Expertise for decisions that carry consequences.

An appraisal may uncover a documentation issue. A proposed sale may raise questions about condition, provenance, or timing. An estate may contain works nobody has examined in years. A collection assembled over decades may have records spread among several homes, advisors, files, and family members.

Ron Shipmon LLC brings appraisal, art-market, advisory, and curatorial experience together so the work begins with the right question.

ART APPRAISALS

A value informed by its purpose.

Before determining value, an appraiser needs to know what the valuation is for.

Insurance replacement value is not the same as fair market value. An auction estimate is not an appraisal conclusion. A prior purchase price may be useful evidence—or may tell us very little about the value relevant to the present assignment.

Our appraisal process begins by defining the intended use and then considering the property, available documentation, condition, provenance, attribution, appropriate market, comparable evidence, and effective date.

Insurance

Valuation for insurance scheduling, policy review, collection documentation, and other insurance-related purposes.

The relevant question is not simply what the owner paid. It is what the assignment requires and what evidence supports the appropriate value conclusion.

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Estates & Probate

Independent valuation of fine art and other significant personal property for estate administration, probate, planning, and related decisions.

Estates frequently reveal gaps between what a family believes it owns and what surviving documentation can establish. Identifying those differences early can prevent larger problems later.

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Estate Tax

Appraisal research and valuation undertaken for the specific requirements and effective date of an estate-tax assignment.

Charitable Contributions

Fair market value appraisal work for charitable gifts, with the purpose, property, documentation, and applicable requirements established at the outset.

Damage & Loss

Independent valuation support when fine art or significant personal property has been damaged, lost, destroyed, or altered.

A damage matter may require understanding pre-loss value, condition, restoration, diminution in value, replacement considerations, or whether the available evidence supports a particular conclusion.

Division of Property

Independent valuation when artwork and collections form part of divorce, equitable distribution, partnership dissolution, inheritance, or another division of assets.

Collection Valuation

Valuation of individual works or larger collections for a clearly defined purpose.

The number of objects does not change the basic principle: the purpose of the assignment determines the work required.

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ART ADVISORY

Knowing what is available is not the same as knowing what deserves attention.

Collectors today have unprecedented access to galleries, fairs, auctions, online platforms, private dealers, and market information.

More access does not necessarily make decisions easier.

Our advisory work helps clients determine which opportunities deserve closer examination and which do not.

Acquisition Research & Selection

Research works and artists in relation to the collector’s interests, existing collection, budget, market evidence, and long-term objectives.

Assessment of Potential Purchases

Consider attribution, condition, provenance, documentation, price, comparable market evidence, and the work’s relationship to the broader market before a transaction proceeds.

Private Negotiations

Represent client interests discreetly in discussions involving galleries, dealers, private owners, and other market participants.

Auction Representation

Research prospective lots, establish bidding considerations, and represent clients where appropriate during the auction process.

A published estimate is a starting point—not a conclusion about what a particular work is worth to a particular collector.

Sales & Deaccession

Assess works being considered for sale and evaluate the available channels, timing, documentation, and market context before deciding how—or whether—to proceed.

Commissioned Works

Assist in identifying artists, defining the commission, coordinating the process, and helping establish expectations between client and artist.

Collection Strategy

Help collectors think beyond the next transaction.

The strongest collections usually develop an underlying logic: relationships among artists, periods, ideas, media, personal interests, and the collector’s own point of view.

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COLLECTIONS & CURATORIAL

What you know about a collection is part of what you own.

A collection can grow much faster than its records.

One person may have the invoices. Another arranged insurance. A conservator has the treatment records. Works have moved between residences. Previous appraisals are no longer current. A gallery has closed. An artist who was emerging when acquired may now occupy a very different market.

The objects remain. The information surrounding them can become fragmented.

We help bring the two back together.

Collection Inventory & Cataloging

Create or refine records identifying the works in a collection and the information associated with them.

Depending on the collection, records may include artist, title, date, medium, dimensions, edition information, acquisition history, provenance, location, documentation, photographs, and relevant appraisal or condition information.

Collection Review

Examine an existing collection to identify significant works, documentation gaps, outdated information, appraisal needs, conservation questions, and potential priorities.

Curatorial Planning

Develop concepts and presentations that establish relationships among works and help a collection communicate a coherent point of view.

Corporate & Institutional Art Programs

Develop and manage art initiatives suited to an organization’s objectives, audience, environment, and existing collection.

Ron Shipmon’s corporate curatorial experience includes the GE Capital and Financial Guaranty Insurance Company collections and the development of Colgate-Palmolive’s first in-house exhibition program.

Collection Stewardship

Help establish the records, systems, and specialist relationships necessary to preserve both the physical collection and the information that gives it context.

Installation, Framing & Specialist Coordination

Coordinate appropriate outside expertise for transportation, installation, conservation, framing, photography, storage, and related collection needs where required.

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FOR PROFESSIONAL ADVISORS

Art is often one part of a much larger 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.

The art question may be unfamiliar. It does not need to become a distraction from the larger assignment.

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.

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HOW AN ENGAGEMENT BEGINS

Scope before work.

The first conversation is designed to determine what the matter actually requires.

Define the purpose

Why is the appraisal or advisory work needed? Who will rely on it? Is there an effective date or deadline?

Identify the property and documentation

What works are involved? Where are they located? What photographs, invoices, prior appraisals, provenance records, condition reports, or other documentation already exist?

Determine the appropriate engagement

Once the question and available evidence are understood, the appropriate scope, research requirements, access needs, timing, and professional fees can be established.

CONTACT

Start with the matter at hand.

Please feel free to contact Ron Shipmon LLC if you require appraisal services, art advisory guidance, collection expertise, or an independent professional perspective on an art-related matter.

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