We'd Rather Do It Than Write About It

When we first started to add a blog about appraising to our website, we were warned that we needed to continually keep the material fresh and posts updated on a regular basis. We were told if we didn’t do this - that we shouldn’t bother with a blog. For those of you that have read our blog, you know that our content is usually written for potential clients. Articles are written to explain why an appraisal is needed, what kinds of appraisals and formats are available and how one goes about finding the most qualified appraiser for the items that need to be appraised.

We write about appraising as a service to prospective clients and to find new collections to appraise. As appraisers, our passion and focus is really on the act of appraising and not on writing about it. We hope therefore, when there are lapses in our posts that we will be forgiven. There will be lapses from time to time as we get busy with lots of appraisal assignments. If you have been following our blog you have probably noticed there hasn’t been a fresh posting since early spring 2010. This is because we have been extremely busy appraising several major collections.

We love appraising truly fine art. As fine art appraisers, we completely submerge ourselves into our work. Appraising an individual’s collection is an opportunity for us to become as intimately involved with a fine art collection as a curator is with a museum collection. We see works by artists that we would never have the opportunity to see otherwise and that most of the world never sees. We get to know each work so well that we sometimes think about it as we walk our dogs and dream about it at night as we sleep.

Every collection we appraise and every artist we learn about as a result of each new assignment adds to our already vast store of collective knowledge. The experiences and insights we gain from working with our clients are a privilege. To us appraising is not really a job but a way of life. In our spare time we read about art, go to museums, attend classes, talk to other art historians, dealers, and other art professionals.

Appraising for us is “the icing on the cake” - writing about appraising is something we do while searching for the next great collection to get involved in and fall in love with. So please forgive us if our posts lapse from time to time. We’ll try to do better and make them more timely and informative in the future. In the meantime, if you have a collection you love, please call us and share it! Our website is www.fineartofappraising.com. Hope to hear from you.

Sincerely,
Christine Guernsey, ISA AM
Guernsey, Nelson and Kolker
Fine Art of Appraising

TASTE in ART?

Taste: Do you have it? Is yours good, bad, classic, contemporary, funky, in sync with today’s popular culture or intensely idiosyncratic?

Art appraisers know that art is not about good or bad taste, but that art appraisals are often all about taste – and not the individual appraiser’s particular affinity for one style or another. It’s the art market’s preference for particular styles at particular points in time.

Taste can get to be a thorny issue with clients. Too often their art education really begins with making a very common mistake: believing that art, especially art in their possession, will only appreciate in value.

My favorite client bought a very large and beautiful painting thirty years ago for more than $20,000. The artist was considered “hot” and his work was a perfect fit for the interior design of his newly built, then-very contemporary house. Both art and home referred to the Southwestern United States.

Over the years the client received updated appraisals from the gallery which sold him the work. These appraisals were for insurance coverage, and it the painting’s value seemed to grow until it more than doubled.

Recently this client built a new house in the large-scale Mediterranean-style popular now in this part of the country. That once-perfect painting no longer works in its new surroundings and my client would like to sell it. Unfortunately, there is no market for it, even at its original selling price. There is nothing wrong with this painting – it is in pristine condition, with a beautiful paint surface and impressive technique. It’s just out of fashion.

How can the art lover minimize the probability that he will purchase art that does not decline in value over the short run?

1. Be prepared to make mistakes; just try to make them early in your collecting career when the works you are buying are not so costly. That’s why it is so important to look, look and look some more before you purchase. As for buying expensive art on vacation in Hawaii, Santa Fe or some other exotic place – don’t hand over your MasterCard while you are still in a state of euphoria over being away from the office in a glamorous setting. Get photos from gallery, along with information on the artist. Go home, get back into your routine and see if you just miss that painting so much you can’t stand it. I’ll bet it will still be there.

2. Do not think that your financial and professional successes automatically make you bullet-proof when it comes to buying art, especially works being produced now. Working with an experienced art consultant or appraiser who knows the market could help you make a more informed decision on whether to purchase a work at a given price.

3. Your artwork will most likely go through an out-of-fashion period, and may not realize higher prices in the market until well after you have been laid to rest. Don’t take it personally. Your grandchildren may profit handsomely, if they don’t donate your collection to Goodwill before it has had time to become fashionable again. Fingers crossed.

Submitted by, Judy T. Nelson, ISA AM
for Guernsey, Nelson, Kolker and Associates

“Royal Splendor in the Enlightenment: Charles IV of Spain, Patron and Collector”

A Glimpse into Unforgettable Worlds—A Study of Contrasts at the Meadows Museum, Dallas TX

March 7 – July 18, 2010

Reading the various articles announcing this exhibition, I thought the show primarily highlighted Goya and Lopez’s works commissioned by Charles IV as court painters. I was both disappointed and pleasantly surprised to find however, that the exhibition focuses on the grandiose life of Charles IV, with the majority of the paintings by Goya and Lopez on the other side of the museum in a small side gallery. Here was a king who lived in a grand fashion (like they always do),which here in America,we have no concept of. Splitting his time between four royal palaces coordinated to the seasons and to the Royal Palace in Madrid, Charles IV and his family experienced untold wealth. Highlighted in the exhibition are a myriad of objects which exemplify his plush lifestyle: exquisitely ornate desks, chairs, clocks, tapestries, paintings and even a hand carried gold and inlaid wooden carriage used by the Queen.

Contrast these decorative objects with the comparatively small paintings across the hall, where Goya’s work, created outside the realm of court painter, rest in a small alcove, along with some beautiful portraits by Lopez. It is no wonder these two men were chosen for their royal position.

How Dallas came to possess these paintings, along with other wonderful pieces (to name a few) by Velasquez, Murillo and Ribera is thanks to Algur H. Meadows, who began to collect Spanish art in the 1950s, and whose collection is one of the finest outside of Spain. The selection from the permanent collection on view is worth your time if you have it.

But I digress….I began this article with a mention of contrasts. As court painter, Goya produced the large portrait of Charles IV whose image is marketing the show, as well as two idyllic scenes cartoons) which were converted into tapestries.

On this side of the museum however, we witness another side of Goya’s life-the horrors of the French invasion, the darkness and brutality of prison life, the folly of man and a certain introspection which I believe resulted not only from going deaf in 1792 at the age of 46, but also from extended illness. I may be wrong on this, but I am not aware of any artist earlier than the 19th century who gives us such telling portraits of himself and whose views permeate each of his works, no matter who or what he is painting.



As an example,I grew up with a tiny reproduction of Goya’s portrait of the four year old Don Manuel Osorio de Manrique Zuniga, who was the son of Count and Countess of Altimara, painted c. 1788. This fair-skinned child stands innocently poised in a refined red costume bound with lace and satin, holding a string tied to a magpie, whose beak clutches a card bearing Goya’s name as the artist. Back in the looming darkness to the proper right of the boy crouch three cats, waiting for the right moment to pounce on the bird. To the proper left of the child is a bird cage filled with smaller birds that are at least for now, safe from the cats’ reach. The child’s name is written in a fine script across the bottom of the painting. The symbolic elements of this piece keep me coming back to it day after day. What message is Goya hiding within this official portrait? Innocence and vulnerability contrast with the “evil” eyes of the cats, and only a tiny string stands between them and their prey.

Dallas is lucky to have a number of Goya’s works, to include first edition sets of his four great print series: La Tauromaquia, Los Disparates, Los Caprichos and Los Desatres de la Guerra. Due to the fragile nature of prints however, these are not always on view. They may be examined by appointment if you are interested.



One of the small gems in this show, if I may call it that, is “Yard with Madmen”, 1794, a 16 7/8 x 12 3/8 inches, oil on tin. Based on what Goya actually witnessed in a Spanish prison, where the criminally insane were kept in shackles along with the other law breakers, the small dark scene arrests the senses-prison brutality reigns and there is little hope for a better tomorrow.

Contrast this record of Goya’s life with the portrait of Charles IV completed five years earlier, and you have a good idea of the juxtaposition of circumstances that this show presents. I have only brushed over a few pieces, and mulled over a few perspectives on the show. There are certainly many more for you to explore. I hope that you will visit this gem of an exhibition in Dallas. It’s worth the trip.

Submitted by Kim Kolker, ISA AM
for Guernsey, Nelson, Kolker and Associates, Fine Art Appraisals
The Fine Art of Appraising

Re-Discovered and Newly Authenticated Art

An art dealer I once worked for, told me one day that “all the really good old paintings have already been found, purchased and are hanging in museums or private collections somewhere. It is impossible for a dealer to find great paintings of known artists 19th century and older of any quality”. This statement was made before two really interesting re-discoveries and authentications were recently made; The Torment of Saint Anthony by Michelangelo, 1487-88, purchased by the Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, Texas in 2009 and now a newly authenticated work by Vincent Van Gogh, Le Blute-Fin Mill, 1886, now on display in the Museum de Fundatie in the central Dutch town of Zwolle, Netherlands.
The Michelangelo painting was executed in oil and tempera on a wooden panel and believed to be one of only four easel paintings to come from Michelangelo’s hand. The truly amazing part of this discovery is that Michelangelo was only 12 or 13 years old when he painted it. Yes that’s correct….12 or 13 years old. The story behind the story is that young Michelangelo was granted access to prints and drawings in Domenico Ghirlandaio, his teacher’s studio. It was there that he discovered and was attracted to a 15th century engraving by German master Martin Schongauer, The Temptation of Saint Anthony. Using this engraving as an inspiration to try his hand at painting, young Michelangelo visited local fish markets, studying the fish scales and iridescent quality of the scales. The addition of these beautiful scales adds an original element to Michelangelo’s painting compared to the Schongauer’s engraving. Michelangelo’s painting is relatively small measuring 18 ½ x 13 ¼ inches.
The Michelangelo painting was sold at auction in London, July 2008 and then went under conservation and technical research at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. The painting had been known to scholars for decades, but until its recent cleaning, the discolored varnishes and disfiguring overpaints prevented a full appreciation of the young Michelangelo’s masterful execution. After a brief showing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2008, the painting was unveiled in its new home, the Kimbell Art Museum in the fall of 2009. Art patrons in the Dallas Fort Worth area were thrilled by the rediscovered Kimbell acquisition. If you haven’t seen it yet, and are in the area, a visit is a must and a treat!


Back in the 1970s, Vincent Van Gogh was all the rage amongst art history students. I was no exception, intrigued by his bright and often unnatural use of color, thick wild paint strokes and fascinatingly sad life story. Last week artdaily.org, a net art newspaper, reported on the most recent painting to be authenticated - a genuine Vincent Van Gogh. Le Blute-Fin Mill, a 19th century painting of a Paris mill, was declared an original Van Gogh, 25 years after the death of its collector Dirk Hannema. The Van Gogh was purchased by Hannema in 1975 from a Paris antique and art dealer for 5,000 Dutch guilders ($2,700). He then immediately insured it for 16 times what he paid for it. He was absolutely sure it was an original Van Gogh. His claims were discredited, however, because of earlier purchases of other “past masters” and claims which turned out to be forgeries.
The painting is atypical compared to Van Gogh’s more widely-known works such as his starry night paintings in rich dark blues and yellows and his crows over wheat field paintings. In contrast, the sky in this painting is very pale blue, almost ivory white and motionless. One can see hints of the typical Van Gogh stroke in the treatment of the women’s clothing as well as the strokes and almost rickety looking stairs and windmill, although the overall effect of the painting is still more sedate than what one usually thinks of with a Van Gogh painting. The colors in the women’s gowns are more typical of his works, especially the two women in the lower left hand corner of the canvas.
An interesting note about Dirk Hannema is that he was a brilliant art curator, being assigned as director of the Boijmans Museum in Rotterdam in 1921 when he was 26 years old. He collected high quality works by lesser known artists with a preference for works of old masters that were yet to be authenticated. He spent two years in jail just after WWII in 1945. During the war, before the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands, he had been given responsibility for all of the museums in the country. He was arrested and stood trial for being accused of aiding the illegal sale of several artworks to the Nazi’s which once belonged to the Koenigs Collection. He was never formally convicted and was later released. In 1958 he created an institute for his collection and was allowed to live in Nijenhuis Castle in the village of Heino on the condition that he allowed public access to the collection. Hannema personally gave guided tours by appointment until his death in 1984.
As an appraiser of fine art, an art historian and general lover of all arts, I am excited to know that “all the really good old paintings have already been found and purchased” is not necessarily true. I find it exceedingly hopeful that there is still a possibility of artworks just waiting to be discovered and re-discovered. I look forward to seeing them someday in museums where the masses can enjoy them.

Submitted by Christine Guernsey, ISA AM
For Guernsey, Nelson, Kolker and Associates, The Fine Art of Appraising

Insuring Your Art, A Sign of The Times

If there is one question I am asked more often other than "what kind of wood is this", it is what should I insure in the collection. Not being an expert in insurance I won't advise anyone on the types of coverage that can be purchased from a company. However, some thoughts may be helpful - especially as the insurers are evolving in their coverage of art.

Insurance is basically risk management on the part of the insured and the insurer. The Insured wants to minimize the potential loss of a valuable asset. The insurer wants to minimize their risk in having to provide to provide insurance coverage and maximize their profits for providing this service. In a perfect world this relationship can be a win-win situation. Unfortunately, more often than one might like the insured is either under insured, over insured, or not adequately protected with proper documentation of their assets.

Here are some basic thoughts:

* Photograph and document your collection, or at least the most valuable works in your collection. Include current appraisals, original sales receipts, and any additional paperwork that speaks directly to the value of your art.

* Buy as much insurance as you can comfortably afford, whether or not that amount covers the entire value of your art. Most loss, damage, or theft affects only a portion of a collection, not the entire collection. To repeat-- receiving some compensation is better than receiving no compensation at all. See the definition of terms at the end of this article.

* Make sure you understand your insurance policy. This means reading the fine print, and asking every question about every conceivable loss or damage situation that you can think of. You don't want to find out after a loss that you were not covered for that specific type of loss. Important questions should be asked and answered by written communications that you can file and retrieve later if necessary.

* Theft/damage insurance for art, added onto your home insurance, generally costs $1-$2 annually per $1000 of coverage (less if you have a good security system in place). Several insurance companies specialize in covering art and antiques exclusively. Coverage details can be discussed and/or negotiated with your insurance company. There's no excuse for not insuring an art collection. If you can afford the art, you can afford the insurance. And remember-- you don't have to insure for every last penny of value in your collection. Loss or damage rarely affects an entire collection, and you'll find that in the large majority of cases, even partial coverage will reimburse you for a substantial percentage of the dollar amount involved in most occurrences. Understand you risks and the most likely event you are insuring against. Are you in a flood plain, earthquake area, tornado prone state etc.?

Homeowner’s Insurance policy:

If one was to look at a home insurance declarations page, which is usually the first page in a home owner’s insurance policy, they would see Part I: Property Protection. This protection is usually broken down into four additional sections:A. DwellingB. Other StructuresC. Personal PropertyD. Loss of UseCoverage A. Dwelling typically covers your house, attached structures, fixtures in the house such as built-in appliances, plumbing, heating, permanently installed air conditioning systems, and electrical wiring.Coverage B. Other Structures typically covers detached structures such as garages, storage sheds, and fixtures attached to the land including fences, driveways, sidewalks, patios, and retaining walls. Detached structures used for business purposes are not covered under a personal home owner’s insurance policy.Coverage C. Personal Property typically covers personal property including the contents of your home and other personal items owned by you or family members who live with you. This protection can be based on actual cash value or replacement cost. Home insurance policies may provide limited coverage for small boats; however, most home insurance policies do not cover motorized vehicles unless they are unlicensed and used only at your home. Some items may have coverage limits such as firearms, artwork, business property, electronic data, jewelry, and money. Extra coverage is usually available by adding endorsements to your policy.Coverage D. Loss of Use typically covers living expenses over and above your normal living expenses if you cannot live in your home while repairs are being made or if you are denied access by government order.

Endorsements can also be added to your home owner insurance policy at an additional cost to provide extra protection. Examples of endorsements include:

1. Guaranteed replacement cost coverage will pay the cost to rebuild your home as long as you have met the requirements of your home insurance policy.2. Extended replacement cost coverage insures your home for a specific value and usually adds a 20-25% extended limit if reconstruction costs run over.3. Inflation Guard increases the amount of your home owner insurance to keep up with inflation so that you can maintain adequate coverage to replace your home in the event of a loss.4. Scheduled personal property protects articles such as jewelry, furs, stamps, coins, guns, computers, antiques, and other items that often exceed normal policy limits in your regular home owner’s insurance policy. It often provides coverage that is broader than the coverage in the home insurance policy. There normally is not a deductible for this coverage. Increased limits on money and securities provide additional coverage for money, bank notes, securities, and deeds.5. Secondary residence provides protection for a second home such as a summer residence.Theft coverage protection broadens the theft coverage to include personal contents in your motor vehicle, trailer or watercraft to be covered without proof of forcible entry.6. Credit card forgery and depositor's forgery coverage provides protection against loss, theft or unauthorized use of credit cards. It also covers forgery of any check, draft, or promissory note. No deductible applies to this endorsement.

Important: Check your policy. Some policies have limits of coverage under your homeowners by class of property. Some policies calculate your homeowners by a percentage of the total value of the house. For example your house is worth $200,000 and your contents policy is 50% or $100,000. If you have a piano that is worth $50,000 then all you have remaining is $50,000 for the rest of the contents. If your house burns down, you have a problem. It is also important to note that coverage on homeowners is usually a named peril. Not included unless scheduled separately would be your baby throwing your diamond ring into the running garbage disposal.

Check your policy for a co-insurance clause. If you have both a loss and this clause in your policy you may be disappointed in the final settlement by the insurance company. Basically this clause states that if your scheduled property is under-insured then if a loss occurs you will share the loss with the insurance company. The theory behind this is that you are self insured for the difference thereby limiting the liability on the part of the insurance company. If it has been some time since the insured has updated values, this is definitely a concern if a claim is made. On the flip side during economic downturns the only punishment for you the insured is that you may be paying premiums that do not reflect the true value of the property.

Submitted by John Buxton, ISA CAPP

Shango Gallery, Dallas Texas

(For Guernsey and Associates, Fine Art Appraisals)

Meet our associate John Buxton:

Mr. Buxton has been in the antiques and appraisal business for more than 35 years as an recognized expert in African, pre-Columbian, South Pacific, and American Indian Art.

In 1990, he created the computer database, Auction Trak, for the appraisal, research, evaluation, and authentication of tribal art. A year later, he founded and incorporated Art Trak, Inc., an art services computer network. Buxton Appraisal, Authentication and Consulting Service was formed in 1996.

Mr. Buxton is a Certified Appraiser of Personal Property with the International Society of Appraisers, which is the largest personal property appraisal organization in the United States. Buxton is a past national director for the International Society of Appraisers and he is only the second appraiser with the organization and one of four appraisers nationally to qualify with a certification in African art.

Since 1974, Buxton has performed auction bidding for museums and collectors, and appraised, authenticated, and evaluated tribal art for private and institutional clients. Buxton has written, lectured and served as an expert witness as an appraiser and dealer in tribal arts. Buxton has been an appraiser with the PBS Antiques Roadshow since it first season in 1997. John Buxton writes for http://www.arttrak.blogspot.com/ .

First Step Towards Selling Your Artwork

Artwork sales are slowly starting to move upward again in galleries and at auction after a two year drop. The economy has affected almost everyone.

At Guernsey and Associates, Fine Art Appraisals we get at least two to three calls a week from people just wanting to know what their artwork is worth. Lately this isn’t usually out of curiosity. Often they want to sell their art. What should you do if you want to generate cash flow by selling a painting, sculpture or work on paper?

At the risk of sounding self-promoting, first thing you should do when intending on selling an artwork is to contact a fine art appraiser. An ethical appraiser has no bias when it comes to the value of your artwork. Appraisers should never offer to buy your artwork – if they do - run!

Most appraisers offer Verbal Approximation of Value (VAV’s). A VAV is a non-written report - information is given to the client verbally. The appraiser will inspect your artwork determining the quality, looking for a signature and date, evaluating the condition, and making notes on style, medium and size. They will then research for comparable market information to base their opinions on. A “comparable market” means past sales of similar artworks by the same artist or by similar artists, condition, medium and size. Similar works are sought out that have sold in a similar market in the last five years. Sales made no later than from a five year spread are analyzed. Be wary of an appraiser who states “there were no comps available”, as a good appraiser can always find suitable comps. Fees for a VAV vary between appraisers.

A qualified appraiser (one with an educational and professional background that makes them an expert in the area of the artwork you are trying to sell), can give you an unbiased opinion of the fair value you can expect to receive when you sell a work. Different sales scenarios can affect the amount you receive and a good appraiser can explain these to you. If you sell an artwork directly to a buyer at a retail level, you can expect to sell and receive the full value of a work. Selling an artwork to a dealer or at auction will net you less. You will have to give the dealer a “wholesale” price. The dealer will in turn mark it up to a “retail” price to sell it in their gallery. Likewise, an auction will charge you a commission fee to put the item in an auction. Fees vary from different auction houses. An appraiser can recommend various places for you to go and try to sell your work. The sale should be between you and the buyer. Beware of an appraiser who offers to buy it from you. An ethical appraiser should never have involvement in the sale of your artwork, only in the appraising of your artwork. Some appraisers will provide you with a printout of the comparables they have used to determine your artwork’s value. This helps you to understand how they arrived at their conclusions.

Having an appraiser first evaluate and state value for an artwork or collection you intend to sell is an excellent way to receive a fair amount when selling your work. Taking this first step is the safest way to obtain a safe sale experience and not get “ripped off”. The minimal fee you pay the appraiser is well worth it.

The Amon Carter Museum, Not Just For Cowboys Anymore

The Dallas Fort Worth area is rich with fine art institutions. Each city boasts of more than three major museums and are also fortunate to have many galleries, community art centers, outdoor sculptures of merit and artist studios. Of all the treasure troves of possible destinations, my personal favorite is the Amon Carter Museum in Fort Worth, TX.

This gem of an American museum opened its doors in 1961 through the generosity of the Amon G. Carter estate (Fort Worth philanthropist) and his family.

Mr. Carter collected art that epitomized his love of the west. It has been said that early on in his collecting, the idea of a future museum for his beloved Fort Worth began to form. Originally the museum opened as the Amon Carter Museum of Western Art and housed Amon G Carter’s original collection of 60 works by Frederick Remington and 250 works by Charles Russell. The museum’s collection has grown in the last nearly fifty years, thanks to a large part by the museum’s driving force, Ruth Carter Stevenson and her teams of dedicated museum scholars and administrators. The museum currently holds nearly a quarter million objects ranging from 19th and 20th century American paintings, sculpture, drawings and watercolors, photography (including archival and monographic collections), and prints; each and every one of them a masterwork of the highest aesthetic standards. The museum strives to place western art as well as important American artworks with themes of American exploration and expansion, views of settlement, and depictions of cowboy and ranch life in the larger context of American art, culture, and politics that were happening concurrently throughout the 19th and 20th centuries.

Recently, the museum has acquired several new acquisitions of note, a box assemblage by Joseph Cornell (American, 1902-1972), Soap Bubble Set, 1959, and two oil paintings -a meticulous American Pre-Raphaelite example Woodland Glade, William Trost Richards (American, 1833-1905), 1860 and an example of a pre-World War II American modernist, Conversation – Sky and Earth, Charles Sheeler (American,1883-1965), 1940. With the addition of the Charles Sheeler painting, the Amon Carter Museum increases its collection of Precisionist paintings and enhances its already notable collection of Modernists holdings.

The Sheeler painting is a great preview to a year-long theme that the museum plans in 2010 – “The Carter Gets Modern”. The museum is planning three special exhibitions this year. The first is American Moderns on Paper: Masterworks from the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, February 27 through May 30, 2010 which includes works on paper created from 1910 and 1960 by artists that include Georgia O’Keeffe, Andrew Wyeth, Edward Hopper and Charles Demuth. Next is Constructivist Spirit: Abstract Art in South and North America, 1920s-50s, June 26 through September 5, 2010. This exhibition will be the first international exhibition of modernist art that the Amon Carter Museum has hosted. The exhibition will chronicle personal and conceptual ties that link artists working in North and South America in the first half of the twentieth century. Beginning October 2, 2010, a photography exhibition organized by the Carter, American Modern: Abbott, Evans and Bourke-White, will explore how these three photographers transformed documentary photography from a reform genre into a recognized facet of modern art. It will be an exciting year for the museum and its patrons.

If you think of the Amon Carter Museum as the museum with "cowboy art”…..you are right, there is still plenty of great examples of western art. A new Remington and Russell study area opened last spring. However, the museum’s interior displays many pleasant surprises that go way beyond American western art. If you haven’t been to the Carter in a while, I strongly urge you visit again. I guarantee you won’t be disappointed!

Submitted by,
Christine Guernsey, ISA AM
Guernsey and Associates, Fine Art Appraisals

What Is "Outsider Art"? (Part 2)

As part of the larger anti academic trend of the European avante garde which was gaining more appeal, self taught artists were found in almost every country after WWI. In the US there was the Pittsburg house painter John Kane, admitted in 1927 to the Carnegie International Exhibition. In 1932, the MOMA in NYC held a landmark exhibition “American Folk Art: The Art of the Common Man in America 1750-1900”, which looked admiringly to the self taught artists of the pre-industrial past for their ingenuity, innocence and simplicity of expression. There was of course Grandma Moses, one of the most successful and famous artists in America, who had her first one woman show in NYC in 1940. Completely untrained, Grandma Moses became hugely popular through American radio, tv and heavily marketed publications, even having successful shows in Europe and Japan. Self taught art waned in popularity through the mid-20th century, as art critics and dealers became more attracted to the growing Abstract Expressionist movement. However it should be noted that in 1982, the Corcoran Gallery in D.C. held the exhibition “Black Folk Art in America: 1930-1980”.

Over the years, the definitions of folk art in twentieth century America have been wide ranging, including everything from tin men advertising a sheet metal store to weather vanes and ceramic jugs to painters like Grandma Moses to quirky outdoor environments made by singular individuals in their own backyards,(of which many still exist).
So where did the term “Outsider Art” come from? In 1972, British art historian Roger Cardinal in his survey of Art Brut or “raw art”, coined the term as the title for his book of the same name. For the Europeans with their strong art academies and art traditions, coining the terms art brut, naive art, and outsider art made sense, separating these new recognized art forms from the past. However, here in the United States, with no art schools in existence until the late 19th century, the dividing lines between academic and non-academic art, and Art Brut (Outsider) and naïve art have not been so distinct nor appreciated. Similarly, although Dubuffet’s Art Brut is now housed in its own museum in Lausanne Switzerland, the art of the mentally challenged has never gained much appeal in the US.

In the US, self taught art, outsider art and folk art have a tendency to be lumped together as products of individuals with their own aesthetic tastes. This lack of defined terminology can be quite confusing to the American collector who wants to set perimeters for his collection. Where does one go for clarity? Self taught art is still a relatively new field in art. It is not listed in too many art history books. It isn’t listed with the other “ Isms” in art—Impressionsism, Abstract Expressionism, Fauvism, Minimalism, Surrealism, etc. The history of self taught art is being written as we speak.

If you are interested in finding out more, the US has a number of museums dedicated to self taught art and it’s past, current and evolving future role in the history of art.

American Folk Art Museum
45 West 53rd Street
NY, NY 10019
http://www.folkartmuseum.org/

American Visionary Art Museum
800 Key Highway
Inner Harbor
Baltimore, MD 21230
http://www.avam.org/

Smithsonian American Art Museum
8th and G Streets, NW
Washington DC 20560
http://www.si.edu/

High Museum of Art
1280 Peachtree Street NE
Atlanta, GA 30309
http://www.high.org/

Submitted by:

Kim Kolker, ISA AM

Shango Galleries

for Guernsey and Associates, Fine Art Appraisals

What Is "Outsider Art"? (Part 1)

Who creates it? What exactly is it outside of? In a general sense, Outsider art is created on the fringes of society without regard for traditional visual genres. To bring more clarity to the issue, we have to go back to the artist and collector who was one of the first champions of “outsider art.” Jean Dubuffet (1901-1985) famous French artist from the 20th century, was disillusioned with the established, mainstream art world and found great creative energy within the art of the mentally challenged and those who created art on the fringes of culture and society. In 1945, he coined the term “Art Brut”, (or “raw art”) for those artists who were not conditioned by academic training, museums, and society about what art should look like. Dubuffet noted: “It may be that artistic creation, with all that it calls for in the way of free inventiveness, takes place at a higher pitch of tension in the nameless crowd of ordinary people than in the circles that think they have the monopoly of it. It may even be that art thrives in its healthiest form among these ordinary people, because practiced without applause or profit, for the maker’s own delight; and that the over-publicized activity of professionals produces merely a specious form of art, all too often watered down and doctored.”1


It should be noted that Jean Dubuffet was only one of many European avant-garde artists who looked for forms of expression outside of the academic tradition. His interest in self-taught painters was echoed by the Cubist interests in tribal art, the Surrealists interest in Oceanic art and the Impressionist and Post-Impressionist interest in Japanese prints. Many of you may not be aware that Henri Rousseau, whose paintings you are most likely familiar with, was a self taught painter who caught the eye of the avant-garde, specifically Picasso. Henri Rousseau worked as a toll booth collector to earn a living. His coworkers, knowing his passion for art, and believing in the power of his work, used to let him leave work early so that he could work on a painting.

To make matters more complicated, Rousseau is best considered as a naive painter, as opposed to brut. Naive painters are self-taught, but live within the bounds of culture and society. Brut painters know nothing of society, nor are they concerned with it. They paint their inner world. Naïve painters typically have had no exposure to art. However, sometimes based on religious fervor, sometimes due to a personal trauma, they pick up a paintbrush or sculpting tool one day and then never put the tool back down until they’ve created thousands of works. Driven by pain or passion, they find something in their creative endeavors that enlivens them.

As you encounter paintings that don’t fit a particular style, notice how they are categorized by critics and art historians. The ubiquitous term “folk art” can mean many things—from naïve styled New England portraits of the middle class in the 1700s, to wooden decoy ducks, to weather vanes to paintings by the mentally challenged or even to simple pastoral scenes painted in bright and flat colors.

Similarly, outsider art may contain many forms of art that would appear as complete visual opposites. As the term has evolved over the last fifty plus years, one can only guess what might be included in its future definition.
How, for instance, do you classify an outsider artist who becomes extremely popular, enough to where corporations are paying the artist for his pieces, and thousands of posters are being made of his work? What is this artist outside of any longer? Can the term still be used?

(To be continued.)

1. Thevoz, Michel Art Brut, Editions d’Art Albert Skira S.A., Geneva, 1995, p. 5.

Submitted by,
Kim Kolker, ISA AM
Shango Galleries, Dallas, Texas

for Guernsey and Associates, Fine Art Appraisals