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| Shared Passions |
Artful Beginnings
Aline Sullivan
08/02/2004
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Most advisors work on a
commission basis. Pearl prefers to steer her clients toward advisors who work on
a fee basis, since they have no interest in seeing clients buy at the highest
price. Unfortunately, this is more the exception than the rule. “I’d guess that
less than 20 percent of art advisors work on a fee basis,” she admits.
“Certainly there are very good advisors who are working on commission. What is
important is that you check out market prices through online auction records,
and by speaking with dealers and curators.”
Apart from the subjective matter
of taste and the roller coaster of fashion, an artwork’s provenance, rarity,
quality and freshness to the market determine its value. Very few amateur
collectors are qualified to measure all of these factors, but the best art
advisors can. Even experienced collectors confess that they still need a second
opinion, someone who will make certain that they are not swept up in the moment.
Well-connected advisors can also serve as their clients’ eyes and ears, opening
buying and selling opportunities in the international marketplace, notes Mary
Hoeveler, managing director of the Citibank Art Advisory Service. They can
function as their clients’ advocates, introducing them to weighty dealers and
ensuring that they stay on the dealers’ favored-client lists.
Pearl counsels
that we also either hire or contract with a consulting curator who should work
with us at least twice a year to catalog our acquisitions and seek occasions to
exhibit, buy and sell. We can employ an independent curator, although we might
desire the prestige of a museum-affiliated curator. In that case, there is one
potential caveat. “Eventually, the museum will pressure you to donate,” says
Pearl. That could be blessing or a burden, depending on our plans down the
road.
Photography by Susan Anderson
Additional Information
 A Less Dismal Science
 Tactical Considerations
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