Art + Time: The Benefits and Uses of Art Valuations and Inventories

While the intangible values of art are difficult to quantify, corporate and public art collections offer many benefits: they are a visual representation of an institution’s values, they create a sense of inclusion and recognition, and they inspire creativity in a workforce. In addition to its proven cultural and psychological value, art also has physical attributes that must be attended to professionally, and a monetary value that changes over time. Artwork inventories and valuations conducted by The Lumiere Group account for the physical placement and financial value of works in a collection as time passes. Through the process of inventory, we identify and document artwork locations and condition. Condition, along with artist and market research, factors into the valuation, which is the estimated contemporary sale price of a work of art.

Art + Time is a base formula that our team uses to account for variations in everything from physical wear to artist reputation and activity. The longer an artwork is in a collection, the higher the potential for change in both condition and value.  The Lumiere Group considers the formula of Art + Time when conducting inventories and valuations for our clients’ varied and unique art collections.

Inventory:  

• Things move. Sometimes artworks end up in unexpected locations, especially if the collection does not have dedicated art staff to track artwork placement. We identify artworks’ current locations and record them in a straightforward, easy-to-find manner for our clients.
• Action comes from professional knowledge. We assess and document the condition of artworks, detailing characteristics of their current state and potential conservation issues.
• Our findings are clear and actionable. We ensure that our records are easy to understand for art professionals and non-art professionals alike, and we handle artwork information securely and with discretion.

Valuations:

• Protect art assets. Maintaining accurate valuations at regular intervals is part of keeping an art collection insured. We leverage our access to art world resources like auction houses, galleries, and artists themselves to efficiently create thorough valuations required to maintain art insurance.
• More information can lead to better art engagement. We are passionate about art and artists. In the course of valuation research, we keep in mind the essential value of art. We enjoy reporting surprising findings and anecdotes to clients, which can lead to highlighting artworks for exhibition or more engaging programming and interpretive text.
• Switching things up? If an art collection’s mission is evolving or its footprint is changing, valuations are often the first step in deciding the future of artworks, whether they are to remain in-house or be donated or sold.

Valuations:

• Protect art assets! Maintaining accurate valuations at regular intervals is part of keeping an art collection insured. We leverage our access to art world resources like auction houses, galleries, and artists themselves to efficiently create thorough valuations required to maintain art insurance.
• More information can lead to better art engagement. We are passionate about art and artists. In the course of valuation research, we keep in mind the essential value of art. We enjoy reporting surprising findings and anecdotes to clients, which can lead to highlighting artworks for exhibition or more engaging programming and interpretive text.
• Switching things up? If an art collection’s mission is evolving or its footprint is changing, valuations are often the first step in deciding the future of artworks, whether they are to remain in-house or be donated or sold.