The second question that I am most frequently asked in my work after “Can you fix it?” is “Do you have any idea what it is worth?” Hopefully the answer to the first question is “Yes!” but my answer to the second question is “No, assigning value isn’t what conservators do, but I know the name of several good appraisers”. It is understandable that private clients are more likely to proceed with conserving a piece with high intrinsic worth, and there is synergy between what we do and what appraisers do. Thus it was an important outreach opportunity for AIC to have an exhibitors table at the recent Appraisers Association for America annual meeting in November in New York City. My business partner Eugenie Milroy and I had the privilege of representing our colleagues by manning the AIC booth during the two day meeting.
There were about 300 people in attendance and during the coffee breaks the exhibitor’s area was full of appraisers perusing the tables. We brought a laptop so that we could have the visually appealing AIC outreach PowerPoint presentation on a looped display and then use the computer to connect to the AIC website when we wanted to show people how to access the Find A Conservator feature online. Some attendees were well aware of conservation as a field, and AIC as a professional organization. These individuals tended to stop by the booth to pick up some of AIC’s brochures, fliers and bookmarks to pass along to clients or ask specific questions. Then there were others who, while aware of conservation, were not familiar with AIC. Once they understood that AIC was to conservation what AAA was to appraisers, they often gave a sigh of relief to know that there is a place to turn to find us! It was illuminating to talk to these allied professionals and learn more about their views on conservation and conservators. In addition to these individual interactions that will hopefully turn out to be productive for AIC, the opportunity to talk with and reach out to the other exhibitors was also valuable. There were auction houses, art storage companies, insurance agencies, and others who now know more about AIC.
It was important that AIC was represented at this meeting but we were not the only conservators there. It was nice to catch up with colleague Yuri Yanchyshyn of Period Furniture Conservation who had a beautiful booth displaying before and after images of some of his furniture conservation treatment. Yuri has been working with AAA for several years and has been a good ambassador for our field. Also in attendance was conservator Gordon Lewis of The Fine Arts Conservancy whose wife is an appraiser and has a long history of working with AAA. Having more conservators exhibit on their own at events like these and on behalf of AIC is good for our profession as a whole. While Eugenie and I were there representing AIC, we did have questions about our own specializations and practice and we have even received one potential job lead from someone we met at the conference.
The meeting was titled Tomorrow’s Challenge: Valuing Art & Design in the 20th Century and when there was no traffic in the Exhibitor’s area we were able to listen to a few of the talks. The Keynote Address by James McAndrew a Forensic Specialist from law firm Gunfeld, Desiderio, Lebowitz, Silverman & Klestadt LLP was titled A Decade of Transition in the Trade of Art and Antiquities. He discussed the role that everyone in the art world (including conservators) has to play to reduce sale of stolen and looted art. Other sessions at the conference included topics such as:
- Following your Appraisal through the IRS
- What Museums Collect Now: A Curator’s Perspective
- Serving as an Expert Witness
- Condition is Everything!
- Ask the Folk Art Expert
If you know of a professional organization that holds an annual meeting where AIC might exhibit, please send the information on to Ruth Seyler in the AIC office. The probability of having a booth is, of course, increased if you are willing to staff it! There are never enough hours in the day and it can be hard to take time off from the work waiting in our studios and labs but helping AIC with outreach is good for us as a profession and, you might even find it good for business.