Saturday 2 November 2013

How Much Is Your Art Really Worth?







I have been asked for evidence of value after the above work 'Walking Shadows' was destroyed by fire during its journey back from an exhibition in the UK.   I now have to try and claim back the value of my artwork from the insurance.

So do you know how much your art is really worth?

Retail price or market value is normally what an insurance company would look at first, but what if the work hasn't been sold?  The price ticket on the artwork is only what the artist thinks it's worth, taking into account emotional value, time spent  and materials used. 

The piece of art could be valued on recent selling prices of similar work by the artist, but if the artist is less established and hasn't many recent documented sales that becomes more difficult.

So what I think my art is worth and how much an insurance company value it (if anything) is completely different.

So beware when shipping work around the world, check the insurance details and document wherever possible the value of your art, that includes newspaper articles, exhibitions and catalogues, auction site pages, anything that could be used as evidence of value.





11 comments:

Unknown said...

Oh no! I'm so sorry it got destroyed! I don't think there is any monetary value that could ever make up for the loss of an original artwork. It's a wonderful piece. I hope you get a good amount from the insurance. Is the image that you show here a high enough resolution to have a print made?

Judy said...

I already read this on fb, I'm so sorry this happened to your beautiful work.

Cathy Holtom said...

I had it scanned professionally before framing it, so I have a very high res
copy on my computer. Everything is being done to get the insurance but I'm not very hopeful at this stage.
Lessoned learned and I will paint another one in a similar style. (It was always my intention to do so anyway!)


Boud said...

So sorry about this loss. But as you say, you intended to paint another version, so now you will definitely do that. And I agree that there's no monetary compensation that can really make up for the loss of an original artwork.

Unknown said...

I really love the way you paint people. The movement you captured is really difficult to do, and again you made a difficult thing look effortless. So sorry it was lost.

Sue Clinker said...

So sorry to hear about the loss of your picture Cathy but it is such a minefield when dealing with shippers/insurance companies for artwork.
I had a framed picture damaged when the glass broke and pierced the drawing. Despite having paid extra insurance the carriers refused to pay more than the cost of the raw materials used. That was a commissioned portrait and had been paid for so I had proof of value but I had failed to spot in the small print that they didn't accept liability for glazed items. In fact, very few carriers do.

Its good that you have a good quality scan of the lost work and I look forward to seeing your new work on similar lines

Cathy Holtom said...

Thank you for the kind comments.
Sue - I agree, I have had a look at the small print on the carriers site and it does seem artwork is excluded from insurance. I have had problems before with Italian carriers, I can fee a nasty letter coming on! ;-)

Gillian Mowbray said...

A timely lesson for us all. I hate carriers. It's a lottery these days. Just too much parcel traffic. Any prints from this lovely piece will have extra exclusivity anyway, Cathy!

Sandra said...

Oh my, what a mess! Your piece was so strong. I haven't faced this situation, but your readers do have good insight.

Anonymous said...

Just catching up, and sorry to read about the loss of your painting. It reminded me of the time my film was ruined by the photo developing shop. I was offered a replacement film ..... I asked if I could also have my airfare to go back to Crete to take the photos again!!
I hope you get a satisfactory resolution , but fro what you say, that doesn't seem likely.

Sharon Whitley said...

I always worry about any artwork getting to their destination safely - so far have had no problems but I'd be so upset to have something like this happen - such a shame that certain things aren't valued as they should be