It’s YOUR Appraisal Process: Begin Here.

What must YOU know about the appraisal process before calling an antiques or art appraiser? We are all different and our circumstances are different. So, find out what how all of this works and what you need to do.

The Rule of Law

Appraisals are performed in accordance with Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP). The USPAP is the American standard for all appraisals. The USPAP is a set of ethical and procedural regulations that are promulgated by the Appraisal Foundation and subscribed to by the American Society of Appraisers (ASA). Click on USPAP to order your own copy. All specialty appraisers must adhere to the USPAP rules of engagement. That includes us Personal Property Appraisers (PP: e.g., portable tangibles), Real Estate Appraisers (RP: structures and land), Business Valuers (BV: e.g. Citibank, AIG, WorldCom, etc.), Gemologists (G&J: gems & jewelry), Machinery & Equipment Appraisers (M&E: yachts, aircraft, bulldozers, Exxon Valdez, etc.).

BE ADVISED: Any object that is appraised by Mr. Grove cannot be bought by him, or in his interest, in perpetuity, due to the inherent creation of a conflict of interest. Confidentiality is assured by law.

Expert Witness

Silver appraisals
Silver appraisals

EXPERT WITNESS and Consultations for Attorneys Representing Defendants or Plaintiffs: Mr. Grove is not your client’s advocate – you are.
He advocates only for his own opinion as the facts merit. Objective opinions of value made by Mr. Grove shall be substantiated by credible market research and analysis. Subjective opinions are based on 35 years of practical experience and they shall be plainly identified and stated succinctly. No opinion shall be shaped to fit the needs of any client for any reason whatsoever, period – no exceptions. Be prepared to hear what you do not want to hear if the facts support a conclusion that is opposite of your objective. Furthermore, his conclusions will be identical regardless if the case is for a defendant or for a plaintiff. Any attempt by retaining counsel to prejudice the impartial opinion(s) of Mark C. Grove or his associates will violate the Retention Agreement. Be advised right now, clearly, if you seek a hired gun, go somewhere else. If you want to know the facts, you’ve come to the right place. If you are honest and realistic, you’ll be glad that you’ve finally found your ethical equal.

Appraisals for Private Clients Not Involved in Litigation: Mr. Grove is not your advocate. He advocates only for his own opinion as the facts merit. Attempts on the part of a client to influence Mr. Grove’s opinions of value conclusions will be rebuffed. Every effort will be made to limit your expenses as long as the required due diligence is not impinged. About two thirds of prospective clients do not need a written appraisal report and you will be advised of this as soon as it becomes evident. Also, you will be advised as to what should and should not be scheduled for insurance coverage or some other intended use. Some objects are simply not worth the expense of having them appraised and then paying the insurance premiums. However, you may overrule recommendations and insist to be scheduled as you wish. And for your information, reports often include tips in the footnotes pertaining to restoration, market strengths and weaknesses, contact information of key individuals, and resources for repair and replacements, etc. These valuable tips will save you time and frustration and they are based on Mr. Grove’s experience.

Decoy Appraisals

CONSULTATIONS FOR PROPERTY DISPOSITION

Mr. Grove is your advocate when acting as a consultant for the disposition of personal property. Your best interest is paramount. He will advise you as to the best way to dispose of your high value properties. The marketplace is complex and hazardous. Depending on what it is that you intend to sell, there are crucial factors to be considered such as timing, location, presentation, venue, etc. Unless you are entirely familiar and up to date with market trends, engage a consultant. The improved results will likely offset the expense.

Legal Document

Porcelain Appraisals

APPRAISAL REPORTS are Legal and Historical Documents. The final product of the Appraisal Process is a defensively written formal document substantiated with credible market results that is compiled in a manner any reasonable mind can comprehend. It is designed to withstand the rigors of a legal contest. Finished reports are similar in appearance to a graduate school thesis or dissertation. Some are as thick as a telephone directory. Reports are bound within plastic jackets, have a cover page, executive summery and a detailed scope of work statement, index, certification page, policy statement page, an introduction, item-by-item literal and/or interpretive narrative descriptions, photographs embedded in the text, market commentary, conclusion, footnotes, bibliography, expert pool, fine print (legal stuff), and a glossary of technical terms used in the report. All reports are protected by copyright because they are considered intellectual property. Each page carries in the header or footer the copyright, the purpose of and intended use of the appraisal report, the effective date of the report, the client’s name, and the appraiser’s name. Pagination is designated in a manner that reflects the length of the report so that the finished product cannot be disassembled for other intentions (i.e. 1-OF-50). TIP: Never discard old appraisal reports no matter how obsolete or how poorly written they might be because they serve as a historical record, if nothing else. Written reports provided today by accredited appraisers are vastly superior to examples available even ten years ago. Properly written appraisal reports are as important as a Will and should be kept in a safe place.

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION — No Problem

Mr. Grove Will Travel to or Skype Assignments Nearly Anywhere. He has consulted via Skype, email, and telephone with private and institutional clients throughout Virginia and in Maryland, New York City, Seattle, Florida, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Texas, North Carolina, California, Connecticut, California, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, Arizona, Texas, New Jersey, West Virginia, Kentucky, Hawaii, Washington, D.C., as well as the UK, EU, Hong Kong, Australia, and India. Past appraisal assignments that Mr. Grove has accepted have been for as few as one object or over 40,000 objects with individual properties sometimes exceeding $1,000,000 in estimated value. Some of the assessed assets have been as early as 800 BC and others have been new. As always, clients’ names, occupation, and subject property identity (i.e. Mona Lisa) are kept confidential as are the properties that they own.

WHEN: YESTERDAY

All Assignments are Completed in a Timely Manner. From the examination date to completion, depending on the size of the assignment and the amount of research, they are usually completed within three to six weeks. New assignments are scheduled as time permits.

NO JACK

No One Appraiser is Expert in All Fields. When a property is outside the norm the professional appraiser must either engage in additional research or draw from a pool of expert colleagues. Some property types require a personal property appraiser specialized in the respective field, such as: gems & jewelry, modified or damaged automobiles, equipment, yachts, aircraft, horses, and timber. If you have any of these properties, Mr. Grove can refer you to a colleague with expertise in those properties.

APPRAISAL SERVICES (almost) ANYWHERE

  • Trusts & Estates
  • Estate Planning
  • Insurance Scheduling
  • Division of Property: Divorce
  • Estate Settlements
  • Donations Exceeding $5000
  • Equitable Distribution
  • Insurance Claims
  • Asset Assessment
  • Bankruptcy
  • Income stream
  • Valuations of Personal Property

CONSULTATION SERVICES (almost) ANYWHERE

  • Expert Witness
  • Litigation Support
  • Depositions
  • Purchase Advisory
  • Sales Advisory
  • Guidance to Buy
  • Guidance to Sell
  • One-on-one Tutorials
  • Hand-holding in troubled times

PROPERTY CATEGORIES: TYPICAL

Clock Appraisals, for example

The Personal Property Items that Mr. Grove Typically Encounters: furniture (American, Continental, English, period, country, mission, painted, twig, folk, custom, designer, MCM, Art Deco, Nouveau, shabby, brown, etc.), paintings, sculptures, bronzes, prints, sterling silver (by weight, form, maker, pattern) flatware and hollowware, coin silver ware, other silver wares, Oriental rugs and other textiles, fur coats, couture, steel traps, walking sticks, canes, equestrian & spurs, all forms of folk art, Mexican retablos, Panamanian molas, American Indian folk art, South American folk art, Asian folk art, African folk art, carved jade, carved ivory, wood carvings, carved soapstone; objects made of elephant ivory, mastodon ivory, mammoth ivory, walrus ivory, whale ivory, elk ivory, hippo ivory, vegetable ivory; Australian Papunya Western Desert art, outsider art, art of every type, pottery of every type, creamware, pearlware, American pottery, English pottery, porcelain, studio pottery, earthenware, sgraffito-decorated wares, yellowware, redware, stoneware, studio art glass, Italian Murano art glass, pattern and cut glassware, ephemera, postcards and RPPC, all types of early photographs (tintypes, ambrotypes, daguerreotypes, CDV’s, cabinet cards, etc.), American Indian silver jewelry, Danish silver jewelry, Mexican silver jewelry, studio silver jewelry, costume jewelry, bakelite jewelry, prints, luggage and handbags, purses, hatpins, schoolgirl samplers, kimonos, weapons, quilts and coverlets, Oriental and hooked rugs, pewter and other metalware, treen, carvings, old hand tools and scientific instruments, medical, tobacciana, country store items, advertising, clocks, lighting, fishing tackle and lures, hunting decoys and traps, cowboy and equestrian items, firearms, edged weapons, militaria, police and firefighting, sporting and sports related (except cards), Shaker items, baskets, books, political ephemera, toys, architectural elements, garden furniture, automobiles, collections of popular collectibles, other categories too numerous to mention, and personal property that is not old but may have been damaged in transit. I do not appraise gems, coins, stamps, erotica, and baseball cards.

PROPERTY CATEGORY: FINE ART

Appraising Fine Art – routine, hundreds annually

Partial Listing of Past Fine Art Appraised by Mr. Grove by Artist: Diego Rivera, Picasso, Rembrandt, Renoir, Chagall, Dali, Goya, John Singer Sargent, Rodin, Calder, Remington, Claude Monet, Henri Matisse, Charles Marion Russell, J.J. Audubon, Peter Max, Winslow Homer, Edward Hopper, Marsden Hartley, Mêlê, Domenichino, Tiepolo, Starkweather, R. Motherwell, N.C. Wyeth, J. Wyeth, R. Henri, J.J. Porter, Altaffer, Hartenhoff, Janssand, Pain, Diaqué, Dickerson, Grau Santos, Ziem, J. Bell, Williams, Blackman, Hundertwasser, Molvig, Dobell, Oronida, Brangwyn, Lek, Toulouse-Lautrec, Ogilvie, Viat, LaLande, Hogarth,  Boughton, Ziegler, Davies, van Dokkum, Barile, Muncy, James George, Hoffman, Korn, Louit, De LaBrierre, Jaquamart, Barye, Trodoux, Villanis, Agostini, Norman Clark, T.T. Wilson, J.F. Murphy, Paul Jacoulet, Tobey, Meert, G. Stevens, J. Stangl, F. Benson, D. Hockney, Cory, J. Peterson, Trainum, J. Antone, A. Cortez, L’Héritier, Faed, Klitz, W.A. Clark, E.C. Clark, J.F. Renault, E. Hill, Katz, B. Krupp, Faucher, C.M. Dewey, W.H. Williams, Tsigal, R. Karr, E.A. Abbey, Gallo, Grauer, Serrure, Künstler, B. Crane, Knowlton, Irvine, E. Lawson, E.N. Hatch, E.D. Lewis, Baird, Ferrara, C.W. Peters, M.N. MacCord, Haberle, Millingalli, J.B. Morse, B. Stern, Cappiello, Mercier, Hohlwein, Dupin, Falcucci, W. Baumeister, J. Bender, H.S. Eddy, F.S. Dixon, J. Sloan, P. Lubarda, Audri Smith, D. McGary, Cloud Bear, L.West, Roland Clark, J. McBey, J.A.M. Whistler, R.G. Somers, Alan Price, Olshanetsky, Girardot, Barbera, Jan Scott, Petit, P. Leggett, Daneїs, Angellis, R. Berger, Trenton, R. Moesle, Hicks, Shoffstall, J. Frost, H. Yoshida, A.L. Ripley, A.M. Black, Rouault, Brochet, D. Downey, R. England, A. Baarns, A. Bonhomme, Long Jack Phillipus Tjakamarra (aboriginal), George Tjapanangka (aboriginal), Kanya Tjapangati (aboriginal), George Tjangala (aboriginal), Turkey Tolson Tjupurrulla (aboriginal), Patricia Stanley Cunningham, Rudolf Bonnet, Pierre-Auguste Cot, John Manol, Herbert Nelson Hooven, Henrietta Elizabeth Dodd Hoopes, Blondelle Octavia Edwards Malone, Tsuchiya Koitsu, George Owen Wynne Apperley, Joseph Jansen, Henry Pember Smith, Nicolas Lancret, Frederik Marianus Kruseman, J. A. Cook, Tepuctzof, Lexandrieff, Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse, Marius-Jean-Antonin Mercie, Armand Jules Leveel, Samuel Edmund Oppenheim, Henry Greenewalt, Philip Geiger, Elizabeth Shoumatoff, Tran Mawicke, A.B. Durand, Edward Thomas, S.W. Andrews, John McCoy, J.R. Hopkins, V. Dupre, T. Adams, E.A.S. Lavieille, P.J.M. Saïn, Antelma Santini, Leda Renaux, H. Ortega, M. Björkström, Helen Bedfors, Hector Caffieri, A.R. Hayward, Carl von Marr, K.Krüger, Bartholomeus Johannes van Hove, Pierre Louis Delaval, Helen Peabody Grant, J. Pearce, Léond Anchiz, Susan French Overstreet, Henry Wilkinson, Patrick Hennesy, Gerald Hennesy, Barbara Kiwak, Robert A. Heuel II, F.B. Voss, David H. Turner, Ruth Robertson, Harry Longueville Jones, Roland Clark, Frank W. Benson, C.A. Seward, George Shalders, Franklin B. Voss, Felice Filipini, Robert R. Meacham, Peggy Corthouts, Edward Bierly, H.A. Driscole, Rod Crossman, Fred Grace, Lee LeBlanc, David Williams, R.G. Kerr, Walter T. Matia, Robert Evett Bishop, Luis Alberto Solari, Willy Alvarez, Oswaldo Imperiale, Nell Hillsley, 19th century Mexican folk art retablos on tin, Yolanda Ardissone, David Watts, Robert Havell, Edward Borein, Ogden M. Pleissner, Thomas H. Benton, Paul Dougherty, Nicola Simbari, Simon de Vlieger, Roderick O’Connor, Roderic O’Conor, James Arthur O’Connor, Jack Butler Yeats, Marshall C. Hutson, Andrew Nichol, Joy Laville, Alberto Gironella, Manuel Alverez Bravo, José Lois Cuevas, Francisco Toledo, Leonara Carrington, Gerado Marillo, F. Pena, Guillermo Meza, Sergio Hernandez, T.C. Grannis, Waldo Pierce, Ben Konis, Sydney K. Hartman, Sergei Levitan, Francis Garat, Sydney K. Hartman, Percy A. Sanborn, Utagawa Hiroshige, Susan L. Throckmorton, Maurice Loirand, Igor Bilincki, Carlos Garay, Malcolm Barton Thompson, Anastasija Ivanovna Kraineva, Vladimir Tarabanov, Andriy Shabunin, Préfète Duffaut, Anton Otto Fischer, Guily Joffrin, Sándor Nyilasy, Diane Whitehead, Debra Hurd, Anne Vanderlaan, Robert C. Kluth, Samuel S. Carr, LeRoy Neiman, Donna M. Aucoin, Anne Slaughter, William de Jarnette Rutherfoord, Riazoli, Narcisse-Virgil Diaz de la Pena, Michel Henry, Lindsay Nolting, Martin Garhart, John Bart, Charles Smith, Inikumo, Cynthia Hauck, Francis H. Dodd, Arnold Marc Gorter, Joseph Rusling Meeker, Frank Bernard Nuderscher, Roswell Morse Shurtleff, John Macleod, Vincenzo Busciolano, George Caleb Bingham, Harry {Henry} Chase, Carl Reichert, Svend Rasmussen Svendsen, Thomas B. Griffin, Anthony Caro, C.G. Fuller, J. Halbert, Alex Katz, Robert S. Zakanitch, C.W. Gibbons, Alfred S. Wall, W.G. Webb, William Walker, Roy F. Spreter, George F. Higgins, Allan Ramsay, Adam Birtwistle, Chuck Connelly, William D. Martin, Arthur Rackham, William Hogarth, Sir William Beechey, John Opie, Joseph W. Dawley, Edward Moran, Edward B. Gay, Robert M. Jackson, Carl Sprinchorn, Scottie Wilson, Harold Sterner, Maurice Becker, Arthur G. Dove, Martine Pedro, Wolf Kahn, Paul-Emile Borduas, Gaston Lachaise, Ellis Wilson, Frederick S. Franck, Thomas Eakins, George Luks, Jack Zajac, Cadmus, Cusumano, Charles Demuth, John Marin, Joseph Mercer, Sidney Osborne, Stuart Davis, Dorothy Andrews, Odilon Roche, Léonor Fini, Edwina White, Austin Thomas, Catalina Martines Benito, Hudson Mindell Kitchell, Hector Moncayo, Hugo Anton Fisher, Alexander John Drysdale, John Emms, Essie Leone Seavey Lucas, Valerie Poole, George Reinbold (carver), John M. Tracy, William Ward, Thomas Weaver, Robert Havell Sr., Robert Havell Jr., Gerard Rutgers Hardenbergh, Alexander Pope Jr., Michael Lyne, Samuel Henry Gordon Alken, Benjamin Marshall, William Barraud, James Ward, Josef Munch, Henri Emilien Rousseau, André Harvey, A. Peão Lades, J. Moigniez, P.J. Mene, Will-Vanderprism, M.C. Escher, Phillippe Anthonioz, August Bedřich Piepenhagen, Maurice Minkowski, Ze’ev Tishbi, František Mořic Nágl, Andrew Forge, Buresova, León Poch, Pittore Beppe Steffanina, Marcel Hermann Janco, Christian Brand, Manfredo Massironi, David Mlinaric, John E. Ferneley Sr., Albert Earl Gilbert, Holmes Weaver (cabinetmaker), James Clark Sr., George Reinbold (carver), Friedrich Gornik, Valerie Poole, Essie Leone Seavey Lucas, John Emms, Walt Gonske, Kaye Burian, Charles H. Pabst, Robert Moore, Rod Goebel, Tom Dorr, Kenny McKenna, Krystii Melaine, Richard Iams, Richard Loffler, Donald John Begg, Kathleen O’Haco, George Burrell Willcock, Roberto Angelo Kittermaster Marshall, Jean-Michel Moreau, William George Meadows, George Henry Bogert, Basilius Besler, Nusza Woyda, Linnea Lundmark, David Drost, Garnet W. Jex, Aaron Harry Gorson, William Van De Velde, Arthur Hoeber, Henry P. Smith, Terry Redlin, Aaron Harry Gorson, Willem van de Velde the Younger, Arthur Hoeber, Henry Pember Smith, Pierre Devain Lesage, Edwin Lord Weeks, Gustave Courbet, Sir Thomas Lawrence, Daniel Ridgway Knight, Albert Bierstadt, Eugéne Boudin, James Gale Tyler, Jack Lugg, M.S. Clindinst, Paul Geraro, Ernő Tóth, Jean-Charles Cazin, Antoine Bouvard, Sr., Charles Paul Gruppé, John Franklin Earhart, Toh, Adrien, Mary Spear Clinedinst, Kiyoshi Saitō, Kusumi Morikage, Harvey Mitchell, Everett B.D. Fabrino Julio, Louise Sennesh, Anton Faistauer, Alexander Gottfried, William Dickinson Washington, Cornelia Shilman, Margaret White Lesley Bush-Brown, E. Mangan,Casimir Gregory Stapko, Elisabeth Boyd, Walter G. Gould, Mary Van der Veer, Freeman Thorpe, William Henry Coffin, Gari Melchers, Wesley Dennis, Robert Swan, Claes Jansz. Visscher, Titian, Henri Abraham Chatelain, Albrecht Dürer, Martin Schongauer, Dirck Vellert, Hans Sebald Beham, Hendrick Hondius the Elder, Hendrick Goltzius, Federico Castellón, Richard Creifelds, Ezra Ames, Ogden Pleissner, William Schiebeck, Fritz Hartmann, Gustav Koken, Patrick von Kalckreuth, Eduard Bendemann, Anton Raphael Mengs, Vladimir Dobrovolsky, Vladimir Aleksandrovich Serov, De Momi, S. Ciani, Bernard Mühlig, Thomas Waterman Wood, Eugenio Benvenuti, Lucien Whiting Powell, Jean de Roncourt, Pierre-Louis Detrier, James Sant, D. Watkins, M.E. Schilley, Otto Freidrich Gebler, Alfred Prehn, Rutherford Boyd, Nora Parbury, John Singer Sargent, William James Glackens, John Sloan, Leon Kroll, Gifford Beal, James Nares, Kenneth Hates Miller, Christian Hellmich, William Seitz, Louis Kahn, Caio Fonseca, Claes Thure Oldenburg, Abraham Anghik Ruben (Inuit), Alex Alikashuak (Inuit), Adamie Ashevak (Inuit), George Arluk (Inuit), Michael Massie (Inuit), Mayoreak Ashoona (Inuit), Pitaloosie Saila (Inuit), Pudlo Pudlat (Inuit), Mary Duwyenie (Hopi), Robert Charles Davidson (Haida), Francisco Zúñiga, Nelson Rumano (African), Peter Toland Sand, Michaelangelo Meucci, William Garl Browne Jr., Allen Redwood, Luis Hourgras, Lino García y Alcázar, Louis-Mathieu Didier Guillaume, Luis Hourgras, Oedenkoyem, Francis Boucher, Hagonbau, Paul-Jean Anderbouhr, Kib Bramhall, Ray C. Ellis, Louise M.W. Kamp, Julian Lamar, Otaker Coubine, Brian A. Becken, J.S. Jones, Paul Emile Pissarro, John Zoffany, Thomas Gainsborough, Carl S. Stoizner, Carl Wilhelmson, Frances Cotes, William A. Gibson, Paul Sawyier, Yaacov Agam, Biren De, Frank Duveneck, Dixie Selden, Samuel Bell Waugh, John Worf, George Bellows, Bernard Reder, Earlene Jenningham Mitchell, Rosalie Sunderland Day White, Henry Bright, Pablo Cucaro, Linda Patrick, Marc Chapaud, Roel Wildeboer, Mark King, Adolph Sehring, Sergio Roffo, Josephine Hodos, D. Haskell Chhuy, William Trost Richards, Thomas Lindsay, Stephen J. Card, Mark Boden, Al Rossi, Roberto Lupetti, Wietske Smit, John Stobart, Aad van der Heyde, Valentino Pancera Besarel, Sandor L. Landeau, Frank Russell Green, Filimunova, Charles Overman, John Smart, Chance Lipscomb, Jim Mayes, Frederik Hendrik Kaemmerer, Pegge Hopper, Dale Terbush, Shao Kuang Ting, Laura Bernice Fenwick Martin, Sir Scott M. Scott, Sir Harold D. Gillies MD, Ben Hren, John W. Taylor, Roger T. Peterson, Don Shoffstatt, Art LeMay, Bill Lishman, Nancy Callan (glass), Archibald Thorburn, Joseph Farquharson, James Hardy II, Gioacchino La Pira, Sylvester Stannard, Will Anderson, John MacPherson, Henry Hensche, Sidney F. Willis, David Hagerbaumer, Jim Wood, Agnes Augusta Emilia Eleonora de Frumerie, Laurence Isard, Arnold Wiltz, Jim Morgan, Philips Wouwerman, Yen-Yung Ting, Carl Gromoll, Frank Howell, Oreland Joe Sr, Louis von Koelnau, Férno, Robert R. Meacham, William Norman Gaunt, Ed Hatch, Helen M. Hilliard, Roger Jacqueline, Christine Lashley, Chris Stephens, Janet S. Tiplett, M. Halpen Segars, Dennis Perrin, La Palla, Detta Cutting Zimmerman, …  and of course there will be many others over time.


Mr. Grove’s personal collection includes original work from the following: Carl Richter, Mike Rooney, J. Rogers, W.M. Frahme, J.J. Enwright, Nicolas S. Cikovsky, Giacomo Nicola Pitto,  William W. Swallow, Don Huber, Andre Lucero, Walter Lynn Mosley, Dennis Rano, Ethel Tucker, Prettyman, Ouida George, John L. Heatwole (carver).


My old YouTube video :: Paintings – What to tell the appraiser when you first contact him/her concerning your art. He will need a photo of its front, back, and signature. If the signature is so indistinct that it cannot be read or there is no signature, it is likely that the piece will never be identified. Unidentified pieces of art are removed from the more valuable investment column and relegated to the decorative column; enjoy it for what it is, pretty.