may print the title on a business card. So the two things worth checking before you trust a written opinion are the standards behind it and whether the person tells you where their competence ends. Both are on this page.

I

The rules my written work follows

USPAP — the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice — is written by the Appraisal Standards Board of The Appraisal Foundation and is the reference every serious appraiser in the US works to. Five rules govern conduct; Standards 7 and 8 cover personal property, which is where art sits. I apply them to my research and reports even where a formal appraisal is not involved.

  • EthicsI disclose any interest I have in a work before I write about it. My fee never depends on the value I find.
  • CompetencyI accept an assignment only where I have the knowledge for it. Where I do not, I bring in someone who does and say so in writing.
  • Scope of workBefore research starts we agree in writing what will be examined and what will not. The report repeats it, so you can see the edges of the opinion.
  • Record keepingEvery report, source, comparable and photograph goes into a workfile and is kept for at least five years.
  • Standards 7 and 8The development and reporting rules for personal property — the part of USPAP that applies to works of art.
II

What a market value opinion is, and is not

Most of what I deliver is a researched written opinion for your own decisions: identification, condition notes, comparable sales and a value range, with the reasoning shown. It tells you what you are holding and what the market has paid for work like it.

It is not an appraisal for the IRS, a court, an estate filing or an insurance claim. Those require a USPAP-compliant report signed by a qualified appraiser, and the signature carries legal weight. I arrange that through a credentialed partner and do the underlying research myself.

If someone offers you a quick valuation that they say the IRS will accept, ask which standard the report is written to and who signs it. The answer should be immediate and specific.
III

Due diligence before money moves

The market's own guidance separates a purchase into three checks — the work, the counterparty and the transaction — and treats each as a place where risk sits. I run the same three on every pre-purchase review, in proportion to what is at stake, and I publish the checklist so you can run it yourself.

Read the due diligence checklist

IV

My own commitments

  • IndependenceI do not value a work I am being paid to sell, and I do not take a commission from a dealer on a work I have advised you to buy without telling you first, in writing.
  • Fixed feesAgreed before work starts. Never a percentage of value — the professional standards prohibit it, and for good reason.
  • ConfidentialityYour collection, its location and its value stay private. I publish no client name, work or figure without written permission. NDA on request.
  • Plain reportingReports say what is known, what is probable and what is unresolved, in those words. A gap is written as a gap.
V

Where my work ends

What I do

  • Research a work and its history
  • Written market value opinions
  • Pre-purchase and provenance review
  • Collection inventory and documentation
  • Advice on where and how to sell
  • Brief the specialist and read their findings with you

What a credentialed appraiser or specialist does

  • Signs a USPAP appraisal for tax, estate, donation or court
  • Issues a certificate of authenticity
  • Accepts a work into a catalogue raisonné
  • Runs pigment, canvas and dating analysis in a laboratory
  • Gives a legal opinion on title or restitution
  • Conserves or restores the object
This split is the point, not a disclaimer. An advisor who claims all twelve is telling you something about their standards.
VI

Qualification, as it stands

  • CompletedSotheby's Institute of Art — Introduction to Art Business (April 2026) and Art Appraisal (June 2026). BA, National Academy of Fine Arts and Architecture, Kyiv (2018). Both Sotheby's credentials can be verified by their ID numbers.
  • Not heldI am not a certified or accredited member of AAA, ISA or ASA, and I do not describe myself as a certified appraiser. Formal appraisals go through a partner who holds those credentials.
  • The pathA 15-hour USPAP course, a core appraisal studies programme and supervised practice are what accredited membership requires in the US. Until that is in place, the division above is how my practice runs.
VII
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