Insights

Provenance is often treated as proof of authenticity; in practice it proves something narrower — and understanding that distinction changes how due diligence should be read.

Two of the most common appraisal standards — Date of Death and Fair Market Value — answer different questions, and using the wrong one can create real problems for an estate or a donor.

Connoisseurship — expert judgment based on close looking — remains central to attribution, but it works best in combination with other evidence, not in isolation.

A collection assembled with a clear rationale tends to hold together — and hold value — better than one built purchase by purchase without a governing logic.

Condition is assessed relative to an artist's materials and period, not against an abstract standard of pristine — and that assessment has a direct, often underestimated, bearing on value.