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Artists struggle during their lifetime to survive financially, to gain recognition, and to leave a meaningful and long-lived legacy. When an artist dies, they leave behind not only personal and real property, but also the remainder of their body of work that can span decades. Generally, it is left up to the artist’s family to preserve their work and legacy after their death. Depending on the success of the deceased artist during their lifetime, their artwork and pretty much anything associated with their art practice – letters, papers, documents, and more – can have varying value. Sometimes an artist’s body roN fortier of work is not recognized until their death, partially since their death was the event that finally created the interest they 4 November 2020 | The South Coast Insider were seeing throughout their lives and careers. The myths of an artist’s work greatly increasing after their passing persists as does the myth of their solitary struggle in their garrets. But what about the struggles of their survivors? How do they go about assessing the worth of their dearly departed artist’s estate? The most important part of the estate is the work itself – large quantities of it. An artist who enjoyed the freedom of financial independence because of a successful career may leave their heirs instructions on how to manage their estate. But what of those who do not? I spoke to several experts in this area
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about how to deal with the physical volume of the work, the artist’s legacy, their relevance, and how to properly preserve their life, their work, and their memory for future generations. I asked Dr. Richard Connor, a prolific collector in the region who also represents several mid-twentieth century artists’ estates, including that of Joseph Alexander, about a surge of artwork from estates as the result of the passing of the artists of the Greatest Generation. His response was, “The one thing I think you may be unaware of is that people like me have been acquiring artist estates and selling them for a long time.” He continued, “I have several friends that have been doing it for decades... in fact they are now complaining that it’s kind of hard to find them.” It seems that anything and mostly everything from the 1950s and 60s, from furnishing, to toys, fashion, and especially artwork, is quite in demand. Interestingly, due to the demand, “the mid-century estates they are mostly interested in are less abundant and limited to my friends who focus on this era.”
eye of the beholder
Michael Rose, an art historian, gallerist, appraiser, and advisor who is based in Rhode Island, offers an array of services to clients throughout New England and beyond. He prefers to inform and support both new and experienced art enthusiasts. Rose believes that if you have aging family members who are practicing artists, the best time to deal with their eventual estate is “to start the conversation and begin actively planning.” Most of the families that contact him for his advice and appraisal tend to be those who planned for the eventuality. He does get several inquiries a year from those seeking advice on unplanned estates. In his estimation, due to the population density of the Northeast and the proliferation of practicing artists in the South Coast, the market is oversaturated. Living artists are producing more work than they can sell. “There are collectors who specialize in various aspects of the art market.” Rose says that due diligence is required such as referring to art market reports and contacting a respected authority. “Visit auction houses and galleries and do your homework,” says Rose. And if you’re considering donating work to an institution such as a local museum, “the work must be appraised by a paid certified appraiser in order to get the tax deduction for the donation.” Rose recommends education through The Art Basel and UBS Global Art Market Report and there are many more. He also mentioned that mid-century scarcity may also be the result of work not hitting the market because it’s in storage or forgotten. “It depends on the quality of the work. While it may be true that you can’t make them famous, if it’s good, you can do better than thrift shops and local auctions.” “I want to emphasize that the reality lies between a sad ending and the sometimesover-inflated expectations of people who think their deceased relative might be an undiscovered Van Gogh” says Dr. Connor.
roN fortier is an international artist who emigrated to the Silver Coast of mainland Portugal where he lived, painted, and exhibited.
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