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Valuing Art From Photographs
 by: Corinne Cain

Why can't you value my art from photographs?

• Liability

• As long as I am a professional art appraiser, I am held to a different standard than someone functioning strictly as a dealer.

• PLUS I like to be right!!!

Photographs do NOT reveal all condition issues and the public is not trained to properly describe them. How many of you can recognize light staining, mat burning, foxing, etc? These and other condition flaws significantly impact value.

• A reproduction attached to canvas virtually looks the same as an original oil painting in a photograph. Unless I know which museum is currently hosting the actual painting, I cannot be perfectly sure you are showing me a photographically generated reproduction or an actual painting when viewing a photograph. Now there are gicleé prints printed on canvas and enhanced with paint, a hands-on inspection is a must.

About The Author Corinne Cain is the principal of Corinne Cain, Ltd, a nationally recognized firm affording expert appraisal and consulting services on Fine Art and Native American Art. Her background includes an MFA and MBA from Southern Methodist University. Ms. Cain is also the proprietor of Savvycollector.com, a nationally known secondary art market dealer. Copyright Corinne Cain, 2005

This article was posted on December 07, 2005