Art deserves informed decisions.
Independent appraisal, art advisory, and collection expertise for the works you own, the collection you are building, and the decisions ahead.
Contemporary · Emerging · Digital Art
THE QUESTION COMES FIRST
What do you need to understand about your art?
What is it worth—and for what purpose? Is a proposed acquisition right for the collection? What should be retained, sold, documented, insured, donated, or examined more closely?
The useful answer begins by defining the question.
Ron Shipmon LLC works with collectors, families, attorneys, fiduciaries, insurance professionals, corporations, and institutions to determine what the assignment actually requires before research or conclusions begin.
OUR PRACTICE
Appraisals
Value begins with purpose.
An artwork does not have one universal value. Insurance, estate administration, charitable contributions, damage and loss, division of property, and other assignments may require different definitions of value, effective dates, evidence, and market analysis.
Our appraisal work begins by establishing the intended use of the assignment and then examining the object, its documentation, condition, history, and relevant market evidence.
Insurance · Estates & Probate · Estate Tax · Charitable Contributions · Damage & Loss · Division of Property · Collection Valuation
Explore Appraisals →Art Advisory
A good decision requires more than a good object.
An artist’s name or an attractive price does not tell you whether a work belongs in a particular collection—or whether the market evidence supports the decision being considered.
We advise clients on acquisitions, sales, deaccessions, private transactions, auctions, research, negotiations, and the continuing development of collections.
The objective is not simply to find art. It is to understand what is being considered, why it matters, and how it fits the collector’s larger goals.
Acquisition · Sale & Deaccession · Research · Negotiation · Auction Representation · Collection Strategy
Explore Art Advisory →Collections & Curatorial
A collection is also a body of knowledge.
As collections grow, information can become separated from the objects it describes. Invoices, provenance, photographs, condition records, appraisals, exhibition histories, and location information may sit in different files—or disappear altogether.
We help private, corporate, and institutional clients bring that information together while developing collections and art programs with clarity, coherence, and purpose.
Inventory · Cataloging · Collection Review · Curatorial Planning · Art Programs · Stewardship
Explore Collections →EXPERIENCE BEHIND THE ADVICE
Judgment shaped by a life in art.
Ron Shipmon is an art collector, curator, art advisor, arts writer, and USPAP-certified appraiser whose career has spanned corporate collections, galleries, private clients, emerging artists, and the contemporary art market.
For a decade, he served as curator of the GE Capital and Financial Guaranty Insurance Company art collections. He developed Colgate-Palmolive’s first in-house exhibition program with an emphasis on diversity and managed galleries in London before founding The American Gallery in New York.
His work has consistently combined market knowledge with an interest in the people, histories, and ideas that shape how art is understood and valued.
Read Ron Shipmon’s Biography →HOW WE WORK
Evidence before conclusions.
01 · Define the question
Establish the purpose of the engagement, the decision to be made, the relevant property, and the information already available.
02 · Examine and research
Review the artwork and documentation, identify what is known and what remains unresolved, and research the market or art-historical evidence relevant to the assignment.
03 · Appraise or advise
Deliver a written appraisal, analysis, or recommendation appropriate to the engagement and supported by the evidence.
FOR PROFESSIONAL ADVISORS
A clear route for your client’s art matter.
Attorneys, fiduciaries, insurance professionals, wealth advisors, family offices, and other professionals may encounter artwork while addressing an estate, claim, charitable gift, division of property, insurance review, or broader client matter.
Ron Shipmon LLC provides independent appraisal and advisory expertise appropriate to the defined matter while working within the needs of the client’s existing professional team.
Discuss a Client Matter →INSIGHTS
What the price tag doesn’t tell you.
Art-market numbers can look definitive. They rarely tell the whole story.
In his writing, Ron Shipmon examines appraisal, provenance, collecting, art-market power, documentation, and the judgments that shape value.
Featured: What an Art Appraiser Sees That a Collector Doesn’t
A signature may attract attention. Condition, attribution, provenance, market context, and the purpose of the valuation may matter considerably more.
Read on Substack → Explore All Insights →LET’S BEGIN
Start with the question.
If you are dealing with an appraisal, acquisition, sale, estate, claim, donation, collection review, or another decision involving art, contact Ron Shipmon LLC to discuss the matter and determine the appropriate next step.
Book an Appointment →