The Art Collector's Handbook: A Guide to Collection Management and Care

232 Pages·2013·24.821 MB·English

by  Mary Rozell

THE ART COLLECTOR’S
HANDBOOK
A GUIDE TO COLLECTION MANAGEMENT AND CARE
HANDBOOKS IN INTERNATIONAL ART BUSINESS
Series Editors: Derrick Chong and Iain Robertson
Advisory Editor: Jos Hackforth-Jones
The art market is now a multi-billion-dollar industry employing
hundreds of thousands of professionals worldwide. Working within
the art market brings a specific set of challenges, which are distinct
from those of the conventional business world. Aimed at art world
professionals and those working within the many sectors of art business,
as well as those preparing for careers in the commercial art world, the
Handbooks in International Art Business provide a series of authoritative
reference guides to the structure and working of the international art
market, incorporating core topics such as Art Law and Ethics as well as
guides to different market sectors.
The Handbooks are written by experts in their field, many of whom teach
at, or are graduates of, the MA in Art Business at Sotheby’s Institute of
Art at its London and New York campuses. Sotheby’s Institute of Art
has pioneered the field of art business as both a professional and an
academic discipline. Its MA in Art Business was established in 1999.
THE ART COLLECTOR’S
HANDBOOK
A GUIDE TO COLLECTION MANAGEMENT
AND CARE
Mary Rozell
Lund Humphries
in association with Sotheby’s Institute of Art
This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject
matter covered in it. It is sold with the understanding that neither the publisher nor the author is engaged
in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional opinions. If legal advice or other expert assistance is
required, the services of a competent professional should be sought. (From a Declaration of Principles adopted
jointly by a Committee of the American Bar Association and a Committee of Publishers and Associations.)
First published in 2014 by Lund Humphries in association with Sotheby’s Institute of Art
Lund Humphries Lund Humphries
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Union Road 110 Cherry Street
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Lund Humphries is part of Ashgate Publishing
Sotheby’s Institute of Art Sotheby’s Institute of Art
30 Bedford Square 570 Lexington Avenue, 6th Floor
Bloomsbury New York
London WC1B 3EE NY 10022
UK USA
© Mary Rozell 2014
British Library Cataloging in Publication Data. A catalogue record for this book is available from
the British Library.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data. Library of Congress Number: 2013048018
Rozell, Mary.
The art collector’s handbook : a guide to collection management and care / by Mary Rozell.
pages cm. -- (Handbooks in international art business)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-84822-099-7 (hardcover : alk. paper) -- ISBN 978-1-84822-143-7 (ebook) -- ISBN 978-1-84822-
142-0 (epub) (print) 1. Art as an investment. 2. Art--Collectors and collecting. I. Title.
N8600.R69 2014
707.5--dc23
2013048018
ISBN: 978-1-84822-099-7
ISBN: 978-1-84822-143-7 (ebk – PDF)
ISBN: 978-1-84822-142-0 (ebk – ePub)
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system
or transmitted in any form or by any means, electrical, mechanical or otherwise, without first
seeking the permission of the copyright owners and the publishers.
Mary Rozell has asserted her right under the Copyright, Design and Patents Act, 1988,
to be identified as the Author of this work.
Every effort has been made to contact the image copyright holders. Any errors or omissions to the
photographic credits are entirely unintentional and the publisher would be grateful if notified of
any corrections that should be incorporated into future editions or reprints of this book.
Series designed by Andrew Shoolbred
Set in ITC Charter III
Printed in the United Kingdom
To Bill and my SALA
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments 8
Foreword 11
Preface 13
Part One Collection Building 17
Chapter 1 Acquisition 18
Markets, Sources, Approaches 18
Restrictions and Additional Expenses 33
Due Diligence 37

Part Two Establishing the Scope and Value of a Collection 47
Chapter 2 Inventory Management 48
Collection Management Systems 49
Cataloguing a Collection 56
Outsourcing Inventory Management 64
Chapter 3 Valuation 65
Valuation v. Appraisal 65
What Kind of Value? 68
Valuation Factors 69
Approaches to Valuation 77
Part Three Collection Maintenance and Holding Costs 81
Chapter 4 Insurance 82
Fundamentals 84
Art Insurance 85
Title Insurance 92
Other Considerations 93
Chapter 5 Shipping, Storage, Framing, and Installation 99
Shipping 99
Storage 112
Framing 115
Installation 121
Chapter 6 Conservation and Collection Care 126
Introduction 126
When is a Conservator Needed? 130
Collection Care Challenges 134
Disaster Prevention and Recovery 139
The Conservation Process 141
Conservation and Collection Care: A Collector’s Obligation? 145
Part Four The Public and Private Worth of Collections 147
Chapter 7 Sharing Collections: Display, Loans, and Publishing 148
Display 148
Museum and Gallery Loans 153
Publishing 157
Caveats to Sharing 158
Chapter 8 Art Investing and Financing 162
Investing in Art 163
Art Financing 171
Part Five Parting from Collections 179
Chapter 9 Deaccessioning, Gifting, and Estate Planning 180
Prerequisites: Information, Valuation—and Some Planning 181
Selling Art 181
Gifts and Estate Planning 188
Conclusion 197
Notes 199
Bibliography 212
Index 215
Image Credits 223
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
It takes a veritable village to complete a professional handbook such as
this, and there are many individuals to thank.
As I am not an expert in many of the specialist areas covered in this
volume, I had to rely on individuals who are. The following colleagues
very generously committed to reading specific chapters and made critical
contributions: Eric Kahan, Collector Systems; Heather Gray, Associate
General Counsel, Sotheby’s; Andrew Faintych and Jonathan Schwartz,
Atelier 4 Fine Art Logistics; Glen Wharton, former Time-Based Media
Conservator at the Museum of Modern Art and Clinical Associate Professor
at New York University; Vivian Ebersman, Christiane Fischer, Amanda
Rowley, and Erika Witler of AXA ART Insurance; and Andy Augenblick of
Emigrant Bank Fine Art Finance. I am extremely fortunate to be able to
call on these respected professionals and I am deeply grateful for their
involvement.
Sincerest thanks are also due to those who reviewed my entire
manuscript draft and offered unfiltered assessments: art advisor Alex
Glauber, my co-pilot in the Sotheby’s Institute of Art (SIA) Art Collecting
course; fellow Hamiltonian and art advisor Chris Barton; and my husband
Bill Adams whose commanding intelligence and work in the publishing
field make him an editor nonpareil. These critiques were invaluable.
I would like to thank the other professionals and members of the
field who have shared their knowledge, expanded my vision, made
introductions, or otherwise added to this book: Katherine Hinds, Curator
of the Martin Z. Margulies Collection; Bas Mühren, Research Department,
Kröller-Müller Museum; Tanya Van Sant, ArtBase founder; Tasha Seren;
Bettina and Donald Bryant, Jr.; THE EKARD COLLECTION; Elizabeth
Szancer Kujawski; Tom Zoufaly, Art Installation Design, LLC; and
Christiane Fischer, President and CEO of AXA ART Americas.
The following individuals graciously provided images which bring
life to these pages: Suzanne Siano and Stephen Gaylor of Modern Art
Conservation, New York; Elinor Kuhn and Erika Hoffmann, Hoffmann
Sammlung Berlin; Katharina Grosse; The Martin Z. Margulies Collection;
8 THE ART COLLECTOR’S HANDBOOK
AXA ART Insurance; Ernesto Neto; The Estate of Giorgio de Chirico;
Deutsche Bank; The Singapore Freeport; and James Clar.
My student Avie Linden was a helpful and caring research assistant
who worked on my footnotes and continued to check in on me long after
her task was completed.
Other students have stimulated my work with their energy and ideas.
Specifically, Erica Back’s essay on the collector Nelson A. Rockefeller and
Isa Castilla’s research on private collector museums provided new insights;
Matthew Foster’s MA thesis on private collections with public access was
instructive and sparked energizing discussions. Cristina Biaggi wrote an
outstanding thesis on the conservation of contemporary art and was an early
reader of my conservation chapter. Her warm and remarkable allegiance
has buoyed me throughout the duration of this project and beyond.
Members of the Sotheby’s Institute of Art—NY Art Business Faculty
also contributed to getting this content into shape. Tom McNulty read two
drafts of my chapter on valuation, offering excellent suggestions, catching
countless typos, and providing enriching and enjoyable dialogue. Former
Christie’s auctioneer Barbara Strongin combed my chapters containing
auction references and offered valuable comments with her usual efficiency
and accuracy. Special appreciation is due to Judith Prowda for not only
reviewing the entire manuscript, but putting the idea of this book out into
the ether. Her regular pep talks and faithful support provided heartening
reassurance.
I am also grateful to my colleague and sounding board, Kathy
Battista, and to our capable and inspiring Director, Lesley Cadman, who
has provided me with steadfast guidance, sustaining conversations, and
unparalleled support on every front throughout my tenure at SIA. The NY
Art Business program could not have evolved, nor could this book have
been written, without her leadership.
I would particularly like to thank Jos Hackforth-Jones, Director
of SIA—London and series Advisory Editor, who invited me to submit
a proposal for this book in the first place, and whose kind and perfectly
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 9