Journal
How large art collections are appraised
A house full of work is one engagement with one purpose and one effective date — not a hundred separate guesses stapled together.
A collection of two hundred objects is one appraisal assignment: one purpose, one effective date, and a catalog that has to stay consistent from the first room to the last.
Scope first
What is in, what is out, and why. Works in a second house belong in the same engagement if they share purpose and date. Staff can measure and photograph. The signing appraiser sets the method, researches the markets, writes, and certifies.
Room by room
Completeness is the point. Leaving out the lesser works is how estate schedules and insurance riders fail later. Comparables are grouped where the market is grouped.
Time, not a percentage of the total
Fees follow hours or an agreed flat scope. A percentage of the collection total punishes the client for owning more art and ties the appraiser income to the sum produced.