Buying Mid-Century Vintage Furniture
As a nation of style seekers, we have, for about the past fifteen years, embraced a new age of Minimalism. Young and mid-career collectors no doubt have fond memories of this furniture from their g...
Call Us Now: (504) 282-7611
Call Us Now: (504) 282-7611
While we hesitate to bring up politics or the world situation, art is suffering as it never has before. Today I posted on The Appraisal Group Facebook page (http://bit.ly/25w6acS.) a drone video of the destruction of ruins in Palmyra. Unfortunately, this is not a new subject. Terrorist groups have systematically destroyed ancient art that is the foundation of civilization.
i don’t wish disaster on anyone and my heart is heavy writing about this subject. It does, however, make more sense than ever to know the value of what you own or want to pass on to family. Here is another example of how times of crises can impact fine art collections.
In the mid-2000’s a Russian named Peter Konowaloff wrote to Yale University saying a work in their collection, Van Gogh’s “Night Cafe”, was stolen from his family during the Russian Revolution. The same man had previously contested a work of art in the Met Museum, stating that it had been appropriated from his family.
The Yale case went on for several years. The Supreme Court recently upheld the United States “Act of State” doctrine that prevents US courts from second-guessing the policies of foreign governments. This refers to the Konowaloff claim. Yale keeps the painting. Its value is $200M.
A few years ago Hollywood put out the movie “Monuments Men”. It was an loose account of the efforts of our government to locate and catalog art the Nazis had stolen from homes. It is definitely worth seeing.
As I write this blog today, I weep for the people and the art being broken by wars. Pray it never happens here or to you.
Editor’s Note: Today’s featured image is Vincent Van Gogh’s “The Night Cafe”.
As a nation of style seekers, we have, for about the past fifteen years, embraced a new age of Minimalism. Young and mid-career collectors no doubt have fond memories of this furniture from their g...
NEW YORK,NY. (December 18, 2014) A David J. Goldberg “find” set Sotheby’s auction room ablaze on December 17th when the Louis Majorelle desk and chair he discovered in Carencro, LA made more than $...
Amazing as it sometimes seems, before there was an Internet, there were cross-currents of thought that resounded around the world. It may have taken longer for the ideas of William Morris and John ...
Folks who follow The Appraisal Group on the social media are always interested in knowing more about how David J. Goldberg and his network of specialists work. One of the most frequently asked ques...
If your collection is your passion, it pays to know how much value you should place on it. Perhaps you know to the decimal point how much you paid for cars, furniture or fine art. Perhaps you don’t...
The Appraisal Group challenges you to find out what kind of collector you are. New Age or Old School? . You would pay $300,000 for a Birken bag if you could. / / You are emotional about the...